The purpose of this list is to give a rough idea of the Norwegian language. The words listed below are not the most common Norwegian words, but a broad sampling of words. See the Word Lists page for more details.
| English | Norwegian (bokmål) |
| I | jeg |
| you (singular) thou (archaic) | du, De (formal) |
| he | han |
| we | vi |
| you (plural) | dere, De (formal) |
| they | de |
| this | denne, dette, disse (plural) |
| that | den, det |
| here | her |
| there | der |
| who | hvem |
| what | hva |
| where | hvor |
| when | når |
| how | hvordan, åssen |
| not | ikke, ei |
| all | alt, alle, all |
| many (fele) | mange |
| some | noe |
| few | få |
| other | annet, annen, andre (plural) |
| one | ett, en, ei |
| two | to |
| three | tre |
| four | fire |
| five | fem |
| big, (great) | stor |
| long | lang |
| wide (broad) | bred, brei, vid |
| thick | tykk, tjukk |
| heavy | tung |
| small (little) | liten, lille (definite), små (plural) |
| short | kort, stutt |
| narrow | smal, trang |
| thin | tynn |
| woman | kvinne, kvinnfolk |
| man (adult male) | mann, kar |
| man (human being) | menneske |
| child (a youth) | barn, unge |
| wife | kone, hustru, viv (poetic) |
| husband | mann, husbond (archaic) |
| mother | mor, moder (poetic), mamma |
| father | far, fader (poetic), pappa |
| animal (beast) | dyr |
| fish | fisk |
| bird (fowl) | fugl |
| dog (hound) | hund |
| louse | lus |
| snake | orm, slange |
| worm | mark, orm |
| tree (beam) | tre |
| forest | skog, skau |
| stick (of wood) | pinne, kjepp, kvist |
| fruit | frukt |
| seed | frø, sæd (sperm) |
| leaf (blade) | blad, løv, lauv |
| root | rot |
| bark (of tree) | bark, never (bark of birch) |
| flower | blomst |
| grass | gress, gras |
| rope | rep, tau |
| skin (hide) | hud, skinn (animal skin) |
| meat (as in flesh) | kjøtt |
| blood | blod |
| bone | bein |
| fat (noun) | fett |
| egg | egg |
| horn | horn |
| tail | hale, svans |
| feather (rather not down) | fjær, fjør |
| hair | hår |
| head | hode, hue |
| ear | øre |
| eye | øye |
| nose | nese |
| mouth | munn |
| tooth (rather not molar) | tann |
| tongue | tunge |
| fingernail | negl |
| foot | fot |
| leg | bein, legg (shin) |
| knee | kne |
| hand | hånd, hand |
| wing | vinge |
| belly | mage, buk |
| guts | innvoller |
| neck | nakke (back), hals (front) |
| back (ridge) | rygg, bak (rare) |
| breast | bryst |
| heart | hjerte |
| liver | lever |
| to drink | drikke |
| to eat | spise, ete |
| to bite | bite |
| to suck | suge |
| to spit | spytte |
| to vomit | spy, kaste opp |
| to blow (as wind) | blåse |
| to breathe | puste, ånde |
| to laugh | le |
| to see | se |
| to hear | høre |
| to know | vite |
| to think | tenke |
| to smell (sense odor) | lukte |
| to fear | frykte, være redd for |
| to sleep | sove |
| to live | leve |
| to die | dø |
| to kill | drepe |
| to fight (physically) | slåss |
| to hunt (transitive) | jakte, jage |
| to hit | slå |
| to cut | skjære, kutte |
| to split | dele, kløyve, skille |
| to stab (or stick) | stikke |
| to scratch (an itch) | klø, klore (inflict pain) |
| to dig | grave |
| to swim | svømme |
| to fly | fly |
| to walk | gå |
| to come | komme |
| to lie (as on one's side) | ligge |
| to sit | sitte |
| to stand | stå |
| to turn (change direction) | snu, vende |
| to fall (as in drop) | falle, dette |
| to give | gi |
| to hold (in one's hand) | holde |
| to squeeze | klemme, presse, trykke |
| to rub | gni, gnu |
| to wash | vaske |
| to wipe | tørke |
| to pull (drag) | dra, trekke |
| to push | dytte, skyve |
| to throw (cast) | kaste, slenge, hive |
| to tie (bind) | binde, knyte |
| to sew | sy |
| to count | telle |
| to say | si |
| to sing | synge |
| to play | leke, leike |
| to float | flyte |
| to flow | flomme, renne, strømme, flyte |
| to freeze | fryse |
| to swell | hovne, svulme, svelle |
| sun | sol |
| moon | måne |
| star | stjerne |
| water | vann |
| to rain | regne |
| river | elv |
| lake | innsjø, vann, tjern |
| sea (as in ocean) | hav, sjø |
| salt | salt |
| stone | stein, sten |
| sand | sand |
| dust | støv, bøss |
| earth (as in soil) | jord |
| cloud | sky |
| fog | tåke |
| sky | himmel |
| wind (as in breeze) | vind |
| snow | snø |
| ice | is |
| smoke | røyk |
| fire | ild |
| ash | aske |
| to burn (intransitive) | brenne |
| road | vei |
| mountain | fjell |
| red | rød |
| green | grønn |
| yellow | gul |
| white | hvit |
| black (swart) | svart |
| night | natt |
| day (daytime) | dag |
| year | år |
| warm (as in weather) | varm (hot), lun (warm) |
| cold (as in weather) | kald |
| full | full |
| new | ny |
| old | gammel, gammal |
| good | god, bra |
| bad | ille, vond, dårlig |
| rotten (as a log) | råtten |
| dirty | skitten |
| straight | rett |
| round | rund |
| sharp (as a knife) | skarp |
| dull (as a knife) | sløv |
| smooth | jevn, slett, glatt |
| wet | våt, bløt |
| dry (adjective) | tørr |
| correct | rett, riktig |
| near | nær, nærme, nære |
| far | langt |
| right (side) | høyre |
| left (side) | venstre |
| at | hos, på |
| in | i |
| with | med |
| and | og |
| if | hvis, om |
| because | fordi, på grunn av at |
| name | navn |