SHARE
COPY LINK
For members

NORWEGIAN WORD OF THE DAY

Norwegian expression of the day: Gi jernet

In Norwegian, you're not doing something properly unless you're giving the iron.

Norwegian word of the day.
When you need to dig in and give it your all, its time to give it your all. Caption Photo by Francesco Ungaro on Unsplash / Nicolas Raymond/FlickR

Why do I need to know gi jernet?

Because if someone shouts that you should ‘give the iron’, it’s not code for them demanding that you iron their shirt or punch someone in the face.

What does it mean?

Gi jernet literally translates to ‘give the iron’, which sounds a little Viking. 

Norwegians use gi jernet when they want to rile each other up before a big effort.

Gi jernet is like saying ‘let’s give it our all’, like when long-distance runners sprint the last part of a race. Gi jernet means spare no energy, go flat battery.

While all of this ticks the boxes of the mighty Vikings, they had little to do with this expression. Jernet is (sadly) not a referral to a deadly iron sword, but a metaphor for the gas pedal in a car.

Gi jernet is similar to saying ‘hit the gas’ in English, only that it can be used in lots of other settings than while driving.

A football coach might shout gi jernet, gutta! (give the iron, lads!) before a big game. Your co-worker might exclaim, nå gir vi jernet, dere! (let’s give the iron, guys!) before a big team presentation.

A Norwegian dad dreaming of his kid becoming a professional cross-country ski athlete, might roar nå gir vi jernet, gutten min! (let’s give the iron, my boy!) before a Sunday ski trip.

Use it like this

Kom igjen, gi jernet, nå. Det er ikke langt igjen. – Come on, give it all you have now. There’s not far left.
 
Hun er god, hun gir alltid jernet og står på til jobben er gjort. – She’s good, she always gives her best effort and keeps on until the job is done.
 
Synonyms
Gi full gass – step on it
 

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.
For members

NORWEGIAN WORD OF THE DAY

Norwegian word of the day: Hetebølge

Today's word hasn't always been associated with Norway, but instances have become increasingly common in recent years.

Norwegian word of the day: Hetebølge

What does it mean?

Hetebølge is the Norwegian word for a heatwave, and is a simple compound of the word for heat (hete) and the word for wave (bølge).

This word isn’t the most common for heat. Instead, the word varme is used when referring to heat. You would use varme in other compounds, such as a heat pump (varmepumpe).

Heatwaves, for obvious reasons, haven’t always been associated with Norway. Still, the country can see prolonged periods of 25c or 30c plus days.

In the summer, the warmest part of Norway is usually a village called Nesbyn, which holds the national heat record (varmerekord) as a temperature of 35.6c was recorded in 1970. The area’s unique microclimate means that it has also gotten as cold as -38c in the past.

Heatwaves will, unfortunately, become more common in Norway due to global warming. Even if Norway doesn’t experience super common heatwaves, plenty of Norwegians will feel the heat on the continent as they typically travel to the Mediterranean, or Syden, as Norwegians call it, every summer.

Use it like this

Jeg lurer på om det blir hetebølge i Norge i sommer.

I wonder if there will be a heatwave in Norway this summer.

Det var hetebølge i Hellas i juni med nesten 40 varmegrader.

There was a heatwave in Greece in June, and it was almost 40 degrees.

Det er meldt hetebølge neste uke.

The forecast is predicting a heatwave next week.

SHOW COMMENTS