Your Ultimate Norwegian Pronunciation Guide

Norwegian Pronunciation

While there might be some sounds in Norwegian that can be difficult to pronounce, most people find that it is relatively easy to learn. The language has quite a few patterns that are similar to English in terms of intonation. Because of this Norwegian pronunciation should not be overly difficult to grasp.

Pronouncing the Vowels

Even the alphabet is similar to English. The Norwegian alphabet has 29 letters with 9 of them being vowels. The vowels in the language are A, E, I, O, U, Y and Æ Ø and Å.To pronounce A, the sound is similar to the “a” in the word car. The E in the language is pronounced like the “e” in get. The vowel I is pronounced like the “i” in the word ski, while the vowel O is pronounced with an “oo” sound as in the word school. The vowel U is pronounced like the “u” in flu. The vowel Y is pronounced like the “y” in syrup. Æ is pronounced like the “a” in the word sad, Ø sounds like the “u” in the word burn, and Å sounds like the “o” in born.Proper pronunciation is one of the keys to speaking the language correctly so people can understand you. While they might be able to forgive poorNorwegian grammar, it can be much more difficult for people to understand what you are saying when you have poor Norwegian pronunciation.

Other Interesting Pieces of Norwegian Pronunciation

When you write Norwegian, you will find that there are some very interesting words that do not look much like English at all. You can find sounds that include clusters of consonants such as skj/sj/kj/k and these have different pronunciations. ND and NG have sounds similar to the word “bang”, but the end of the words that have ND or NG will end more abruptly without the full “g” sound.You will even find different ways to pronounce the letter “r” in the language. You could roll the “r” or use “r” with a short, sharp sound. Either of these is correct, and you will find that different areas of the Norwegian pronunciation can be a bit different in various parts of the country.While you can see that some of the sounds can seem a bit tricky to reproduce, they really aren’t that difficult. It is simply a matter of practice. The more you practice your pronunciation the easier it is going to be. As they say, practice makes perfect.

1) Use voice recording tools to perfect your pronunciation

NorwegianClass101 has plenty of resources to help you with your Norwegian pronunciation, so be sure to make thorough use of our recordings with native Norwegian speakers. These are available not only to demonstrate to you how you should pronounce Norwegian vocabulary, but also sentences and dialogues. Watch and listen to these over and over again to train your ear, and watch the teacher’s mouth as she speaks in the video lessons. Then, copy the speech as best you can. Later, you can record yourself to hear if you sound like a native speaker and compare yourself with native speakers. Great for self-motivation.

2) Practice in front of the mirror.

And see that you’re copying the correct lip and mouth movements.

3) Use our NorwegianClass101 dictionary!

Use the Norwegian dictionary provided by NorwegianClass101 to look up words and listen to the audio pronunciation. This will go a long way towards giving you an idea of how to pronounce a word or letter correctly.

4) Train your ear to the language!

Make an effort to often listen to Norwegian music and recorded books, and watch plenty of Norwegian movies and/or TV shows in Norwegian. This will train your ear to the language, and you’ll be surprised how quickly you pick up the accent. Remember, this is the way we learned to speak when we were young - mostly by listening to the adults talking, and repeating what they say!

5) Practice, practice, practice…

Repetition of the same thing may be boring, but in learning a new language, you’re creating new pathways in your brain. For these to remain and become habitual, you will need to repeat the correct pronunciation often.

6) Make friends with a native Norwegian speaker.

Don’t be shy to address them in Norwegian! Ask them to correct you when you make a pronunciation mistake - this is a wonderful way to practice and learn the language first-hand, and also to make new friends.

7) Practice your pronunciation with your Norwegian teacher!

If you’re a serious student and don’t know where to meet native Norwegian speakers, consider investing in NorwegianClass101’s Premium PLUS plan. This means you will have your own native Norwegian teacher available to practice your pronunciation with, and much more! Send recordings of yourself speaking Norwegian and get feedback from your Norwegian teacher.