Which Norwegian words should I learn first?

The easiest words of grammar and everyday life: basic verbs, small structural words, polite phrases, numbers, family, food. This page gathers 100 of them.

What comes after these 100 words?

Carry on topic by topic: each list gives 100 words sorted into three levels. The KoKo app gathers +6,000 Norwegian words and brings each one back at the right moment.

Can I print this list or save it as a PDF?

Yes. The “Print the list” button at the top of the page opens your device’s print dialog: choose to save as PDF to keep the 100 words and their translation, with nothing else around them.

Your first 100 Norwegian words

New to Norwegian? Here are 100 easy words to start with: verbs, the small words of grammar and everyday vocabulary, translated into English.

These words come from the 26 grammar and everyday-life topics of KoKo. The app holds 2,397 words at this level.

Grammar 24 words

Norwegian	English
si	to say
lese	to read
le	to laugh
drepe	to kill
lav	low
god	good
rå	raw
hard	hard
der	there
her	here
dårlig	badly
lite	little
til	toPreposition, movement in the direction of a place
fra	fromProvenance, origin
og	and
eller	or
dit	thereAdverbial pronoun of place, replaces a complement
denne	thisDemonstrative determiner, masculine before a consonant
noe	somePartitive article, masculine singular
av det	of it
komme inn	to come in
gå på	to get on
levere tilbake	to give back
komme ut	to get out

Everyday life 76 words

Norwegian	English
nei	no
ja	yes
takk	thank you
hei	hiInformal greeting
én	one
ti	ten
få	few
seks	six
slutt	end
mai	May
sommer	summer
august	August
knokkel	boneHard part of the skeleton
hals	neck
rygg	back
nese	nose
blåmerke	bruise
hvile	rest
helse	health
virus	virus
venn	friend
baby	baby
sønn	son
ektemann	husbandEveryday use
gal	crazy
skuffet	disappointed
forlegenhet	embarrassment
glede	joy
nøkkel	key
seng	bed
vegg	wall
gulv	floor
skrue	screw
tre	wood
spiker	nail
lim	glue
strømpe	stockings
krage	collar
stilig	smart
lær	leather
hvitløk	garlic
hvete	wheat
vann	water
juice	juice
økologisk	organic
skål	bowl
sult	hunger
smak	flavour
pose	bag
dyr	expensive
PIN-kode	PIN code
kostnad	cost
gate	street
jernbanestasjon	train station
park	park
bykart	map
buss	bus
turbuss	coach
motorsykkel	motorbike
havn	harbour
flyvning	flight
hotellregning	bill
sted	site
guide	guide
fjellovergang	mountain pass
øst	east
innsjø	lake
nebb	beak
hane	rooster
reir	nest
gull	gold
bue	arch
jern	iron
lenke	link
side	page
oppringning	call

Mini quiz

5 words from this page, picked at random. Find their translation.

Frequently asked questions

Which Norwegian words should I learn first?: The easiest words of grammar and everyday life: basic verbs, small structural words, polite phrases, numbers, family, food. This page gathers 100 of them.
What comes after these 100 words?: Carry on topic by topic: each list gives 100 words sorted into three levels. The KoKo app gathers +6,000 Norwegian words and brings each one back at the right moment.
Can I print this list or save it as a PDF?: Yes. The “Print the list” button at the top of the page opens your device’s print dialog: choose to save as PDF to keep the 100 words and their translation, with nothing else around them.

How KoKo makes words stick

These lists come from KoKo, the app to learn Norwegian vocabulary on iPhone.