From “smoking your socks” to “being in the wind”, here are 49 funny Norwegian sayings translated from Norwegian into English, that’ll make you giggle.
This year, I decided I wanted to learn Norwegian. I’ve visited Norway a few times and fell in love with the unbelievable beauty of its fjords, such as Trolltunga, and learned all about the Vikings in Oslo. I even went to Oslo for a two week Norwegian language holiday. With every language I learn, I love to learn its most popular idioms and expressions and slip them into my conversations.
With the help of my dear friend Lisa, from Fjords and Beaches, here is a list of typical Norwegian expressions and sayings — directly translated into English. They also happen to be very funny!
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Norwegian Idioms and Sayings Translated into English
1. Å være pling i bollen
Translation: To be a ping in the bowl.
Meaning: To be empty-headed/stupid (from the “ping”-like noise an empty bowl makes when you tap it).
2. Å få blod på tannen
Translation: To get blood on your tooth.
Meaning: To become inspired / driven to do something.
3. Å stå/sitter med skjegget i postkassa
Translation: To stand / sit with your beard in the post box.
Meaning: To have ended up in a stupid situation, that you may have cheated your way into.
4. Man skal ikke skue hunden på hårene
Translation: You shouldn’t judge the dog on its hairs.
Meaning: You shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.
5. Is i magen
Translation: Ice in one’s stomach.
Meaning: Stay in control, play it cool.
6. Å gjøre kål på
Translation: To make cabbage of
Meaning: To finish something so that it is gone, for example by eating the leftovers ‘gjøre kål på restene’.
7. Å være på bærtur / på viddene / ute og sykle
Translation: Berry-picking / on the moors / out cycling
Meaning: To describe someone who does not know what they’re talking about or is lost (either literally or in a conversation).
8. Å være på pletten
Translation: To be on the spot.
Meaning: Where and when you’re supposed to be.
9. Det er aldri så galt at det ikke er godt for noe!
Translation: It’s never so bad that it’s not good for something.
Meaning: The Norwegian version of “When God closes a door, he opens a window”
10. Å skrive noe bak øret
Translation: To write something behind the ear.
Meaning: To make a mental note of something; to make sure to remember something.
11. Å snakke rett fra leveren
Translation: To speak directly from the liver.
Meaning: To speak plainly/truthfully without sugar-coating.
12. Der er ugler i mosen
Translation: There are owls in the moss.
Meaning: Something is off or not quite right. There is something secretive/sinister about a situation. Originally the saying was “Der er ulver i mosen” which translates to ‘there are wolves in the bog’.
13. Å ta beina på nakken
Translation: To put your legs on your neck.
Meaning: To run away from something.
14. Å ha en finger med i spillet
Translation: To have a finger included in the game.
Meaning: To play a part in something (often something sneaky).
15. Det er helt Texas!
Translation: That’s completely Texas!
Meaning: That’s crazy! (inspired by old Wild West movies.)
16. Hva er i veien?
Translation: What’s in the way?
Meaning: What’s wrong?
17. Å svelge noen kameler
Translation: To swallow some camels.
Meaning: To give in / to chose to ignore something, often to keep the peace.
18. Det er helt på trynet!
Translation: It’s completely on the snout.
Meaning: It’s totally ridiculous.
19. Håper at det smaker
Translation: I hope that it tastes.
Meaning: I hope it tastes good, bon appetit!
20. Har du røyka sokka dine?
Translation: Have you smoked your socks?
Meaning: Are you crazy?
21. Snakke i munnen på hverandre
Translation: Talking in each other’s mouths.
Meaning: People are talking at the same time, talking over each other / one another.
22. Holde tunga rett i munnen
Translation: Keeping the tongue straight in the mouth.
Meaning: To concentrate.
23. Ta knekken på (meg)!
Translation: This breaks me! “Knekk” means to break in half.
Meaning: It’s killing me!
24. Ryk og reis
Translation: Smoke and travel.
Meaning: Get the hell out of here.
Travelling to Norway? Then you should learn these top 10 Norwegian phrases
25. Kjøpe katta i sekken
Translation: Buy the cat in a bag.
Meaning: When you buy something without looking at it properly and either shortchanged cheated. Buying a pig in a poke.
26. Jeg har det på tungen
Translation: I have it on my tongue.
Meaning: It’s on the tip of my tongue.
27. Bite i gresset
Translation: Bite the grass.
Meaning: Admit defeat.
28. Å leve på luft og kjærlighet
Translation: Living on air and love.
Meaning: Be so madly in love that you don’t think about anything else.
29. Å gjøre noen en bjørnetjeneste
Translation: Do someone a bearfavour.
Meaning: Despite trying to do the right thing, you do more harm than good. This analogy comes from the French poet Jean de La Fontaine’s fable where a bear accidentally kills his master after swatting a fly on his head.
30. Å stikke noe under en stol
Translation: Stick something under a chair.
Meaning: To try and hide something.
31. Å være i vinden
Translation: Being in the wind.
Meaning: To be popular or fashionable.
32. Som plommen i egget
Translation: Like the yolk in the egg.
Meaning: To be in an ideal situation. This comes from the idea that a growing chick has all the nutrients it needs to grow.
33. Saken er biff
Translation: The matter is beef.
Meaning: When a matter is settled, ‘it is beef’. All sorted and agreed on. This expression dates back to the unification of Norway and Sweden. When the military approved something, the officer would sign ‘bif’, which was short for ‘approved’ in Swedish. As a joke, Norwegian’s called it ‘biff’.
34. En glad laks
Translation: A happy salmon.
Meaning: A positive and cheerful person. The English equivalent would be happy-go-lucky.
35. Å tenke koffert
Translation: To think suitcase.
Meaning: Someone who associated everything with sex, similar to having one’s head in the gutter.
36. Flyte på flesket
Translation: Float on the fat.
Meaning: Using your body as your own flotation device. Literally, floating because you have fat on your body.
37. Å ha bein i nesa
Translation: To have bones in your nose.
Meaning: To be tough and determined and not afraid to speak up.
38. Jeg har en høne å plukke med noen
Translation: I have a hen to pluck with someone.
Meaning: To have a bone to pick with someone.
39. Å være født bak en brunost
Translation: To be born behind a brown cheese.
Meaning: To be stupid. Brown cheese or “mysost” is a famous Norwegian food, a type of almost caramel-like goat’s cheese).
40. Å være midt i smørøyet
Translation: To be in the middle of the butter melting in the porridge.
Meaning: To be in a great place, find yourself in a favourable position. The smørøye is the actual blob of butter in the porridge. As a side note, ideally, you eat the porridge before the butter is melted, but that’s a whole other discussion.
41. Å koke bort i kålen
Translation: To boil away/into nothing in the cabbage.
Meaning: When an idea or plan comes to nothing through waffling. This idea comes from when meat is reduced to nothing when cooked in a cabbage stew for a long time.
42. Å tråkke i salaten
Translation: To step in the salad, stepped in the salad.
Meaning: To make a faux pas. You’ve messed up, English equivalent ‘you’ve put your foot in it’ or ‘make a blunder’.
43. Å grave ned stridsøksen
Translation: To bury the battle axe.
Meaning: To bury the hatchet.
44. Å røyke fredspipe
Translation: To smoke a peace pipe
Meaning: To make up with someone following a disagreement.
45. Det er hipp som happ for meg
Translation: It’s hip like happ for me
Meaning: Either (or any) way is fine (by me)
46. Stopp en halv
Translation: Stop one hall.
Meaning: Hold your horse.
47. Tant og fjas
Translation: Taunt and silliness.
Meaning: Silly and/or useless things/activities.
48. Brillefint
Translation: Glasses-nice.
Meaning: Splendid.
49. Det er helt hull i hodet
Translation: That is completely hole in the head.
Meaning: That is very stupid / ridiculous.
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Over to you!
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6 comments
This is great! Thank you!
Thank you Katharine! ;)
I think Stop en halv means “Stop one half”
You are right, stopp en halv litterally translates to stop one half, but the whole thing is a misunderstanding of an old English sailors expression; «stop and haul». Norwegian sailors adapted that to «stopp en hal», which later on found it’s way into general Norwegian language. It still equals to «hold your horses», and is correctly spelled «stopp en hal».
“Stopp en hal” is actually norwenglish: Stop and haul!
“Living on air and love” means living on a very tight budget.
Tusen takk Per :)