one step at a time

24 || langblr || lithuanian (native) english (C1) norwegian (B?)

[world-by-word]

i'm an american whose grandparents were born in lithuania, and in my family my generation doesn't speak any lithuanian. i've been studying for a couple years, and it's great to find your blog! there aren't a lot of lithuanian language resources out there

Hi! Happy to hear that my posts are useful!

[an-american-in-norway]

ta noe med en klype salt

se på noe med skepsis, med kritisk sans (og ikke altfor stort alvor) look at something with skepticism, with a critical sense (and not too much seriousness), take it with a grain of salt

Når eiendomsmeglerne gir inntrykk av at prisene skal stige, må dere ta dem med en klype salt. When the real estate agents give the impression that prices will rise, you must take them with a grain of salt.

Uttrykket kan føres tilbake til latin 'cum grano salis' - 'med et korn salt'. I det ligger at saken ikke må oppfattes bokstavelig, men forstås med kritisk sans eller en god porsjon sunn fornuft. Uttrykket går visstnok tilbake til den romerske forfatteren Plinius den eldre (23/24-79 e.Kr.), som bruker det i sitt store naturvitenskapelige verk Historia naturalis, der det heter: 'addito grano salis' - 'med tilsetning av et salt korn. Når ordet salt blir brukt i dette uttrykket, har det sammenheng med at salt i tidligere tid ofte ble brukt om visdom og kritisk sans.

The expression can be traced back to Latin 'cum grano salis' - 'with a grain of salt.' In it lies the fact that the matter must not be taken literally, but understood with a critical sense or a good portion of common sense. The expression supposedly goes back to the Roman writer Pliny the Elder (23/24-79 AD), who uses it in his great natural science work Historia naturalis, where it says: 'addito grano salis' - 'with the addition of a salt grain.' When the word salt is used in this expression, it is connected with the fact that in the past salt was often used for wisdom and critical sense.

*Source: Prikken over i-en og andre uttryker av Kjell Ivar Vannebo

[zoryanavesna]

Brutally Honest Rules for Language Learners

If you can`t make your own examples to a grammar rule, you don`t know this grammar rule.

Learning words without context is almost useless. You may repeat something like “road” or “deeply” millions of times and still forgetting them in the most important situations. Memorize phrases instead. e. g. “I crossed the road” and “to be deeply ashamed”.

Prioritize. There are almost 500 000 words in the English language and even more in some non-European languages. If you decide to learn 5 words a day, you`ll need a shitload of time to cover at least the third of the whole vocabulary. So, know precisely what words are the most frequent and the most important for you personally.

No, you won`t learn a language by listening to songs ONLY.

If your level of knowledge is Intermediate or higher, you don`t need the fucking subtitles. Well, in the beginning, you will have a terrible headache and doubts about the whole thing, but every video will be making you a little better. You`ll slowly get used to the accents and intonation. It`ll stop to sound like the endless phrase without any pauses. Just give yourself some time.

Translation from the native language to the target language is useless (if you`re not going to become an interpreter). Write the short texts in your target language instead.

Forget about boring topics from the textbooks. Argue with somebody in the comment section under your fav YouTube videos. Try to persuade me that the Earth is flat (I know it`s insane, but you`ll remember it much better than writing the essay “The current problems of ecology”). Rewrite your own posts. Write down 15 phrases do describe Donald Trump. I mean… Everything is better than a standard way of learning that doesn`t express your inner self.

Check the pronunciation of ALL the words. ALL the time. Your intuition is a great tool. However, it doesn`t cure all the irregular cases. Just look at English words “daughter” and “laughter”, “head” and “heat”, “though” and “thought”. They look almost similar but they sound in ABSOLUTELY different ways. There`s a possibility that your target language also has a lot of such cases. Just spend few seconds on looking at the transcriptions. It doesn`t hurt, I promise.

[betomad]

autumn colors in Lofoten Islands, Norway. photo by Josef Wittibschlager

[nordic-language-love]

Tilfeldige Norske Ord og Uttrykk (Mellomnivå/Avansert) Random Norwegian Words and Phrases (Intermediate/Advanced)

å innynde seg (v1) - å gjøre seg likt, å innsmigre seg (to ingratiate oneself)

Jeg vil ikke støtte en president som innynder seg med diktatorer. (I don’t want to support a president who ingratiates himself to dictators)

Måten hun forsøkte å innynde seg hos sjefen var helt ynkelig. (The way she was trying to ingratiate herself to the boss was totally pathetic)

å ha overtaket (uttrykk) - å ha mer styrke eller være bedre i en kamp osv (to have the upper hand)

Gjennom hele kampen hadde vårt lag overtaket. (Throughout the entire match, our team had the upper hand)

Han nektet å innrømme at motstanderen hans hadde overtaket. (He refused to concede that his opponent had the other hand)

å oppheve (v1/v3) - å sette ut av kraft (to repeal)

Norges hytteforbud ble opphevet 20. april. (Norway’s cabin ban was repealed on the 20th of April)

Mange av de omstridte tiltakene ble opphevet etter mye opprør. (Many of the controversial measures were repealed after much uproar)

framtredende (adj) - framstående, kjent (prominent)

Flere framtredende ernæringseksperter var på konferansen. (Many prominent nutrition experts were at the conference)

Hun er en framtredende politikker og forkjemper for menneskerettigheter. (She’s a prominent politician and champion of human rights)

troverdig (adj) - verdig til tillit (credible, believable)

Med disse nye konsollene vil spillere få en mer troverdige spillopplevelse enn før. (With these new consoles, gamers will get a more believable gaming experience than before)

Jeg tror ikke den avisa er en troverdig kilde. (I don’t think that newspaper’s a credible source)

etter hensikten (uttrykk) - som det hadde blitt håpet (as intended)

Studien var for liten til å bevise at vaksinen virket etter hensikten. (The study was too small to prove that the vaccine worked as intended)

Planen fungerte ikke helt etter hensikten, men den var nok effektiv. (The plan didn’t work quite as intended, but it was still effective)

til punkt og prikke (uttrykk) - nøyaktig (to the T)

Jeg forstår ikke hvorfor det smaker så jævlig - jeg fulgte oppskriften til punkt og prikke! (I don’t understand why it tastes so horrible - I followed the recipe to the T!)

Jeg tror de fleste kristenene ikke følger bibelen til punkt og prikke. (I think most Christians don’t follow the Bible to the T)

det gjenstår å se (v) - vi får se om det (remains to be seen)

Om denne nye kunnskapen også kan utnyttes til ny medikamentell behandling av kreft, gjenstår å se. (Whether this new knowledge can also be used for new medical treatment of cancer remains to be seen)

Det gjenstår å se om folk egentlig bruker appen. (It remains to be seen whether people will actually use the app)

trinnvis (adj/adv) - gradvis, steg for steg (step by step, incrementally)

Utviklingen av appen går trinnvis, og vi jobber med å kunne lansere det før påske. (The development of the app is going step by step, and we’re working to be able to launch it before Easter)

Det nye systemet blir trinnvis innført over hele landet. (The new system will gradually be rolled out over the whole country)

sulteforet på (adj) - hå måtte gå uten noe lenge og savne det (starved)

Alt er nok litt sulteforet på sosialt samvær. (Everyone’s a bit starved for social interaction)

Han hadde lyst til å skrive den slags boka han selv hadde vært sulteforet på som barn. (He wanted to write the kind of book he himself had been starved of as a child)

å presisere (v2) - gjøre noe klart (clarify)

Hun presiserte at hun brukte kun egg fra frittgående høner. (She clarified that she only used eggs from free range hens)

Bonden sa de fleste ga seg etter kort tid i åkeren, men han presiserte at noen var flinke og jobbet hardt. (The farmer said most people gave up after a short time working the field, but he clarified that some were good at their job and worked hard)

skjenkestopp (m/n) - når barer eller puber slutter å servere drikker (last orders)

Det er skjenkestopp klokka 23. (Last orders are 11pm)

Snart er det skjenkestopp - vil du ha en øl til eller skal vi stikke? (It’s last orders soon - do you want another beer or shall we head off?)

Vær snill og fortell meg hvis jeg har gjort noen feil!

[nordic-language-love]

Litteratur På Norsk Literature In Norwegian

litteratur (nm) - literature bestselger (nm) - bestseller forfatter (nm) - author skribent (nm) - writer leser (nm)  - reader kritiker (nm) - critic

bok (nm/f) - book roman (nm) - novel novelle (nm/f) - novella sjanger (nm) - genre barnebok (nm/f) - children’s book ungdomsbok (nm/f) - young adult skjønnlitteratur (nm) - fiction krim (nm) - crime spenning (nm) - thriller biografi (nm) - biography selvbiografi (nm) - autobiography memoarer (nm) - memoir tegneserie (nm) - comic book episk diktning (nm) - epic fiction lyrikk (nm) - poetry poesibok (nm/f) - poetry book lydbok (nm/f) - audiobook e-bok (nm/f) - e-book

historie (nm/f) - story fortelling (nm/f) - tale myte (nm) - myth serie (nm) - series tittel (nm) - title kapittel (nnt) - chapter side (nm/f) - page sitat (nnt) - quote dialog (nm) - dialogue plott (nnt) - plot dikt (nnt) - poem kritikk (nm) - criticism

person (nm) - character, person karakter (nm) - character hovedperson (nm) - main character, protagonist biperson (nm) - side character motstander (nm) - antagonist helt (nm) - hero skurk (nm) - villain karakteristikk (nm) - characteristic egenskap (nnt) - characteristic (personality)

å anbefale (v2) - to recommend å anmelde (v2) - to review å beskrive (v) - to describe å illustrere (v2) - to illustrate å kritisere (v2) - to criticise å lese (v2) - to read å redigere (v2) - to edit å rime (v1/v2) - to rhyme å skildre (v1) - to portray å skrive (v) - to write

Hvis jeg har gjort noen feil, vær så snill å fortelle meg!

[utwo]

Beautiful N O R W A Y by:

© Robin Uthe

[adito-lang]

Random body-related verbs (legs/feet 👣)

å liste seg – to sneak/to tiptoe – Jeg lister meg til trappa.

å reise seg – to get up (from sitting) – Mormor reiser seg sakte og gikk ut. 

å sette seg på huk – to crouch – Jeg må sette meg på huk for å få på meg støvlene. 

å stå vendt mot – to stand facing – Han fortsetter å stå vendt mot TV-en.

å snuble – to trip – Han subler på fortauet. 

å sparke – to kick – Jeg sparker vekk en rosa truse.

å spurte – to sprint – Broren hans spurter opp på plenen. 

å ta et steg – to take a step – Jeg tok et steg mot ham.

[norwegiatlas]

NORWEGIAN WORD OF THE DAY

å utsette

(imp.) utsett!

(pres.) utsetter

(past) utsatte

(pres. perf.) har utsatt

(pres. part) utsettende

(past part. sing.) utsatt

(past. part. plur./def.) utsatte

verb to delay, postpone

Jeg må utsette timen min hos legen. / I have to postpone my appointent with the doctor.

[world-by-word]

I am currently planning out the Great Norwegian Revision of 2022 and I feel like I'm overly ambitious in thinking I can finish revising old stuff by the end of July, just in time for my trip to Norway, but an attempt will be made 😤

[world-by-word]

So, I have sort of given up on this project due to unexpected change in study/work related matters and simply not having the time (or the energy) to do this...

I am still doing a revision, it's just going a lot slower. On the bright side, I have started reading Den lille prinsen by Antoine de Saint-Exupery!

[adito-lang]

Preposisjoner i tidsuttrykk ⌛️📅

Just some charts/diagrams/notes I made while studying Norwegian temporal prepositions. 

When something happened in the past ➡️ for … siden

When something will happen in the future ➡️ om / til 

How long something is lasting ➡️ i / på / siden

How long it takes to do/complete something ➡️ på

Sorry, no charts for…

før (before) - før jul (before Christmas)

etter (after) - etter ferien (after the holidays)

fra … til … (from … to …) - fra fem til sju (from five to seven)

i løpet av (during) - i løpet av studiene (during the studies)

under (during - *ongoing through or during the time something lasts*) - under krigen (during the war)

innen (by, within) - innen fredag (by Friday)

omkring (about, around) - omkring ti minutter (about ten minutes)

omtrent (approximately) - omtrent 20 barn (approximately 20 children)

And here’s a summary I made… I also included the matching German prepositions (in blue) and German translation of the example sentences.

Time adverbials in Norwegian-Germam-English - comparison

In Norwegian, adverbials (which tell you when, where, how, or why something is done) can be first or last in a sentence. In German, adverbials coming first is also not a problem. If the adverbial is first, in both Norwegian and German the verb will come second. In English, the subject still comes before the verb:

Nå skinner sola i Oslo. / I Oslo skinner sola nå.

Jetzt scheint die Sonne in Oslo. / In Oslo scheint jetzt die Sonne.

Now the sun is shining in Oslo. / In Oslo the sun is shining now.

However, in a sentence where both time and place are mentioned together after the verb in Norwegian, place is usually before time in the sentence (like in English). In German, time comes before place.

Sola skinner i Oslo nå.

Die Sonne scheint jetzt in Oslo.

The sun is shining in Oslo now.

[world-by-word]

I am currently planning out the Great Norwegian Revision of 2022 and I feel like I'm overly ambitious in thinking I can finish revising old stuff by the end of July, just in time for my trip to Norway, but an attempt will be made 😤

[an-american-in-norway]

Unnskyld!

Unnskyld can be used in polite requests. It may also be used as an opening gambit when talking to someone. Essentially, you're apologising for inconveniencing someone, just as in the English excuse me:

Unnskyld, er det mulig å... Excuse me, is it possible to... Unnskyld, kan du hjelpe meg med dette skjemaet? Excuse me, can you help me with this form?

This is also the common way of apologising or saying sorry, such as when you bump into someone or spill your coffee in someone's lap.

Occasionally, you may hear an excuse that sounds a lot like ''Omfladls!'' This is a somewhat truncated version of Om forlatelse! (I beg your pardon!) and while it used to be very common, it may now be about to become obsolete.

Beklager!

This can be used in the same wasy as Unnskyld!, and may be very slightly more formal. When you apologise for your actions or attitudes, Beklager is very common:

Beklager at jeg er sen! I'm sorry I'm late! Beklager at jeg glemte å ringe deg. Sorry I forgot to call you.

When someone has accidentally nudged you or spilt coffee on you, the answers are the same, regardless of whether they say Unnskyld, Beklager, or Om forlatelse. Common responses are:

Det er i orden. That's all right. Det er ok. That's ok. Det går bra/fint. That's fine.

Source: Exploring Norwegian Grammar by Kirsti Mac Donald and Marianne MacDonald

[nordic-language-love]

being upper intermediate in a language is rewording sentences so you don’t have to reveal you don’t know how to say a very simple thing that you feel like you should’ve learned when you were a beginner and at this point you’re too embarrassed to ask

[world-by-word]

Jeg har bare litt over ett måned til av studiene mine (og det gjør meg svært nervøs haha). Når jeg har det fri fra universitetet, vil jeg fortsette med norsk, jeg lover 😥

[world-by-word]

Jeg er tilbake!

[world-by-word]

Jeg har bare litt over ett måned til av studiene mine (og det gjør meg svært nervøs haha). Når jeg har det fri fra universitetet, vil jeg fortsette med norsk, jeg lover 😥

[foxmouth]

Norway; 2014 | by Atle Rønningen