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NORWEGIAN WORD OF THE DAY

Norwegian word of the day: Innlevelse 

If you are really putting your soul into a performance, then our latest Norwegian word of the day should spring to mind. 

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

What does innlevelse mean? 

Innlevelse is a compound of the two Norwegian words inn and leve. Inn (as you have probably guessed) means in, and leve meaning living. 

Put together, they directly translate to ‘living into’. The word doesn’t really have a direct English translation, as living into something means putting one’s soul into something to bring it to life. 

For example, it would be high praise to say an actor is living into their latest role, or a singer is doing the same with their voice. 

However, this isn’t the only instance. Away from the performing arts, you could be said to be ‘living into’ a book when reading to children. This can be done by reading with emphasis or giving the characters their own unique voices to capture the child’s imagination and bring the story to life. 

It can also apply to speeches when the orator in question is doing a good job of conveying the importance of their message to the audience. 

Living into can be swapped out for other words like “passionately” or “emphatically”. 

Use it like this: 

Jeg så musikalen Matilda på Folketeateret i går. Skuespillerne hadde en helt fantastisk innlevelse. 

I saw Matilda the Musical at the Folketheatre yesterday. The actors had an amazing scene presence (innlevelse). 

Talen ble gitt med stor innlevelse.

The speech was given with great passion / innlevelse. 

Hun danser med en utrolig innlevelse.

She dances with an amazing passion/ innlevelse.

Jenta framførte teksten med stor innlevelse.

The girl performed the text with great passion/ innlevelse.

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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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