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NORWEGIAN WORD OF THE DAY

Norwegian word of the day: Ildsjell 

If you know someone with fire in their soul and who is a pillar of the community, you have a new Norwegian word to describe them.

Norwegian word of the day.
Caption Photo by Francesco Ungaro on Unsplash / Nicolas Raymond/FlickR

What does it mean

The Norwegian word Ildsjell is an interesting one because it has no direct English translation, making it a uniquely Norwegian word in that regard. 

Directly translated, it is a combination of the Norwegian word for fire (ild) and soul (sjell). Put together in English, it means “fire soul”. Another translation of Ildsjell can be interpreted as a driving force. 

An ildsjell describes a person who is passionate about something and has put a lot of energy, passion and determination into something. 

Typically, it refers to passionate causes and those who do a lot of work for the greater good of the community, typically through charity and volunteering work.

Several organisations will have a årets idsjell of the year award, which recognises the commitment and effort of one of its members. 

Use like this

Jan er årets ildsjel. Han gjør så mye for lokalsamfunnet. 

Jan is the “fire soul” of the year. He does so much for the local community.

Annika er en ildsjel. Hun er trener for barnas fotballag, frivillig i Røde Kors og hjelper folk som trenger det.

 Annika is a “fire soul”. She coaches kids’ football, volunteers with the red cross and helps people in need. 

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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.

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