Differences between Norwegian Bokmål and Standard Danish

'''[[Danish (language)|Danish]] and Norwegian [[Bokmål]]''' (the most common standard form of written [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]]) are very similar [[language]]s, but differences between them do exist. The languages are [[mutually intelligible]], with the primary differences being in pronunciation and in the sound system as a whole. ==Mutual intelligibility== Generally, speakers of the three largest [[Scandinavian languages]] (Danish, Norwegian and [[Swedish language|Swedish]]) can read each others' languages without great difficulty. This holds especially true of Danish and Norwegian. The primary obstacles to mutual comprehension are differences in pronunciation. Danish speakers generally do not understand Norwegian as well as the extremely similar written norms would lead one to expect. Many Norwegians - especially in northern and western Norway - also have problems understanding Danish, but according to a recent scientific investigation Norwegians are better at understanding both Danish and Swedish than Danes and Swedes are at understanding Norwegian. Nonetheless, Danish is widely reported to be the most incomprehensible language of the three. In general, Danes and Norwegians will fluently understand the other language with only a little training. ==History== {{Main|Norwegian language struggle}} In [[Denmark–Norway|the Kingdom of Denmark–Norway]] (1536–1814), the [[official language]] was Danish. The urban Norwegian upper class spoke [[Dano-Norwegian]], a form of Danish with Norwegian pronunciation and other minor local differences. After the two countries separated, Danish remained the official language of Norway, and remained largely unchanged until language reforms in the early 20th century led to the standardization of forms more similar to the Norwegian urban and rural vernaculars. Since 1929, this written standard has been known as [[Bokmål]]. Later attempts to bring it closer to and eventually merge it with the other Norwegian written standard, [[Nynorsk]], constructed on the basis of Norwegian dialects, have failed due to widespread resistance. Instead, the most recent reforms of Bokmål (2005) have included certain Danish-like constructions that had previously been banned. ==Sample== {{col-start}} {{col-break}} Danish text{{ref|sample|1}}: I 1877 forlod Brandes København og bosatte sig i Berlin. Hans politiske synspunkter gjorde dog, at Preussen blev ubehagelig for ham at opholde sig i, og han vendte i 1883 tilbage til København, hvor han blev mødt af en helt ny gruppe af forfattere og tænkere, der var ivrige efter at modtage ham som deres leder. Det vigtigste af hans senere arbejder har været hans værk om William Shakespeare, der blev oversat til engelsk af William Archer og med det samme blev anerkendt. {{col-break}} Norwegian (moderate Bokmål){{ref|sample|1}}: I 1877 forlot Brandes København og bosatte seg i Berlin. Hans politiske synspunkter gjorde imidlertid at det ble ubehagelig for ham å oppholde seg i Preussen, og i 1883 vendte han tilbake til København, der han ble møtt av en helt ny gruppe forfattere og tenkere, som var ivrige etter å motta ham som sin leder. Det viktigste av hans senere arbeider er hans verk om William Shakespeare, som ble oversatt til engelsk av William Archer, og som straks ble anerkjent. {{col-break}} Translation of the Bokmål sample into Danish{{ref|sample|1}}: I 1877 forlod Brandes København og bosatte sig i Berlin. Hans politiske synspunkter gjorde imidlertid at det blev ubehageligt for ham at opholde sig i Preussen, og i 1883 vendte han tilbage til København, hvor han blev mødt af en helt ny gruppe forfattere og tænkere, som var ivrige efter at møde ham som deres leder. Det vigtigste af hans senere arbejder er hans værk om William Shakespeare, som blev oversat til engelsk af William Archer, og som straks blev anerkendt. {{col-end}} English translation: In 1877 [[Georg Brandes|Brandes]] left [[Copenhagen]] and took up residence in [[Berlin]]. However, his political views made [[Prussia]] an uncomfortable place to live in, and in 1883 he returned to Copenhagen, where he was met by a completely new group of writers and thinkers, who were eager to accept him as their leader. The most important of his later works is his work about [[William Shakespeare]], which was translated to English by [[William Archer (critic)|William Archer]] and received recognition immediately. #{{note|sample}} Excerpts from the articles about Danish critic [[Georg Brandes]] from the [http://da.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Georg_Brandes&oldid=661029 Danish Wikipedia, version from May 19, 2006, 09:36] and [http://no.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Georg_Brandes&oldid=746706 Norwegian (bokmål) Wikipedia, version from April 4, 2006, 01:38]. The translation of the Bokmål sample into Danish was created for the purpose of this article. ==Writing system== {{main|Danish and Norwegian alphabet}} {{IPA notice}} Generally, Norwegian orthography is more simplified and regularized and closer to actual pronunciation than Danish. As a rule, the graphic differences between the two languages do not reflect actual differences in pronunciation; while there are significant phonetic and phonological differences, they are rarely expressed in writing. The few exceptions are noted below. *In writing, Danish may employ either the letter ''e'' or the letter ''æ'' to signify the [[short vowel|short]] [[vowel]] [[phoneme]] {{IPA|/ɛ/}}. Norwegian almost always uses ''e''. Example: Danish ''lægge'' (to lay), ''sende'' (to send) vs Norwegian ''legge'', ''sende''. *Danish regularly, although not always, uses the letter combinations ''nd'', ''ld'' instead of the double consonant letters ''nn'', ''ll''. In most cases this isn't [[etymology|etymologically]] justified. In Norwegian, only the etymologically justified spellings occur. Example: Danish ''kende'' (to know, [[Old Norse]] ''kenna''), ''denne'' (this /[[Grammatical gender|common gender]]/, ON [[Grammatical gender|masculine]] [[accusative]] ''þenna'') and ''sende'' (to send, ON ''senda'') vs Norwegian ''kjenne'', ''denne'' (but ''sende''); Danish ''ilde'' (bad, ON ''illa''), ''ville'' (to want, Old Norse ''vilja'') and ''holde'' (to hold, Old Norse ''halda'') vs Norwegian ''ille'', ''ville'' (but ''holde''). *Unlike Norwegian, Danish often uses ''ds'' instead of double ''s''. Example: ''ridse'' (to scratch) but ''visse'' (certain [plural]) vs Norwegian ''risse'', ''visse''. Likewise in some other contexts, Danish ''bedst'' (best), ''sidst'' (last) vs Norwegian ''best'', ''sist''. *Unlike Norwegian, Danish doesn't use double consonants word-finally. Example: Danish ''vis'' can signify both the adjective pronounced {{IPA|/viːˀs/}} (wise) and the adjective pronounced {{IPA|/ves/}} (certain), even though the plural forms of the adjectives, where the consonant occurs medially, are distinguished in writing by means of a double ''s'' in the second word (''vise'' vs ''visse''). In contrast, Norwegian does distinguish between ''vis'' and ''viss'' in the same way as between ''vise'' and ''visse''. *Danish preserves the above rule both before [[inflexion]]al and [[derivation]]al endings, beginning in a consonant, and in ''[[compound (linguistics)|compounding]]''. Norwegian, too, prohibits word-final double consonants before inflexional endings, beginning in a consonant, (unless [[homograph]]y needs to be avoided), but not before derivational endings and in compounding. Example: Danish ''al'' (all /[[Grammatical gender|common gender]]/) - ''alt'' (all /[[Grammatical gender|neuter gender]]/) - ''alle'' (all /[[Grammatical number|plural]]/) - ''altid'' (always, literally "all time"); Norwegian ''all'' - ''alt'' - ''alle'', but ''alltid''. *Norwegian has preserved the spellings ''gj'', ''kj'', and ''skj'' in the beginning of words when followed by ''e'', ''æ'', ''ø'', while modern Danish has simply ''g'', ''k'' and ''sk''. Today, this in part reflects the fact that these words are also pronounced differently in the two languages, see below. Examples: Danish ''gemme'' (keep, hide), ''kær'' (dear), ''skønt'' (although) vs Norwegian ''gjemme'', ''kjær'', ''skjønt''. *A pair of [[diphthong]]s are spelled as ''ej'' and ''øj'' in Danish, but as ''ei'' and ''øy'' in Norwegian. The exact pronunciation of these diphthongs is also somewhat different in the two languages, see below, and the different spellings are phonetically justified at least for the second diphthong. Examples: Danish ''vej'' (way), ''løj'' (lied /[[Grammatical tense|past tense]]/) vs Norwegian ''vei'', ''løy''. *In the [[oblique case]] forms of the 1st and 2nd person pronouns and of [[reflexive]] pronouns, the ''ei''/''ej'' diphthong is spelled ''ig'' in Danish, but ''eg'' in Norwegian: ''mig'', ''dig'', ''sig'' vs ''meg'', ''deg'', ''seg''. *In Danish, the preposition ''af'' "of, from" is spelled with ''f'' (pronounced {{IPA|[a]}} or, in compounds, {{IPA|[ɑʊ̯]}}), whereas Norwegian has ''av'' with ''v'' like Swedish. *In loanwords, Danish generally has tended to partly preserve the spelling of the source language, whereas Norwegian traditionally usually has adapted the spelling to its own rules in order to reflect the expected pronunciation. Examples: Danish ''bureau'' (bureau), ''chauffør'' (chauffeur), ''information'' (information), ''garage'' (garage), ''centrum'' (centre), ''zone'' (zone) vs Norwegian ''byrå'', ''sjåfør'', ''informasjon'', ''garasje'', ''sentrum'', ''sone''. *Traditional Danish punctuation requires that a comma be placed before and after every [[dependent clause]], and although two recent reforms encourage the dropping of a comma ''before'' the [[dependent clause]], the old system is still in general use. In contrast, Norwegian only requires a comma ''after'' the [[dependent clause]]; a comma is placed ''before'' it only if the clause is [[Parenthesis (rhetoric)|parenthetic]] (the same rule as in English). Example sentence: {|class=wikitable ! Danish | ''Jeg ved''''',''' | ''hvordan manden''''',''' | '' (som) du snakker om''''',''' | ''ser ud''. |- ! Norwegian | ''Jeg ve(i)t'' | ''hvordan mannen'' | ''(som) du snakker om''''',''' | ''ser ut.'' |- ! English | ''I know'' | ''what (lit. how) the man'' | ''(that) you're talking about'' | ''looks like.'' |} Note, however, Norwegian ''John, som hadde sett mannen, visste hvordan han så ut'' (John, who had seen the man, knew what he looked like), where the dependent clause is parenthetic. ==Pronunciation and sound system== {{IPA notice}} The difference in [[pronunciation]] between Norwegian and Danish is much more striking than the difference between Norwegian and [[Swedish language|Swedish]]. Although written Norwegian is very similar to Danish, spoken Norwegian more closely resembles Swedish. The Danish pronunciation is typically described as 'softer', which in this case refers mostly to the frequent [[approximant]]s corresponding to Norwegian and historical [[plosive]]s in some positions in the word (especially the pronunciation of the letters ''d'' and ''g''), as well as the realisation of '''r''' as a [[Uvular approximant|uvular]] or even [[pharyngeal approximant]] in Danish as opposed to the Norwegian [[alveolar trill]]s or [[uvular trill]]s/[[Uvular fricative|fricatives]]. It is often jokingly claimed that Danes have an easier time understanding drunk Norwegians than sober ones, as the former often use a more slurred manner of speech that resembles Danish. Also, Danish people make jokes about Norwegians sounding childish, because of their sing-song sounds in their language. Note that in the following comparison of Danish and Norwegian pronunciation, the East Norwegian pronunciation of [[Oslo]] is taken as the norm. In practice, most Norwegians will speak a local dialect in most contexts; furthermore, Bokmål itself is not a spoken standard, and is likely to be pronounced with clearly regional features. The most obvious instances are the uvular (rather than alveolar) pronunciation of {{IPA|/r/}} and the lack of retroflexes in much of Western Norway, and the pronunciation, in some cases, of a retroflex flap instead of {{IPA|/l/}} in much of Eastern Norway, including the less "refined" forms of the Oslo dialect. All of this is ignored in the following exposition. ===Vowels=== Arguably the most acoustically striking differences in vowels are that: *In Danish, the [[grapheme]] ''a'' corresponds, in most contexts, to the pronunciation of a [[front vowel|front]], often even [[open-mid vowel|open-mid]] front vowel ({{IPA|[a]}} or {{IPA|[æ]}}). In Norwegian, ''a'' is invariably an [[open vowel|open]] [[back vowel]] {{IPA|[ɑ]}}. Example: Danish ''bane'' {{IPA-da|b̥æːnə|}} vs. Norwegian ''bane'' {{IPA-sv|bɑːnə|}} (course, orbit). *The grapheme ''u'' corresponds to (more or less [[close vowel|close]]) [[back vowel|''back'' vowels]] in Danish, but usually to a [[close vowel|close]] [[central vowel|''central'' vowel]] ({{IPA|/ʉ/}}) in Norwegian. Example: Danish {{IPA|[huːs]}} vs. Norwegian {{IPA|[hʉːs]}}. As a whole, Norwegian still preserves the old pairs of short and long vowels, as suggested by the writing system, pretty close to each other, even though the long ones are usually closer. Thus, the grapheme ''e'' corresponds to long {{IPA|[eː]}} (''sene'' {{IPA|[seːnə]}}, late [plural]) and short {{IPA|[ɛ]}} (''sende'' {{IPA|[sɛnːə]}}, to send), while the grapheme ''i'' corresponds to long {{IPA|[iː]}} (''sine'' {{IPA|[siːnə]}}, his/her/its/their own) and short {{IPA|[ɪ]}} (''sinne'' {{IPA|[sɪnːə]}}, anger). In Danish, the tendency of differentiation has led to a qualitative overlapping: also here, ''e'' can stand for long {{IPA|[eː]}} (''sene'' {{IPA|[seːnə]}}, late [plural]) and for short {{IPA|[ɛ]}} (''sende'' {{IPA|[sɛnə]}}, to send), but ''i'', besides signifying long {{IPA|[iː]}} (''sine'' {{IPA|[siːnə]}}, his/her/its/their own), has come to correspond to short {{IPA|[e]}} (''[nogen]sinde'' {{IPA|[senə]}}, ever) and, to complicate things further, a short {{IPA|[i]}} pronunciation is maintained in some cases (''sidste'' {{IPA|[sistə]}}, last). Most Danish vowels have also many [[Segment (linguistics)|segment]]ally conditioned [[allophone]]s, especially more open ones when preceded or followed by {{IPA|/r/}} . The following is a table that compares the most common Danish and the Norwegian pronunciations of a letter (without taking into account the grouping of sounds into phonemes, as well as many sub-rules, exceptions and subtleties). Note that in many cases, even when the same [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]] transcription is used, the sounds may still be somewhat different in the two languages. {| class="wikitable" |- align=center ! rowspan=2 | Grapheme ! rowspan=2 | Quantity ! rowspan=2 | [[WP:IPA for Swedish and Norwegian|Norwegian]] ! colspan=3 | [[WP:IPA for Danish|Danish]] |- align=center ! /V/ ! /rV/ ! /Vr/ |- align=center ! rowspan="2" | ''a'' ! long | {{IPA|[ɑː]}} | {{IPA|[æː]}} |{{IPA|[ʁɑː]}} |{{IPA|[ɑː]}} |- align=center ! short | {{IPA|[ɑ]}} | {{IPA|[a > æ]}}, {{IPA|[ɑ]}}¹⁾ | {{IPA|[ʁɑ]}} | {{IPA|[ɑː]}} |- align=center ! rowspan="3" |''e'' ! long | {{IPA|[eː]}} | {{IPA|[eː]}} | {{IPA|[ʁæː(ɪ̯)]}} | {{IPA|[eːɐ, ɛːɐ]}} |- align=center ! short | {{IPA|[ɛ]}} ²⁾ | {{IPA|[ɛ]}} | {{IPA|[ʁa > ʁɑ]}}, {{IPA|[ʁa > ʁaɪ̯]}} ²⁾³⁾ | {{IPA|[aɐ]}} |- align=center ! unstressed | {{IPA|[ə]}} | {{IPA|[ə]}} |{{IPA|[ɐ]}} |{{IPA|[ɐ]}} |- align=center ! rowspan="2" |''i'' ! long |{{IPA|[iː]}} |{{IPA|[iː]}} |{{IPA|[ʁiː]}} |{{IPA|[iːɐ]}} |- align=center ! short |{{IPA|[ɪ]}} |{{IPA|[e]}}, {{IPA|[i]}} |{{IPA|[ʁæ]}}, {{IPA|[ʁi]}} |{{IPA|[iɐ]}} |- align=center ! rowspan="2" |''o'' ! long |{{IPA|[uː]}} ⁴⁾ |{{IPA|[oː]}} |{{IPA|[ʁoː]}} |{{IPA|[oːɐ]}} |- align=center ! short | {{IPA|[ɔ]}} ⁵⁾ | {{IPA|[ʌ]}}, {{IPA|[ɔ]}} ⁶⁾ | {{IPA|[ʁʌ]}} | {{IPA|[ɒː]}}, {{IPA|[o]}} |- align=center ! rowspan="2" |''u'' ! long | {{IPA|[ʉː]}} | {{IPA|[uː]}} | {{IPA|[ʁuː > ʁoː]}} | {{IPA|[uːɐ]}} |- align=center ! short | {{IPA|[ʉ]}} | {{IPA|[ɔ]}} ⁷⁾, {{IPA|[u]}} | {{IPA|[ʁɔ]}} ⁷⁾, {{IPA|[ʁu > ʁo]}} | {{IPA|[uɐ]}} |- align=center ! rowspan="2" |''y'' ! long | {{IPA|[yː]}} |{{IPA|[yː]}} | {{IPA|[ʁyː]}} | {{IPA|[yːɐ]}} |- align=center ! short | {{IPA|[y]}} | {{IPA|[ø]}} ⁷⁾, {{IPA|[y]}} | {{IPA|[ʁœ]}} ⁷⁾, {{IPA|[ʁy]}} | {{IPA|[yɐ]}}, {{IPA|[ɶɐ]}} ⁸⁾ |- align=center ! rowspan="2" |''æ'' ! long | {{IPA|[æː]}} ⁹⁾ | {{IPA|[ɛː]}} | {{IPA|[ʁæː(ɪ̯)]}} | {{IPA|[ɛːɐ]}} |- align=center ! short | {{IPA|[æ]}} | {{IPA|[ɛ]}} | {{IPA|[ʁa > ɑ]}}, {{IPA|[ʁa > ʁaɪ̯]}} ³⁾ | {{IPA|[aɐ]}} |- align=center ! rowspan="2" |''ø'' ! long | {{IPA|[øː]}} | {{IPA|[øː]}} | {{IPA|[ʁœː]}} | {{IPA|[øːɐ]}} |- align=center ! short | {{IPA|[œ]}} | {{IPA|[ø]}} | {{IPA|[ʁœ]}}, {{IPA|[ʁɶ]}} ¹⁰⁾ | {{IPA|[ɶɐ]}} |- align=center ! rowspan="2" |''å'' ! long | {{IPA|[oː]}} | {{IPA|[ɔː]}} | {{IPA|[ʁɔː]}} | {{IPA|[ɒː]}} |- align=center ! short | {{IPA|[ɔ]}} | {{IPA|[ʌ]}} | {{IPA|[ʁʌ]}} | {{IPA|[ɒː]}} |} :¹⁾ before [[labial consonant|labial]]s and [[Velar consonant|velar]]s :²⁾ But {{IPA|[æ]}} before {{IPA|/r/}} :³⁾ before [[Velar consonant|velar]]s :⁴⁾ But {{IPA|[oː]}} before {{IPA|/ɡ, v/}} :⁵⁾ but, in some cases, {{IPA|[u]}} (notably before ''rt'', ''nd'', and sometimes ''st'') :⁶⁾ in some words before {{IPA|/ʋ/, /s/, /n/, /m/}} (< older ''ō'') :⁷⁾ almost universally before {{IPA|/m, n, ŋ/}} :⁸⁾ only in ''fyrre'' "40" :⁹⁾ But {{IPA|[ɛː]}}, when, by exception, not followed by {{IPA|/r/}} :¹⁰⁾ before {{IPA|/n/}} Interestingly, while the more open realisations of {{IPA|/ɛ/}} and {{IPA|/ɛː/}} before {{IPA|/r/}} are allophonic in Danish, they have acquired [[phoneme|phonemic]] status as {{IPA|/æ/}} and {{IPA|/æː/}} in Norwegian, and the Norwegian letter ''æ'' has come to be used almost only to signify them. The [[phoneme|phonologisation]] of {{IPA|/æ/}} was mostly a collateral effect of the merger of some other sounds: Danish ''æ'' {{IPA|/ɛː/}} vs. ''e'' {{IPA|/eː/}} and ''sj'' {{IPA|/sj/}} vs. ''rs'' {{IPA|/ɐ̯s/}} have come to be pronounced in the same way in Norwegian (respectively {{IPA|/eː/}} and {{IPA|/ʂ/}}), thus rendering the occurrences of {{IPA|/æ/}} unpredictable. ===Diphthongs=== The Danish diphthongs {{IPA|[aɪ̯]}} and {{IPA|[ʌɪ̯]}} (spelled as ''ej'' and ''øj'') correspond to the Norwegian diphthongs (in Oslo pronunciation) {{IPA|[æɪ̯]}} and {{IPA|[œɥ̯]}} (spelled as ''ei'' and ''øy''). Besides that, a great many letter combinations are pronounced as diphthongs in Danish, but as usual vowel-consonant combinations in Norwegian. That is mostly due to the Danish letters ''g'' and ''v'' (colloquially also ''b'') being pronounced as [[semivowel]]s {{IPA|[ɪ̯]}} and {{IPA|[ʊ̯]}} after a vowel: thus, ''dag'' is pronounced {{IPA|[d̥æ(ɪ̯)]}} in Danish, but {{IPA|[dɑːɡ]}} in Norwegian; ''lov'' (law) is pronounced {{IPA|[lʌʊ̯]}} in Danish, but {{IPA|[loːv]}} in Norwegian. Similarly, {{IPA|[aɪ̯]}} and {{IPA|[ʌɪ̯]}} are often spelled as ''eg'' and ''øg'' in Danish (''eg'' may be pronounced {{IPA|[æɪ̯]}} in Norwegian, too, e.g. in ''regne'', "to rain"). *A significant [[sound correspondence]] (rather than simply a difference in pronunciation) is the fact that Danish has long monophthongs (''e'' {{IPA|/eː/}}, ''ø'' {{IPA|/øː/}}) in some words, where Norwegian has restored the [[Reflex (linguistics)|reflexes]] of old Norse diphthongs (''ei'' {{IPA|[æɪ̯]}}, ''øy'' {{IPA|[œɥ̯]}} and ''au'' {{IPA|[æʉ̯]}}) as alternatives or, sometimes, replacement of the Danish ones. Examples: Danish ''ben'' (leg, bone) - Norwegian ''ben'' or ''bein''; Danish ''hø'' (hay) - Norwegian ''høy''; Danish ''høj'' (hill) - Norwegian ''haug''. ===Consonants=== The most notable differences are, as already mentioned, the pronunciation of approximants in Danish, corresponding to voiced and voiceless stops in Norwegian and of ''r'' as a [[Uvular approximant|uvu]]-[[Pharyngeal approximant|pharyngeal]] [[approximant]] in Danish, corresponding to an [[alveolar trill]] in (East) Norwegian (''skrige'' {{IPA-da|sɡ̊ʁii|}}, "shriek" vs ''skrike'' {{IPA-sv|skriːkə|}}). Furthermore, Danish has replaced the [[Voice (phonetics)|voiced]]/[[voiceless]] opposition in {{IPA|/p, t, k/}}) vs {{IPA|/b, d, ɡ/}}) with an [[Aspiration (phonetics)|aspirated]]/nonaspirated one ({{IPA|[pʰ, tˢ, kʰ]}} vs {{IPA|[b̥, d̥, ɡ̊]}}), and the contrast between the two is neutralized syllable-finally and before [[schwa]] (in practice, in the core of native words, this means it is lost everywhere except word-initially). Thus, ''begge'' (both) and ''bække'' (brooks) are pronounced alike as {{IPA|[b̥ɛɡ̊ə]}}. In Norwegian, the opposition is still voiced vs voiceless and it is preserved everywhere, with {{IPA|/p, t, k/}} being aspirated in the onset of a stressed syllable (as in English and German). {| class="wikitable" !Grapheme ! colspan="3" | Danish !colspan="3" | Norwegian |- | |In stressed [[Syllable onset|onset]] |Elsewhere (single) |Elsewhere (double) |In stressed [[Syllable onset|onset]] |Elsewhere |- |''b'' |{{IPA|[b̥]}} |{{IPA|[b̥, ʊ̯]}} |{{IPA|[b̥]}} |{{IPA|[b]}} |{{IPA|[b]}} |- |''d'' |{{IPA|[d̥]}} |{{IPA|[ð̪]}} |{{IPA|[ð̪]}} |{{IPA|[d]}} |{{IPA|[d]}} |- |''g'' |{{IPA|[ɡ̊]}} |{{IPA|[-, ɪ̯, ʊ̯]}} |{{IPA|[ɡ̊]}} |{{IPA|[ɡ]}} |{{IPA|[ɡ]}} |- |''k'' |{{IPA|[kʰ]}} |{{IPA|[ɡ̊]}} |{{IPA|[ɡ̊]}} |{{IPA|[kʰ]}} |{{IPA|[k]}} |- |''p'' |{{IPA|[pʰ]}} |{{IPA|[b̥]}} |{{IPA|[b̥]}} |{{IPA|[pʰ]}} |{{IPA|[p]}} |- |''r'' |{{IPA|[ʁ]}} |{{IPA|[ɐ̯, -]}} |{{IPA|[r]}} |{{IPA|[r]}} |- |''t'' |{{IPA|[tˢ]}} |{{IPA|[d̥]}} |{{IPA|[d̥]}} |{{IPA|[tʰ]}} |{{IPA|[t]}} |- |''v'' |{{IPA|[ʋ]}} |{{IPA|[ʊ̯]}} |{{IPA|[ʊ̯]}} |{{IPA|[ʋ]}} |{{IPA|[ʋ]}} |} The Danish {{IPA|/r/}} is either vocalized or dropped altogether, after having influenced the adjacent vowels, in all positions but word-initially and pre-stress. Some letter combinations that are pronounced quite differently are: *''rd'', ''rl'', ''rn'', ''rs'', ''rt'' are pronounced as spelled in Danish (with the {{IPA|/r/}} dropped), but in the part of Norway using trilled ''r'', they are always or almost always merged into [[retroflex]] consonants ({{IPA|[ɖ]}}, {{IPA|[ɭ]}}, {{IPA|[ɳ]}}, {{IPA|[ʂ]}}, {{IPA|[ʈ]}}). *''sj'' is pronounced {{IPA|[ɕ]}} in Danish, but as {{IPA|[ʂ]}} in most of Norway. Some notable sound correspondences are: *Danish has {{IPA|/b/}} (spelled ''b''), {{IPA|/ð/}} (spelled ''d''), and {{IPA|[ɪ̯, ʊ̯]}} (spelled ''g'') after long stressed vowels, where Norwegian has restored/preserved the {{IPA|/p/}}, {{IPA|/t/}} and {{IPA|/k/}} from Old Norse. Examples: Danish ''fod'' (foot), ''reb'' (rope), ''syg'' (sick) - Norwegian ''fot'', ''rep'', ''syk'' - Old Norse ''fótr'', ''reip'', ''sjúkr''. In a handful of cases, however, Norwegian has kept the Danish form (''lege'', doctor, ''tegn'', sign, ''bedre'', better, vs Old Norse ''læknari'', ''teikn'', ''betri''). In most of these cases, the Nynorsk equivalents have retained the old consonants (''lækjar'' (variant form), ''teikn'', ''betre''). *Sometimes Danish has {{IPA|/v/}} ({{IPA|[ʊ̯]}}, spelled ''v'') after originally long stressed vowels, where Norwegian has restored/preserved {{IPA|/ɡ/}} from Old Norse. Example: Danish ''skov'' (forest), ''mave'' (belly) - Norwegian ''skog'', ''mage'' - Old Norse ''skógr'', ''magi''. However, in many cases Norwegian has kept the Danish form (''lyve'' "tell a lie" - Old Norse ''ljúga''), and variation is permitted (''mave'', ''lyge'', and even ''ljuge''). *Danish has {{IPA|/ɡ/}}, {{IPA|/k/}}, and {{IPA|/sk/}} (spelled ''g'', ''k'' and ''sk'') in stressed syllable onsets, where Norwegian usually has {{IPA|/j/}}, {{IPA|/ç/}} and {{IPA|/ʂ/}} (spelled as in Danish before ''i'', ''y'', ''ei'' and ''øy'', and ''gj'', ''kj'' and ''skj'' elsewhere). Examples: Danish ''gemme'' (keep, hide), ''kær'' (dear), ''skønt'' (although), ''gyse'' (shiver), ''kilde'' (source, spring) vs Norwegian ''gjemme'', ''kjær'', ''skjønt'', ''gyse'', ''kilde''. ===Prosody=== In Norwegian, each [[Stress (linguistics)|stress]]ed syllable must contain, phonetically, either a long vowel or a [[geminate|long (geminate) consonant]] (e.g. ''male'' {{IPA|[mɑːlə]}}, "to paint" vs ''malle'' {{IPA|[mɑlːə]}}, "catfish") . In Danish, there are no phonologically long consonants, so the opposition is between long and short vowels ({{IPA|[mæːlə]}} vs {{IPA|[malə]}}. Both languages have a [[Prosody (linguistics)|prosodic]] opposition between two "accents", derived from syllable count in Old Norse and determined partly phonologically, partly morphologically and partly lexically. However, the exact nature of this prosodic contrast is very different. In Norwegian, the contrast is between two [[pitch accent|tonal accents]], accent 1 and 2, which characterise a whole word with primary stress; in Danish, it is between the presence and the absence of the [[stød]] (a kind of [[laryngealisation]]), which characterises a syllable (though usually a syllable that bears at least [[secondary stress]]). Example: Danish ''løber'' "runner" {{IPA|[ˈløːb̥ɐ]}} vs ''løber'' "runs" {{IPA|[ˈløːˀb̥ɐ]}}, Norwegian ''løper''² {{IPA|[lø̂ːpər]}} vs ''løper''¹ {{IPA|[lø̀ːpər]}}. Note Danish ''landsmand'' {{IPA|[ˈlanˀsmanˀ]}} "compatriot" (one word, two støds) as opposed to Norwegian ''landsmann'' {{IPA|[lɑ̀nsmɑnː]}} (one word, one accent). ''Note: The pronunciation of the tone accents varies widely between Norwegian dialects; the [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]] tone accent transcriptions above reflect South-East Norwegian pronunciation (found e.g. in Oslo). There is usually also high pitch in the last syllable, but it not transcribed here, because it belongs to the prosody of the phrase rather than the word.'' ====Gender==== Danish has two [[grammatical gender]]s - [[common gender|common]] (indefinite article ''en'' and definite article ''-en'') and [[neuter gender|neuter]] (indefinite article ''et'' and definite article ''-et''). In Norwegian, the system is generally the same, but some common words optionally use special feminine gender declension patterns, which have been preserved from Old Norse in Norwegian dialects and were re-introduced into the written language by the language reforms of the early 20th century. Hence, three genders are recognized - [[masculine gender|masculine]] (morphologically identical to Danish common, with indefinite article ''en'' and definite article ''-en''), [[feminine gender|feminine]] (indefinite article ''ei'' and definite article ''-a'') and neuter (morphologically identical to its Danish counterpart, with indefinite article ''et'' and definite article ''-et'', pronounced {{IPA|/ə/}}). The likelihood of a feminine as opposed to common form being used depends on the particular word, as well as on style: common gender forms are often more formal or sometimes even bookish, while feminine forms tend to make a more colloquial and sometimes even rustic impression. Examples: Danish ''en mand'' - ''manden'' ("a man - the man"), ''en sol'' - ''solen'' ("a sun - the sun"), ''et hus'' - ''huset'' ("a house - the house") vs Norwegian ''en mann'' - ''mannen'' ("a man - the man"), ''ei sol'' - ''sola'' or ''en sol'' - ''solen'' ("a sun - the sun"), ''et hus'' - ''huset'' ("a house - the house"). The Norwegian feminine can also be expressed in the indefinite singular declension of the word ''liten'', which has a special feminine form ''lita'' beside the neuter ''lite''. Danish has only ''lille'', which is the definite singular form in both languages. ====Number==== In Danish, the plural endings are ''-er'', ''-e'' or zero-ending. The choice of ending is difficult to predict (although ''-er'' is especially common in polysyllables, loanwords and words ending in unstressed ''e''; ''-e'' is most usual in monosyllables; and zero-ending is most usual in neuter monosyllables). In Norwegian, the system is rather regularized, as the ''-e'' ending has all but disappeared, and ''-er'' is dominant in '''common gender''' monosyllables, while zero-ending is prevalent in '''neuter gender''' monosyllables. Examples: Danish ''en appelsin - appelsiner'', ''en hund - hunde'', ''et hus - huse'', ''et fald - fald'', vs Norwegian ''en appelsin- appelsiner'', ''en hund - hunder'', ''et hus - hus'', ''et fall - fall'' (singular and plural forms of "orange", "dog", "house" and "fall"). In addition, the formation of the '''definite''' plural forms are somewhat different in the two languages. In Danish, plural forms in ''-er'' transform into definite plural ''-erne'', while plurals in ''-e'' and zero-ending become ''-ene''. Norwegian has generalized ''-ene'' for nearly all words, and has introduced an alternative ending ''-a'' for neuter words. Examples: Danish ''en sag - sager - sagerne'', ''en dag - dage - dagene'', ''et fald - fald - faldene'', ''et ben - ben - benene'' vs Norwegian ''en sak - saker - sakene'', ''en dag - dager - dagene'', ''et fall - fall - fallene'', ''et be(i)n - be(i)n - be(i)na/be(i)nene'' (singular, plural, and plural definite forms of "thing", "day", "fall" and "bone"/"leg"). ====Definiteness==== In both languages, single nouns use a postpositive definite article. However, in Danish, when a noun is modified by an adjective, a prepositive definite article is used instead of the postpositive one. Norwegian both adds a prepositive article and keeps the postpositive. Example: Danish ''hus - huset'', ''et stort hus - det store hus'', vs Norwegian ''hus - huset'', ''et stort hus - det store huset'' (indefinite and definite forms of "a/the house" and "a/the big house"). The same difference applies when a [[demonstrative pronoun]] is used: Danish ''Jeg elsker den mand'' vs Norwegian ''Jeg elsker den mannen'' (''I love that man''). ====Pronouns==== *To denote second person plural ("you people"), Danish uses ''I'' ([[oblique case|oblique]] form ''jer'', [[possessive pronoun]] ''jeres''), while Norwegian uses ''dere'' (oblique ''dere'', possessive ''deres''). *The 1st person plural possessive pronoun ("our") is ''vores'' ([[uninflected]]) in modern Danish, but ''vår'' ([[inflected]]: neuter ''vårt'', plural ''våre'') in Norwegian. Example: Danish ''vores ven/hus/venner'' vs Norwegian ''vår venn''/''vårt hus''/''våre venner'' ("our friend/house/friends"). (In Danish, the original [[inflected]] variant ''vor'' (''vort'', ''vore'') occurs only in more solemn or archaic style.) *The possessive pronouns always precede what they are modifying in Danish; in Norwegian, they may also be placed ''after'' a definite noun or noun phrase. The choice of construction in Norwegian depends on the particular word and on style (the Danish-like construction is more formal or emphatic, the other one is more colloquial). Example: Danish ''min ven'', ''min nye ven'' vs Norwegian ''vennen min'' or ''min venn'', ''den nye vennen min'' or ''min nye venn'' ("my friend", "my new friend"). *The [[reflexive pronoun|reflexive]] [[possessive pronoun]] ''sin'' ("his/her/its own") can't refer to a plural [[subject (linguistics)|subject]] in Danish, but it can do so in Norwegian. Example: Danish ''Han vasker sine klæder'' like Norwegian ''Han vasker klærne sine'' ("He is washing his [own] clothes"); but Danish ''De vasker deres klæder'' vs Norwegian ''De vasker klærne sine'' ("They are washing their [own] clothes"). *In Danish, the pronoun that expresses an unspecified, generalized person or group (corresponding to English "one", French "on" and German "man") is ''man'' in its main form, but its oblique form is ''en'' and its genitive form is ''ens''. In Norwegian, ''en'' can also be used as a main form. Example: Danish ''man kan ikke gøre det'' vs Norwegian ''man/en kan ikke gjøre det'' ("one/people can't do that"). *In Danish, the pronouns "such" and "so (=in this way)" are usually translated with ''sådan'' (''slig'' is obsolete and solemn). In Norwegian, the most usual form is ''slik'' (''sånn'' can be somewhat colloquial). ====Numerals==== There are significant differences between the numeral systems of the two languages. *In Danish, the number 7 is called ''syv''. In Norwegian, it is called ''sju'' (although the 2005 language reform has permitted ''syv'' again). *In Danish, 20 and 30 are called ''tyve'' and ''tredive''. Although these forms do occur in Norwegian (with ''tredive'' shortened to ''tredve''), the only officially permitted forms are ''tjue'' {{IPA|/çʉːə/}} and ''tretti''. *In Danish, the number 40 is called ''fyrre''. In Norwegian, it is ''førti'', although ''førr'' is permitted in [[riksmål]]. *In Danish, the tens between 50 and 90 have different roots from the ones in most [[Germanic languages]]. Etymologically, like in [[French language|French]] they are based on a [[vigesimal]] system; in other words, the name of the number is based on how many times 20 it is. Thus, 60 is ''tres'' (short for ''tresindstyve'', "3 times 20") and 50 is ''halvtreds'' (short for ''halvtredsindstyve'', "2.5 times 20" or more literally "half-third times 20"). Similarly, 70 is ''halvfjerds'', 80 is ''firs'', and 90 is ''halvfems''. In Norwegian, these numbers are constructed much like in English and German, as [[compound word]]s of the respective unit and an old word for "ten": 50 = femti, 60 = seksti, 70 = sytti {{IPA|/søtːi/}} , 80 = åtti, 90 = nitti. *In Danish, units are placed before tens (as in [[German language|German]]); in Norwegian, it's the other way round (as in English), although the Danish order is also used by some speakers. Example: Danish ''enogtyve'' ("one-and-twenty") vs Norwegian ''tjueen'' ("twenty-one") or ''enogtyve''. *Concerning [[ordinal number (linguistics)|ordinal numbers]], "second" is always ''anden'' in Danish, but ''andre'' (or sometimes ''annen'') (a definite form) in Norwegian. ===Verbal morphology=== *Danish regular verbs can be divided in those that form their past tense and past participle with the suffixes ''-ede'' and ''-et'' {{IPA|/əð/}}, respectively, (e.g. "to throw", ''kaste - kastede - kastet'') and those that form them with the suffixes ''-te'' and ''-t'' (e.g. "to read", ''læse - læste - læst''). Although the group in ''-ede'', ''-et'' is the largest one, the choice between these two conjugation patterns is mostly unpredictable. The corresponding Norwegian groups use ''-et'', ''-et'' (''kaste - kastet - kastet''), and ''-te'', ''-t'' (''lese - leste - lest''). However, unlike Danish, the choice of conjugation has come to be governed by a rule (with a few exceptions): verb [[Stem (linguistics)|stem]]s containing a short vowel, followed by a long consonant or a [[consonant cluster]] (as in ''ramme''), use ''-et'', and verb stems containing a long vowel, followed by a short consonant (as in ''male''), use ''-te'' (Danish ''ramme - ramte - ramt'' vs Norwegian ''ramme - rammet - rammet'' "to hit"; Danish ''male - malede - malet'' vs Norwegian ''male - malte - malt'' "to paint"). In addition, verb stems ending in a stressed vowel form a third group with no parallel in Danish, using the endings ''-dde'', ''-dd'' ("to live [somewhere]" - ''bo - bodde - bodd''). The corresponding Danish verbs nearly always use ''-ede'', ''-et'' (''bo - boede - boet''). :Bokmål has also introduced the optional use of the ending ''-a'' (taken from Norwegian dialects and used as the only allowed form in Nynorsk) instead of ''-et'': thus, ''kaste - kasta - kasta'', ''ramme - ramma - ramma'', etc. The use of forms in ''-a'' is more common in speech than in writing. *Some Danish irregular verbs have longer forms, ending in unstressed ''-de'', ''-ge'' and ''-ve'', which have been dropped in Norwegian. In many cases, the Danish verbs may also be pronounced in the contracted way. Examples: Danish ''lade - lod - ladet'', ''sige - sagde - sagt'', ''blive - blev - blevet'' vs Norwegian ''la - lot - latt'', ''si - sa - sagt'', ''bli - ble(i) - blitt'' ("let", "say", "become"). Other examples are ''tage - tog - taget'' vs ''ta - tok - tatt'' ("to take"), ''have - havde - haft'' vs ''ha - hadde - hatt'' ("to have"), etc.. *The [[perfect (grammar)|perfect]] forms in Danish may be formed either with the [[auxiliary verb]] ''have'' "to have" (as in English) or with ''være'' "to be". Some verbs always use ''være'' (''ske'' "happen", ''holde op'' "stop"), while others can use both auxiliaries, but with slightly different meanings: ''han har rejst'' "he has travelled (spent some time travelling)" emphasizes the action itself, while ''han er rejst'' "he has left (so he isn't here now)" emphasizes the result of the action. In Norwegian, ''ha'' "to have" may be - and increasingly is - used in all cases (''han har reist''), and no specific verbs require ''være'' (''det har skjedd'', it has happened). ===Miscellaneous=== Certain words present in both languages are used differently in each. This can result in identical sentences meaning different things in the two languages, or in constructions that make sense in one language becoming nonsensical in the other. Examples include: *''må/kan'' - The word "må" usually means "must" in Norwegian, but can mean "may", "can", or "must" in Danish. *''der/som'' - Danish has both words for "which", although ''der'' is only used as the [[subject (linguistics)|grammatical subject]]. In Norwegian, ''der'' is only used archaically or poetically. *''nogle/nogen'' - in Danish the English words "some" (in a plural sense) and "any" can be translated with ''nogle'' and ''nogen'', respectively, while in Norwegian both are rendered as ''noen'' (from Danish ''nogen''). *''kun/bare'' - in Danish, ''kun'' means roughly "only, solely" (referring to quantity or number) and ''bare'' "just, merely". While there are rules in Danish that govern when to choose which word, in Norwegian ''bare'' may be used with both meanings. *''meget/mye'' - in Norwegian, the [[adverb]] ''meget'' (alternatively ''veldig'' etc.) modifies adjectives just like English "very", while ''mye'' is used like English "much, a lot". Using ''meget'' like ''mye'' may be considered a bit old fashioned by some Norwegians. In Danish, ''meget'' is used in both cases. *''enda/ennå (ennu)'' - in Norwegian, ''ennå'' means "still, yet" in a temporal sense, but ''enda'', which normally means "yet, nevertheless" among other things, is used in conjunction with comparative forms in expressions such as ''enda bedre'', "better still". In Danish, ''endnu'' (the equivalent of ''ennå'') is used in both cases. *The primary difference in preposition usage in the Danish and Norwegian languages is the use of ''i''/''på'', (in [[English language|English]] in/on). Although the two are generally used similarly in both languages, in certain cases the two languages choose a different preposition for the same construction. For example, "a quarter to five" would be ''kvart i fem'' in Danish, but ''kvart på fem'' in Norwegian. To express a period of time during which something has happened, Danish always uses ''i'', but Norwegian uses ''i'' in affirmative and ''på'' in negative sentences: Danish ''jeg har (ikke) set ham i to år'' vs Norwegian ''jeg har sett ham i to år'', ''jeg har ikke sett ham på to år'' ("I have [not] seen him for two years"). *''genitive constructions'' - unlike Danish, Norwegian very often uses the preposition ''til'' ("to") as a more informal alternative of [[genitive]] constructions: ''boka til Peter'', or ''Peters bok'' vs Danish ''Peters bog''. Norwegian also uses a [[His genitive|construction]] with the [[reflexive pronoun]], ''Peter sin bok'', (Lit. ''Peter his book''). This is in Norwegian bokmål called "garpegenitiv" and is (in bokmål) considered substandard. ==Vocabulary== Danish has adopted many [[German language|German]] (particularly from [[Middle Low German|Low German]] variants spoken by the [[Hanseatic League]]) words and [[grammatical]] structures, while Bokmål has rejected some of these imports. An example is the naming of countries; Danish and Swedish generally use the German names of countries, or at least the German ending. These names were used in Norwegian as well, but have in modern times (during the second half of the 20th century) to a large extent been replaced by the Latin endings; this means that the usual ending is ''-a'' in Norwegian and ''-en'' or ''-et'' in Danish (the ''-en'' and ''-et'' endings are also the definite articles). Thus, [[Australia]] and [[Italy]] are known as ''Australien'' and ''Italien'' in Danish, but as ''Australia'' and ''Italia'' in Bokmål. Similarly, [[Spain]] is known as ''Spania'' in Bokmål, but people who speak a conservative form of Norwegian (for instance [[Queen Sonja of Norway]]), still refer to Spain as ''Spanien'', as in Danish. Greece is mostly referred to as ''Hellas'' (the Greek form of the name) in Norwegian today, but the traditional Scandinavian name ''Grekenland'' is sometimes also used (the Danish and older Norwegian spelling is ''Grækenland'', cf. German ''Griechenland''). However, Norwegians usually use ''greker'' (noun) and ''gresk'' (adjective) for "Greek", not ''hellener'' (noun) and ''hellensk'' (adjective); ''Hellener'' and ''hellensk'' are used when talking about Ancient Greece. Unlike Danish, Norwegian speakers refer to the [[Netherlands]] as ''Nederland'', as in [[Dutch language|Dutch]], not as ''Holland'', although ''Nederlandene'' is used in Danish in the same formal sense as ''The Netherlands'' would be in English. Similarly the Dutch language is known as ''nederlandsk'' in Norway, but is most often called ''hollandsk'' in Denmark. Here are some examples of common words and expressions that are different in the two languages. Note that the Danish variant usually exists in Norwegian as an archaic or less frequent form (and/or vice versa). {| class="wikitable sortable" ! English ! Danish ! Norwegian |- |afraid |bange, (arch., dial.:) ræd |redd, but also bange (archaic, mostly used in standard expressions like "bange anelser") |- |afterwards |bagefter |etterpå, efterpå (conservative), deretter/derefter |- |angry |vred |sint, vred (archaic) |- |autumn |efterår, (poet.:) høst |høst, etterår/efterår (archaic) |- |be correct, hold true |passe, stemme |stemme |- |boy |dreng, (colloquial:) gut |gutt, dreng (archaic or used in a more narrow sense) |- |breakfast |morgenmad |frokost |- |breathe |ånde |puste, ånde |- |cinema |biograf |kino |- |to comb (verb) |rede |gre(ie), kjemme |- |decade |årti, tiår |tiår, årti |- |easy |nem, let |lett |- |evening |aften, (poet.:) kvæld |kveld, aften |- |difficult |svær, vanskelig |vanskelig |- |fact |kendsgerning, faktum |faktum, kjennsgjerning |- |fast, quick(ly) |hurtig |fort (adv), rask (adj), hurtig |- |floor (storey) |sal, etage |etasje |- |frog |frø |frosk |- |fun |sjov |moro, gøy, artig |- |hesitate |tøve, nøle |nøle |- |girl |pige |jente, pike |- |good |god(t) |bra, god(t) |- |healthy |rask, sund, frisk |frisk |- |hydrogen |brint, hydrogen |hydrogen, vannstoff (archaic) |- |..., isn't it?/didn't he? etc. |..., ikke/vel? ikke sandt?, ikke også? |..., ikke sant? |- |jealous |jaloux, skinsyg |sjalu, misunnelig |- |last year |sidste år, i fjor |i fjor |- |like (vb. enjoy) |kunne lide |like |- |lunch |frokost |lunsj (alt. lønsj), formiddagsmat |- |moustache |overskæg |bart, overskjegg |- |oxygen |ilt, oxygen |oksygen, surstoff, ilt |- |potato |kartoffel |potet |- |rubbish (nonsense) |sludder, vrøvl, vås, nonsens |sludder, vrøvl, nonsens, tull, tøys, vås |- |satisfied/pleased |tilfreds, fornøjet |fornøyd, tilfreds |- |sheep |får |sau, smale (archaic/dialectal), får (archaic/dialectal, used in expressions/ fixed phrases ) |- |short (person) |lille, lav |kort, lav |- |sometimes |(colloquial:) nogen gange, (colloquial:) af og til, indimellem, somme tider (archaic) |iblant, av og til, innimellom |- |spring(time) |forår, (poet.:) vår |vår, forår (archaic) |- |still (yet) |stadigvæk, fremdeles (archaic) |fremdeles, fortsatt, stadig vekk |- |team |hold |lag |- |there, thither (about direction) |derhen |dit, dithen |- |toad |tudse |padde |- |ugly |grim, (ethically:) styg |stygg, grim (archaic) |- |usual |sædvanlig, vanlig (archaic) |vanlig, sedvanlig |- |[earth]worm |orm |[meite]makk, [mete]mark, orm (Ambiguous, could mean both worm and snake, cf. [[wyrm]].) |- |wrong |forkert, gal(t) |gal(t), feil |} ===False friends=== While most words have the same meaning, there are also a number of [[false friend]]s. These are often [[cognate]]s that have diverged in meaning. The vulgar nature of some of these differences forms the basis of a number of television sketches by Norwegian comedians. {| class="wikitable sortable" ! Word ! Danish meaning ! Norwegian meaning |- |grine |laugh |cry (both words cognates with English "grin") |- |kuk |mess, problem |penis (vulgar) |- |bolle |sexual intercourse/bun |bun (however, can be used for sexual intercourse in some areas) |- |rask |healthy |fast or garbage |- |svær |difficult/obese |large |- |kneppe |to fuck |to button/unbutton |- |flink |nice |skilled, clever |- |rar |kind, nice |strange, weird |} ==See also== *[[Norwegian language conflict]] {{DEFAULTSORT:Differences Between Norwegian Bokmal And Standard Danish}}