Counting in Norwegian is not only an excellent way to improve confidence with the Norwegian language but it is also an essential part of everyday conversation. Without knowing how to count in Norwegian, it will be impossible to arrange dates for meetings, understand bills or any number of other everyday functions a person will take for granted in their own language.
Saying One to Ten in Norwegian
English speakers will find the majority of the first ten numbers in Norwegian somewhat familiar. As both languages share the same language root, their number systems look a lot alike.
- null [newl] – zero (also “nought”)
- en [eyn] – one
- to [tooh] – two
- tre [treh] – three
- fire [feerer – not “fire”!]– four
- fem [fehm] – five
- seks [sehks] – six
- sju [shew] – seven
- åtte [ott-eh] – eight
- ni [nee] – nine
- ti [tee] - ten
Norwegian Numbers from 11 to 19
When discussing norwegian numbers between thirteen and nineteen, it is easy to remember them as simply “number plus ten”. As with English, eleven and twelve are exceptions to this rule.
- elleve [elle-ve] – eleven
- tolv [tol-v] – twelve
- tretten [treh-tern] – thirteen
- fjorten [f-yoot-tern] – fourteen
- femten [fem-tern] – fifteen
- seksten [sehks-tern] – sixteen
- sytten [surt-tern] – seventeen
- atten [aht-tern] – eighteen
- nitten [ni-tern] – nineteen
It is worth remembering the changes to the numbers four and eight when they become fourteen and eighteen as although the ending fits the general “teen” pattern: åtte has become atte- while fire has changed entirely, becoming fjor-.
Seven has also changed, because sju used to be syv (pronounced sewv); which makes understanding the change to sytten easier. It it worth remembering syv is an alternative to sju as it is still used by some Norwegian speakers.
Counting in Norwegian from Twenty to One Hundred
Norwegians have two systems for counting past twenty. The old style looks a lot like the German system while the new style is very much like the English system.
In the new system, a unit is simply added to the end of the “ten” number to form the new number; in the same way as English does it. For example, twenty-one in English is tjueen in Norwegian and fifty-five becomes femtifem in Norwegian.
The “ten” numbers in Norwegian are:
- tjue [shewer] – twenty
- tretti [treh-tee] – thirty
- førti [fur-tee] – forty
- femti [fem-tee] – fifty
- seksti [sekhs-tee] – sixty
- sytti [surt-tee] – seventy
- åtti [ott-tee] – eighty
- nitti [nit-tee] – ninety
The fact that most of the “ten” numbers are effectively units with the Norwegian for ten stuck on the end will likely not have escaped most readers' attention. This is an excellent way of remembering this new Norwegian vocabulary; although as always there are numbers that have changed. Twenty, forty and seventy are a little different here but their general appearance is not too dissimilar.
The old system requires the student to learn new words for twenty and thirty because these changed along with the number seven. The other numbers are the same however. It should be noted that the old names for twenty and thirty are not used when counting in norwegian using the new system.
- tyve [tew-ver] – twenty (old system)
- tredve [trayd-ver] – thirty (old system)
Under the old system Norwegians counted by saying “units and tens”, like the Germans do. In Norwegian, the word for “and” is “og”, so the numbers would look like this:
- en og tyve [eyn oh tew-ver] – twenty-one
- syv eg tredve [sewv oh trayd-ver] – thirty-seven
Numbers in Norwegian from One Hundred Onwards
From one hundred onwards, the rules for counting in Norwegian are the same as those for counting in English. For example, two hundred and twenty-two in Norwegian is tohundre og tjueto.
To form a word for x-hundred or x-thousand, simply add the relevant number to the front of the Norwegian word for “hundred” or thousand.
- (et) hundre [hewn-drer] – one hundred
- tohundre [tooh-hewn-drer] – two hundred
- tusen [tews-ern] – one thousand
- totusen [tooh-tews-ern] – two thousand
- (en) million [mil-ee-on] – one million
- tomillioner [tooh-mil-ee-on-er] - note the changed ending] – two million
Counting in Norwegian follows most of the same basic rules as counting in English, so it is easy for the learner to improve confidence when learning new words and practicing. Aside from a few small changes due to a recent change in numbering systems, which can be learned quickly with a little study, learning how to count in Norwegian is quick and simple.
Zoe Kirk-Robinson - Zoë Kirk-Robinson is a freelance writer/artist specialising in legal writing, internet technology and creative writing. She holds a ...
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