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NORWEGIAN WORD OF THE DAY

Norwegian expression of the day: Sommerfugler i magen

Eagerly anticipating something, but also have some nerves? In that case, you have "summer birds" in your stomach. 

Norwegian word of the day
This is the Norwegian equivalent of having butterflies in your stomach. Caption Photo by Francesco Ungaro on Unsplash / Nicolas Raymond/FlickR

What does it mean? 

Very literally, sommerfugler i magen means “summer birds in the stomach”. What it really means is “butterflies in your stomach”. Having butterflies in your stomach is a fairly common expression in English. 

Sommerfugler in isolation is an example of Norwegian giving animals fairly literal names. 

Other entertaining – and very literal – Norwegian animal names include nebbdyr or “beaked animal” for a ducked bull platypus and flaggermus or “flapping mouse” for a bat. You can read more about animals with very literal Norwegian names here

Norwegians use butterflies in the stomach in a similar way to most other languages, whereby it’s used to describe a mix of nervousness and excitement. So, for example, you might feel butterflies in your stomach on the first day of a new job. 

A similar sensation, although one which describes feeling more anxious or dreading something, would be gruer meg. 

Use it like this: 

Hver gang jeg ser Simon får jeg sommerfugler I magen.

(Everytime I see Simon I get butterflies in my stomach)

Jeg skal hoppe i fallskjerm I morgen, jeg har skikkelig sommerfugler i magen, men gleder meg!

(I am skydiving tomorrow. I have lots of butterflies in my stomach, but I am excited!)

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NORWEGIAN WORD OF THE DAY

Norwegian word of the day: Næpskrell

Norway is host to many different regional dialects. Unfortunately, if someone from Nordland calls you a 'næpskrell', you've likely not endeared yourself to them. 

Norwegian word of the day: Næpskrell

What does it mean? 

Næpskrell is a slang word from the Nordland dialect. Næp is taken from the Bokmål (the most common form of written Norwegian), nepeNepe means turnip. 

Therefore, a næpskrell refers to a turnip peeling, at least figuratively. This is because you will typically refer to someone as a næpskrell. 

This isn’t a particularly nice thing to call someone or to be called. This is because you are essentially calling someone an idiot or beyond useless. 

That is because, just as hardy, useful, and versatile turnips are, the skins are pretty useless, which is why this piece of slang is typically used to insult someone. 

Northern Norwegians are normally known for their more direct and frank approach. This slang should help prove that they don’t mince their words. 

Slang words such as næpskrell also highlight Norway’s rich linguistic variety. Due to its geographic diversity, distinct regional dialects have emerged nationwide. 

Throughout its history, Norway has been in union with Sweden and Denmark. The influence of Danish and Swedish can be felt on the language today, with the three languages considered mutually intelligible.

However, there was a point when the influence of Danish was considered too prevalent. This led to a linguist named Ivar Aasen creating a written standard based on regional dialects, as he felt this would be closer to Norwegian than Danish. 

In 1853, he published a written standard based on these dialects and called it Landsmål. This would later become what is known as what is known as Nynorsk today. 

This happened around the same time Riksmål was formed, another attempt to pivot the language from Danish towards Norwegian. Riksmål would become Bokmål, the dominant form of written Norwegian. Both would receive status as official languages.

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