Norwegian Pronunciation Guide

By Dick Oakes

A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g,
H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p,
Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u, V v,
W w, X x, Y y, Z z, Æ æ, Ø ø, Å å

Norwegian is a North Germanic language and has over five million speakers. It is closely related to Danish and Swedish.

Norwegian vowels can be short or long.

Letters not listed below are pronounced approximately as in English.

A, a	- a as in father; a as in bar
E, e	- e as in let; a as in fray; u as in lettuce
I, i	- i as in pin; also i as in machine
O, o	- o as in note; also oo as in school
U, u	- oo as in foot; u as in duke
Y, y	- i as in pin; i as in machine

Æ, æ	- a as in tap
Ø, ø	- ou as in buoy
Å, å	- o as in note

G, g	- g as in go; silent in words ending in "ig"
H, h	- ch (gutteral kh) as in loch
J, j	- y as in yes
R, r	- slightly rolled

DIPTHONGS:

Ai, ai	- ai as in kaiser
Au, au	- au as in sauerkraut
Ei, ei	- ai as in kaiser
Kj, kj	- a combination of h and ch (of loch)
Ng, ng	- ng as in song
Oi, oi	- oi as in boil
Sj, sj	- sh as in shoe
Ui, ui	- ui as in ruin
Ø, ø	- oi as in boil