This is the second chapter of my new book “How to be Norwegian“, read more about the book here.

Norwegians are well-known for their excellent English skills. One reason for this is that English-language movies and television shows are never dubbed, a fact Norwegians proudly point out. They often ask, “Why do other countries dub American shows?” and then quickly add, “We speak such good English because we never dub anything.” You can almost hear the pride in their voices at this point.

The second reason is more practical. With a language spoken by only 5.5 million people, roughly the equivalent of half a neighborhood in Mumbai, Norwegians must master an international language to travel, study abroad, and quite frankly, survive in a world that exists outside Norway’s borders.

That said, Norwegians typically have a noticeable accent when speaking English. I can proudly say I can spot a Norwegian speaking English from a mile away. They also often use quirky, Norwegian-inspired phrases, a tendency that increases in direct proportion to the amount of alcohol in their bloodstream.

One of the most famous examples comes from rally driver Petter Solberg, who once said in English, “It’s not the fart that kills you; it’s the smell.” Before you jump to conclusions about his meaning, let me explain. In Norwegian, fart means “speed,” and smell means “crash.” What he was trying to say was that in racing, it’s not the speed that kills you, it’s the crash.

Another humorous quirk is Norwegians’ use of the word ass as slang. For instance, “Det var en kul fest, ass” translates to “That was a cool party, man.” Now imagine the ice-breaking potential when a Norwegian guy casually says something like, “She was great, ass.”

A sign that Norwegians are fluent, but still not native speakers of English, is their loose use of swear words, which for some, have practically become Norwegian words. For example, the F word, written føkk in Norwegian, which is used on television, even though its English counterpart would not be allowed on American or British TV.

Norwegian names can also be entertaining in English. Male names include Bård (pronounced “Bored”), Gaute (pronounced “Goat”), and the truly unique Odd and Even. And the worst of all, Simen. Female names can be just as intriguing because they are a challenge to pronounce. Examples include Ingeborg, Øyvor and Gry.

Lastly, a growing trend among Norwegian teenagers is to speak English casually, often mimicking the dialogues they hear on YouTube, TikTok, video games, and memes. This phenomenon irritates many older Norwegians, whose kids answer with phrases like, “Chill, bro.”