Now it’s time for some useful Survival Phrases for when you have time to shop in Norwegian stores. |
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The first thing you say to a shop clerk is unnskyld, meaning “excuse me,” as we learned in a previous lesson. After that you will want to ask “How much does this cost?” |
In Nynorsk, this is |
Kor mykje kostar denne? |
if the thing we are interested in is masculine or feminine and |
Kor mykje kostar dette? |
for neuter. |
Let’s break the first question down: |
(slow) Kor my-kje kos-tar den-ne? |
Once more: |
Kor mykje kostar denne? |
Kor mykje, means “how much?” |
(slow) Kor my-kje. |
Kor mykje. |
Kostar is the present form of the verb å koste, meaning “to cost.” |
(slow) Kos-tar. |
Kostar. |
At the end of the question we have denne which is translated as “this.” This is used when the item you are asking about is masculine or feminine. |
(slow) Den-ne. |
Denne. |
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Let’s take a look at the second question: |
Kor mykje kostar dette? |
(slow) Kor my-kje kos-tar det-te? |
Once more: |
Kor mykje kostar dette? |
The only difference is dette, the neuter form of “this.” |
(slow) dette |
dette |
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Imagine that you're in a clothing shop and want to buy a shirt. To attract the attention of the shop assistant, say unnskyld, then ask how much the shirt costs. The question will sound like this: |
Unnskyld, kor mykje kostar denne skjorta? |
Excuse me, how much is this shirt? |
Let’s break it down: |
(slow) Unn-skyld, kor my-kje kos-tar den-ne skjor-ta? |
And again at natural speed: |
Unnskyld, kor mykje kostar denne skjorta? |
After unnskyld we have kor mykje which means “how much.” |
Next comes the word kostar, which we know is the present form of the verb “to cost.” |
(slow) Kos-tar. |
Kostar. |
After that we have denne, the masculine and feminine word for “this.” |
The last word is skjorta, which means “the shirt”. |
(slow) Skjor-ta. |
Skjorta. |
The whole question is |
Unnskyld, kor mykje kostar denne skjorta? |
When asking about a neuter item, remember to replace denne with the neuter form dette. |
Let's say you've seen a beautiful pillow case embroidered with traditional Norwegian designs. “The pillowcase” in Nynorsk is |
Putevaret. |
It is a neuter item, so putting that into our sentence, together with dette gives us: |
Unnskyld, kor mykje kostar dette putevaret? |
(Slow) Unn-skyld, kor my-kje kos-tar det-te pu-te-va-ret? |
Unnskyld, kor mykje kostar dette putevaret? |
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