Norwegian Genealogical Word List

This Norwegian Word List contains Norwegian words with their English translations. The words included here are those that you are likely to find in genealogical sources. If the word you are looking for is not on this list, please consult a Norwegian-English dictionary. (See the "Additional Resources" section below.)

Norwegian is a Germanic language like Swedish, Danish, and Icelandic. There are two official dialects in Norway. Prior to 1915 most Norwegian records are in a language closer to written Danish than to modern Norwegian. You may also want to refer to the Danish Genealogical Word List.

Records published after 1915, such as family and local histories, are in modern Norwegian. Most differences between modern and old Norwegian are simply a matter of spelling. Carefully study the section below on spelling. This will help you find the words in this list.

LANGUAGE CHARACTERISTICS
Variant Forms of Words

In Norwegian, as in English, the forms of some words will vary according to how they are used in a sentence. Who—whose—whom or marry—marries— married are examples of words in English with variant forms. The endings of a word in a document may differ from those in this list. For example:

Alphabetical Order
Written Norwegian has three letters not found in the English alphabet: Æ (æ), Ø (ø), and Å (å). In most record sources prior to 1915, Å (å) is written as Aa (aa) and filed at the beginning of the alphabet. Modern Norwegian dictionaries, indexes, the Locality section of the Family History Library Catalog, and this word list use the following alphabetical order:

a b  c  d  e  f  g  h  i  j  k  l  m  n  o  p  q  r  s  t  u  v  w  x  y  z  æ  ø  å

A through C
A

D through F
<u

G through I
G

J through L
J

januar                              January jeg                                    I jeger                                 light infantry soldier, hunter jomfru                               damsel, Miss, virgin jordbruk                            farming jordet                                burial jordmor                             midwife jordpåkastelse                  ceremony of sprinkling earth on the coffin jul                                     Christmas juli                                    July juni                                   June jurist                                  lawyer 

K

kallet                               named kanskje                             maybe, perhaps karet                                 coach kart                                   map katolsk                              Catholic kavaleri                            cavalry kemmer                            peddler kikhoste                            whooping cough kirke                                 church kirkebok                           parish register kirkegård                          cemetery, churchyard kirkeværge                       church warden kiste                                  chest, coffin kjent                                 known kjønn                                sex kjøpe                                buy kjøpmann                         merchant klokker                             sexton, parish clerk, bell ringer, deacon kloster                              convent, monastery kokarde                            insignia kolikk                               colic kommune                        municipality, township kone                                wife konfirmasjon                    confirmation konge                               king kongedømme                   kingdom kongelig                           royal kontor                              office kopper                             smallpox, copper kort                                  short, card kort                                  register card index krampe                            convulsions, spasm kreft                                 cancer krig                                  war ku                                    cow kun                                  only kunngjøre                        declare kunnskap                         knowledge kusine                              cousin (female) kusk                                 coachman, teamster kveg                                cattle kvele                               choke kvell                                evening kvinne                             woman kvinnekjønn                     female kyllinger                          chickens kår                                   support received after giving one’s estate to another kårkone                           woman who receives kår kårmann                         man who receives kår 

L

la                                    let, allow lagrettemann                   court member land                                 country landsby                            village langfredag                      Good Friday laugverge                       widow’s guardian or spokesman legd                                welfare, military levying district legdslem                         welfare recipient leie                                  hire, rent leier                                 tenant leilending                        leaseholder lejermål                           illicit and punishable intercourse lenge                               long lensmann                        sheriff lese                                  read leve                                  live levende                            live, living lignende                           same, alike, similar lik                                     corpse, alike likeledes                          also, as well lille                                  small lite (litt)                            little liten                                 little, small liv                                    life los                                   pilot (ship) losjerende                       boarder, lodger lov                                   law lovlig                               legal lungebetendelse             pneumonia luteraner                         Lutheran lysning                            post banns lysninger                         banns læregutt                          apprentice lærer                               teacher (male) lærerinne                        teacher (female) lærling                            apprentice løpenummer                   serial number lørdag                             Saturday løsaktig                           loose or immoral woman løsarbeider                     day laborer 

M through O
M

magesyke                        diarrhea, stomach ailment mai                                   May maler                                painter mandag                            Monday mange                              many mann                                man, husband mannkjønn                       male mark                                 field mars                                 March matrikkel                          land registration matros                              sailor med                                  with medhjelper                      assistant, helper medlem                           member med videre                       (Latin) et cetera, and so on meg                                 me mellom                            middle mellombygning               middle building men                                  but mer                                  more, additional meslinger                        measles messingsmed                   brazier, brass smith mester                              master (of a trade) midlertidig                        temporarily midnatt                            midnight mil metric                        mile (ten kilometers) militær                             military min mine                          (belongs to me) mindre                              lesser minearbeider                   miner minste                               smallest, youngest minutt                               minute modig                               courageous, brave mor                                  mother mord                                murder morfar                              maternal grandfather morgen                            morning mormor                            maternal grandmother motta                                receive murer                               mason musiker                            musician m.v. (Latin)                       See med videre myndig                             of age møbelsnekker                   furniture maker møller                              miller måned                             month 

N

nabo                                neighbor nadverd                            Communion, sacrament natt                                   night navn                                 name nedbrent                          burned down nei                                    no neste                                next, neighbor neste år                            next year nevø                                 nephew ni                                     nine niende                             ninth niese                               niece nitten                               nineteen nittende                           nineteenth nitti                                  ninety nittiende                          ninetieth noen                                some, any nord                                north november                        November nu, nå                              now nulevende                       living null                                  zero nummer                          number ny                                    new nyfødt                              newborn nylig                                lately nyttår                              new year nær                                 near, close næringsvei                      livelihood, trade nå, nu                             now når                                  when, if, reach 

O

'''odel                                birthright or allodial ownership ofte                                  often og                                    and oktober                            October oldebarn                          great-grandchild oldefar                             great-grandfather oldeforeldre                    great-grandparents oldemor                          great-grandmother om                                   if, about omegn                            neighboring places omtrent                           about, almost, nearly omvendelse                    conversion onkel                              uncle onsdag                           Wednesday opp                                 up oppe                               above, upstairs oppfostre                        foster, to rear oppholdsted                   residence opptegnelse                   record ordbok                            dictionary ordfører                          mayor oss                                  us osv. et cetera, and so on over                              over overlevende                  survivors overtredelse                  transgression '''

P through S
P

pagina (Latin)                  page pallask                              sword pantebok                          mortgage record parsell                              plot of land, allotment parykkmaker                    wigmaker penger                             money pensjon                            pension pensjonist                         retired person person                              person pest                                  plague pike (pige)                        girl, maid pikebarn                           female child pikenavn                          maiden name, girl’s name pinse                                Pentecost pleiebarn                         foster child pleiedatter                       foster daughter pleiefar                            foster father pleieforeldre                    foster parents pleiemor                          foster mother pleiesønn                         foster son pottemaker                      potter preke                               preach prest                                minister, priest prestegjeld                       clerical district prestekontor                     parish office prins                                 prince prinsesse                          princess på                                    on, at, upon påske                               Easter 

R

register                            index, register regjering                          government regning                            bill regnskap                          account reise                                 travel religion                             religion repslager                          rope maker rett                                    court (noun), correct rettferdig                           just, righteous ridder                                knight rik                                     wealthy riktig                                 correct rundt                                 around rytter                                 cavalryman rådmann                           councilman 

S

'''sa                                     said, stated sabbat                               Sabbath sakrament                         sacrament salig                                  deceased, holy, blessed salmaker                           saddler samfunn                            society samleie                             intercourse samme                              same samme dag                       the same day sammen                            together sammesteds                      in the same place samtlige                            all samtykke                           consent sau                                    sheep seg                                    oneself seks                                   six seksten                              sixteen sekstende                          sixteenth seksti                                 sixty sekstiende                         sixtieth selv                                   self selveier                             owner, freeholder selvmord                           suicide senere                               later seng                                  bed sengeliggende                  bedridden separeret                          separated september                        September side                                  page, side sidehus                             side house siden                                since, later sin, sitt, sine                     his, hers, its sinnsvak                           insane, retarded sinnsyk                             mentally ill siste                                  last, latter siste olje                           last rites sjette                                sixth sju (syv)                            seven sjuende (syvende)            seventh sjø                                    sea, lake sjømann                           sailor, seaman skaberak                          elaborate horse blanket skal                                  shall, must skarlagensfeber               scarlet fever skatt                                 tax skibsfører                         ship’s captain skifte                                probate skifteprotokoll                  probate record book skifteretten                       probate court skilsmisse                         divorce skilt                                  divorced skiløper                            infantry soldier on skis, skier skjedde                            happened skjøte                               deed (property) skog                                 forest skole                                school skomaker                         shoemaker skredder                           tailor skriver                              scribe skulle                               should slag                                  strike, blow, stroke slakter                              butcher slekt                                 relatives, family, lineage slektninger                       relatives slektsforskning                 genealogy slektshistorie                    family history, lineage books slektsvåpen                      coat of arms slå                                    ihjel kill smed                                smith snart                                 soon snekker                            cabinetmaker, carpenter sogn                                 parish soldat                               soldier sorenskriver                     magistrate, probate judge sort                                   black spebarn                            infant, baby spillemann                       musician, fiddler stabbur                             storehouse on pillars stamtavle                          descendancy chart stand                                 social position stebarn                              stepchild stebror                               stepbrother sted                                    place stedatter                             stepdaughter stefar                                  stepfather steinhogger                        stonecutter stemor                                stepmother stesønn                               stepson stilling                                status, position, office stor                                     large straff                                   punishment straks                                  right away, immediately stum                                   mute (can’t speak) summa                               (Latin) totals summarisk                         statistical, summary svak                                   weak svakhet                              weakness svart                                  black svenn                                 journeyman svensk                               Swedish Sverige                             Sweden svigerdatter                      daughter-in-law svigerfar                            father-in-law svigerinne                         sister-in-law svigermor                         mother-in-law svigersønn                       son-in-law svoger                             brother-in-law svulst                               tumor syd                                  south sydlig                              southern syerske                           seamstress syk                                  sick sykdom                           disease sypike                             seamstress sytten                              seventeen syttende                          seventeenth sytti                                 seventy syttiende                         seventieth syv (sju)                           seven syvende (sjuende)           seventh sølv                                 silver søndag                            Sunday sønn                                son sønnedatter                     son’s daughter sønnesøn                         son’s son sør                                  south søsken                            siblings søster                              sister søstersønn                      sister’s son så saw (see),                   so, if so, sow (seed) sådan                              such således                           thus, in this or that '''

T through V
 T 

'''tak                                   roof takk                                  thank you takksigelse                       thanksgiving tall                                   number, count tambur                             drummer (soldier) tante                                aunt testamente                       last will ti                                       ten tid                                     time tidlig                                 early tidsperiode                       period of time tidsskrift                            periodical tiende                               tenth, tithing tigger                               beggar til                                      to, until, for tillatelse                           dispensation, permission time                                 hour tippoldefar                       great-great-grandfather tippoldemor                     great-great-grandmother tirsdag                              Tuesday tittel                                  title tjene                                 serve, work tjeneste                            service tjenestedreng                   servant, employee, male tjenestepige                     servant, employee, female tjue (tyve)                         twenty tjueannen                         twenty-second tjueen                               twenty-one tjuefem                             twenty-five tjuefire                              twenty-four tjuefjerde                          twenty-fourth tjueførste                          twenty-first tjuende (tyvende)             twentieth tjueni(ende)                      twenty-nine (twenty-ninth) tjueseks                            twenty-six tjuesjette                          twenty-sixth tjuesju(ende)                    twenty-seven(th) tjuetemte                          twenty-fifth tjueto                                twenty-two tjuetre(dje)                        twenty-three (twenty-third) tjueåtte(nde)                     twenty-eight (twenty-eighth) to                                      two tohundre                           two hundred tollbetjent                         customs officer tolv                                   twelve tolvte                                twelfth torsdag                             Thursday tre                                     three tredevte (trettiende)          thirtieth tredje                                third tredve (tretti)                     thirty tretten(de)                         thirteen (thirteenth) trettien(de)                        thirty-one (thirty-first) trettiførste                         thirty-first trolovelse                         engagement trolovet                             engaged trosbekjennelse                creed trossamfunn                      religion tuberkulose                      consumption, tuberculosis tukthus                             prison tusen(de)                          thousand(th) tvangsarbeide                  hard labor, compulsory labor tvilling                              twin tyfus                                 typhoid fever tysk                                  German Tyskland                          Germany tyv                                    thief tyve (tjue)                         twenty tyvende (tjvende)             twentieth tæring                              tuberculosis tømmermann                   carpenter, framer, ship’s carpenter tønne                               barrel '''

U

udøpt                              unbaptized uekte                               illegitimate ugift                                 unmarried uke                                  week ukjent                              unknown, foreign ulovlig                             illegal ulykke                              accident umoralsk                         immoral umyndig                          under legal age under                               under, below underholde                      support underskrevne                   the undersigned underskrift                        signature undertegnet                     signed ung                                  young ungkarl                            bachelor unntatt                             except uskyldig                           innocent ussel                                miserable, poor usømmelig                       indecent utdrag                              extract uten                                 without utenfor                             outside of utfattog                            destitute, penniless utflyttning                        moving out utføre                               perform, do utgi                                  publish uti                                    at, in utlagt                               named as, alleged utlandet                           foreign country utukt                                lechery, fornication utvandre                          emigrate utvandrer                         emigrant utvandring                       emigration 

V

vaccinerede                    vaccination vaksinert                          vaccination, vaccinated vanfør                              crippled, disabled vanskapt                          deformed, handicapped var                                   was, were vattersot                           dropsy ved                                   at, by vedkommende                 person concerned ved siden av                     next to velstand                           prosperity venn                                 friend venstre                             left (side) verge                                guardian verneplikt                         military duty vertshus                            inn vest                                  west vever                                weaver vielse                                marriage, wedding vielsesattest                      marriage certificate viet                                    married vitne                                  witness vitnesbyrd                          testimony vogn                                  carriage, wagon, vehicle vognmann                         coachman voldta                                rape værdig                               worthy være                                  be vår                                     our våren                                 in the spring   

Y through Å
 Y 

yngre                               younger yngst                                 youngest yrke                                  profession   

Æ

ærbødig                           respectful ære                                   honor ærlig                                 honest ættegransking                   genealogy 

Ø

øde                                  desolate, waste ødelegge                          destroy ødemark                           wasteland, wilderness ønske                                wish, desire, want øre                                    ear øst                                     east øvre                                  upper øy                                      island øye, øie                             eye 

Å

ånd                                   spirit åndsvak                            mentally deficient år                                      year århundre                           century årlig                                  annual, yearly årsak                                 cause, reason åsted                                 where event took place (place of event) åtte                                   eight åttende                             eighth åtti                                    eighty åttiede                              eightieth   

Spelling
Spelling was not standardized when most early records were made. The following spelling variations are common:

Examples:

"gjørtler" spelled as "giørtler" "mann" spelled as "mand" "kvinne" spelled as "quinde"

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
This word list includes only words most commonly found in genealogical sources. For further help, use a Norwegian-English dictionary. Several Norwegian-English dictionaries are available at the Family History Library. These are in the Scandinavian collection. Their call numbers begin with 439.82321. Family History Centers can obtain the following dictionaries on microfilm:

Scavenius, H. Glydendals Ordbøker; Norsk-Engelsk [Gyldendal’s Dictionaries; Norwegian-English]. Oslo, Norway: Gyldendal Norsk Forlag, 1945. (FHL film 1,224,705, item 4).

cavenius, H. Glydendals Ordbøker; Engelsk-Norsk [Glydendal’s Dictionaries; English-Norwegian]. Oslo, Norway: Gyldendal Norsk Forlag, 1945. (FHL film 1,224,705, item 3). Additional dictionaries are listed in the Subject section of the Family History Library Catalog under NORWEGIAN LANGUAGE - DICTIONARIES and in the Locality section under NORWAY - LANGUAGE AND LANGUAGES.

KEY WORDS
In order to find and use specific types of Norwegian records, you will need to know some key words in Norwegian. This section lists key genealogical terms in English and the Norwegian words with the same or similar meanings.

For example, in the first column you will find the English word marriage. In the second column you will find Norwegian words with meanings such as marry, marriage, wedding, wedlock, unite, legitimate, joined, and other words used in Norwegian records to indicate marriage.