The Norwegian puzzle - find your missing pieces

Send us Fan Mail We start with the everyday question, “What time is it at your place?”, and use it to unpack why telling time in Norwegian can feel strangely hard at first. We walk through two reliable paths: digital time and analogue time. For digital time, we keep it clean and practical: use the 24-hour clock and say only numbers, like fourteen thirty and fourteen fifteen.  Then we move into the...

Send us Fan Mail Support the show Do you like the podcast? :) Feel free to buy me a coffee :)  buymeacoffee.com/thenorwegianpuzzle   .... This podcast is available on Spotify, Apple Podcast, Youtube, Deezer and Podcast Addict.  .... Transcript available here : https://the-norwegian-puzzle.buzzsprout.com .... Questions? Feedback? Get in touch! norskmedsilje@gmail.com .... Other places to find me: ...

Send us Fan Mail The Norwegian R is the sound everyone worries about, and it turns out the worry is pointed in the wrong direction. We talk through what many learners are actually hearing in everyday Norwegian: a light tap R that barely “rolls” at all, often so subtle it can resemble a D. From there, we zoom out to the bigger truth about Norwegian dialects, including the skarre-r (the French-style...

Send us Fan Mail “Connect” feels like a simple word until you try to say it in Norwegian and realise you’re actually talking about five different things. We unpack the real meanings hiding inside that one word, and we give you Norwegian options you can use immediately in real conversations.  Subscribe for more Norwegian language tips, share this with a friend who’s learning, and let me know which...

Send us Fan Mail “Fresh” sounds simple until you try to say it in Norwegian and suddenly you have two options that both seem right. We unpack the real difference between frisk and fersk, and it turns out the split is incredibly practical: one word is about how something feels and tastes, the other is about how new it actually is. If you’ve ever stood in a grocery store wondering what a label reall...

Send us Fan Mail We start with the quick foundation: how comparative and superlative forms work (think -ere and -est), and why the English habit of avoiding endings on “long words” doesn’t translate cleanly into Norwegian. From there, we move into the real skill: spotting the adjectives that refuse to inflect, so you can stop guessing and start sounding natural. We also talk about why using mer an...

Send us Fan Mail Support the show Do you like the podcast? :) Feel free to buy me a coffee :)  buymeacoffee.com/thenorwegianpuzzle   .... This podcast is available on Spotify, Apple Podcast, Youtube, Deezer and Podcast Addict.  .... Transcript available here : https://the-norwegian-puzzle.buzzsprout.com .... Questions? Feedback? Get in touch! norskmedsilje@gmail.com .... Other places to find me: ...

Send us Fan Mail (Norwegian only from 08:47) I share how a final course day transformed nerves into confidence by framing cross-country skiing around three core “gears,” each designed for a different speed and feel—one led by arms and upper body for fast glide, one that recruits the whole body for steady control, and a third that feels like running when you want more speed. I use a bilingual learn...

Send us Fan Mail Winter can feel endless when the sun disappears, and everyone around you seems to glide across the snow like they were born doing it. I've been there too, and I wanted to make a clear, friendly guide that helps you get outside, shake off the gloom, and find real joy on skis without wasting money, time, or courage. Listen, share with a friend who’s ski‑curious, and tell us wha...

Send us Fan Mail (Norwegian only from 09:21) Let's continue with my ski course story from last episode ... First, I guide you through a Norwegian–English sequence with generous pauses for repetition. Then I replay the same content in full Norwegian, so that you can stress-test your comprehension and lock in new words, phrases, and sounds. It’s a gentle but deliberate workout for your ear, you...

Send us Fan Mail (Norwegian only from 07:47) A bad day on the trail becomes the perfect language workout. We take you through a true cross-country skiing mishap—too-short poles, the wrong skis, zero technique—and use it to build your Norwegian listening in two steps: first with English support, then as a clean Norwegian-only replay. The story is simple, honest, and packed with phrases you’ll actua...

Send us Fan Mail What is the difference in meaning and function of these four words? How can we translate the English word "in" to Norwegian?  I hope you will know after listening to this episode :)  Support the show Do you like the podcast? :) Feel free to buy me a coffee :)  buymeacoffee.com/thenorwegianpuzzle   .... This podcast is available on Spotify, Apple Podcast, Youtube, Deezer...

Send us Fan Mail Support the show Do you like the podcast? :) Feel free to buy me a coffee :)  buymeacoffee.com/thenorwegianpuzzle   .... This podcast is available on Spotify, Apple Podcast, Youtube, Deezer and Podcast Addict.  .... Transcript available here : https://the-norwegian-puzzle.buzzsprout.com .... Questions? Feedback? Get in touch! norskmedsilje@gmail.com .... Other places to find me: ...

Send us Fan Mail We explore why motivation beats method when learning Norwegian and how joy, identity, and daily habits make progress stick. We share hard-won lessons from English, French, Greek, Arabic, and Mandarin, then turn them into practical steps you can use today. • find personal motivation(s) • choose resources that fit your goals • read aloud • write to lock in vocabulary • learn a lot o...

Send us Fan Mail We start with "å bety", the reliable choice when you ask what a word translates to, define a term, or tie facts to outcomes.  Then we switch lanes to "å mene", the verb for staking out a position or clarifying what you intended to say. Along the way, we share a quick rule that saves you from false-friend mistakes: "å mene" never follows anything but p...

Send us Fan Mail The shortest days can still spark the biggest plans. We open with Yule—what it actually means, why it isn’t the same as Christmas, and how the return of light offers a practical metaphor for steady progress. From there, I take you behind the scenes of how the show gets made. It’s imperfect by design, and that’s why the feedback loop with listeners matters so much. Looking ahead, I...

Send us Fan Mail One word captures the knowledge you carry forward while the other captures the moment you live through. With clear examples from work, language learning, and everyday life, we map the boundary between accumulated wisdom and immediate sensation so you can choose the right word and express yourself with nuance. To make it actionable, I contrast near‑identical sentences and ask you t...

Send us Fan Mail Stop second-guessing yourself in Norwegian. In this episode you will learn the three ways to say "myself" (and "yourself", "himself", "herself" etc.) in Norwegian. It is easier and more complicated than you think ... :P  Support the show Do you like the podcast? :) Feel free to buy me a coffee :)  buymeacoffee.com/thenorwegianpuzzle   .... T...

Send us Fan Mail Ever wonder why “I’m excited” in English never seems to land quite right in Norwegian? We unpack the three routes Norwegians typically take—spent, så glad, and giret—and show how each one maps to a different feeling: curiosity about the unknown, warm happiness with gratitude, and buzzing, physical energy that pushes you to act. If this helped refine your Norwegian, follow the show...

Send us Fan Mail We dive into the real logic behind Norwegian "at" and "som", stripping away jargon and showing exactly how these connectors connect the dots. With everyday examples, quick tests you can run in your head, and a few memorable sentences about pizza, we get rid of the guesswork. We start by grounding at in the places you actually meet it: after verbs like think, sa...

Send us Fan Mail Let's dig into a clear mental model that strips away guesswork and shows exactly when to use preteritum, presens perfektum, and preteritum perfektum. Instead of memorizing lists, you’ll learn a focus rule: is the time window closed and you’re reliving a finished moment, or does the action still shape what matters now? I look at English comparisons that often confuse learners....

Send us Fan Mail (Norwegian only: 10:53 - standard eastern accent, and 12:26 - Bergen accent).  In this episode, I contrast two traditions that shape this season in Norway. Halloween on October 31 brings costumes, door-to-door visits, and the classic trick-or-treat phrase. All Saints Day, observed the first Sunday in November, invites a quieter vocabulary—candles at the cemetery, memories of loved...

Send us Fan Mail This notorious word pair confuses even advanced learners, but today I'm breaking it down into simple, manageable parts that will transform your understanding. The secret lies in recognizing three distinct usage patterns.  First, when these words stand alone, "noe" means "something/anything" while "noen" means "someone/anyone." Norwegian...

Send us Fan Mail In this pronunciation-focused episode, we break down three connected but distinct Norwegian vowel sounds: A, E, and Æ. Rather than getting caught up in complex terminology, we use visual imagery and physical awareness to help you feel the difference between these sounds. The beauty of these particular vowels? Your tongue gets to relax completely – it's all about your lips and...

Send us Fan Mail Struggling with those mysterious S-endings on Norwegian verbs?  The secret is that there isn't just one explanation – there are three distinct reasons why Norwegian verbs might end with S.  First, there's the reciprocal S, which you'll encounter in everyday phrases like "vi snakkes" (we'll talk to each other) and "vi ses" (we'll see eac...