The purpose of this list is to give a rough idea of the Nynorsk language. The words listed below are not the most common words, but a broad sampling of words. See the Word Lists page for more details.
| English | Norwegian (nynorsk) |
| I | eg |
| you (singular) thou (archaic) | du, De (formal) |
| he | han |
| we | vi, me |
| you (plural) | de, De (formal) |
| they | dei |
| this | denne, dette, desse (plural) |
| that | den, det |
| here | her |
| there | der |
| who | kven |
| what | kva |
| where | kvar, kor (degree) |
| when | kva tid, når |
| how | korleis, koss |
| not | ikkje, ei |
| all | alt, alle, all |
| many (fele) | mange |
| some | noko, somt, sumt |
| few | få |
| other | anna, annan, andre (plural) |
| one | eitt, ein, ei |
| two | to |
| three | tre, tri |
| four | fire |
| five | fem |
| big, (great) | stor |
| long | lang |
| wide (broad) | brei, vid |
| thick | tjukk |
| heavy | tung |
| small (little) | liten, litle/lisle/vesle (definite), små/småe (plural) |
| short | kort, stutt |
| narrow | smal, trong |
| thin | tynn, tunn |
| woman | kvinne, kvinna, kvinnfolk |
| man (adult male) | mann, kar, kall |
| man (human being) | menneske, menneskje (human kind) |
| child (a youth) | barn, unge |
| wife | kone, kona, hustru, viv (poetic) |
| husband | mann |
| 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 | makk, orm |
| tree (beam) | tre |
| forest | skog |
| stick (of wood) | pinne, kjepp, kvist |
| fruit | frukt |
| seed | frø, sæd (sperm) |
| leaf (blade) | blad, lauv |
| root | rot |
| bark (of tree) | bork, never (bark of birch) |
| flower | blome, blom |
| grass | gras |
| rope | reip, tog, tau |
| skin (hide) | hud, skinn (animal skin) |
| meat (as in flesh) | kjøtt, kjøt |
| blood | blod |
| bone | bein |
| fat (noun) | feitt |
| egg | egg |
| horn | horn |
| tail | hale |
| feather (rather not down) | fjør |
| hair | hår |
| head | hovud |
| ear | øyre, øyra |
| eye | auga |
| nose | nase |
| mouth | munn |
| tooth (rather not molar) | tann, tonn |
| tongue | tunge, tunga |
| fingernail | nagl |
| foot | fot |
| leg | bein, legg (shin) |
| knee | kne |
| hand | hand |
| wing | veng, vengje |
| belly | mage, buk (animal belly) |
| guts | innvolar |
| neck | nakke (back), hals (front) |
| back (ridge) | rygg, bak (rare) |
| breast | bryst |
| heart | hjarta |
| liver | lever |
| to drink | drikka |
| to eat | eta, spisa |
| to bite | bita |
| to suck | suga |
| to spit | spytta |
| to vomit | spy, kasta opp |
| to blow (as wind) | blåsa |
| to breathe | anda, pusta |
| to laugh | le |
| to see | sjå |
| to hear | høyra |
| to know | veta |
| to think | tenkja |
| to smell (sense odor) | lukta |
| to fear | ottast, vera redd for |
| to sleep | sova |
| to live | leva |
| to die | døy |
| to kill | drepa |
| to fight (physically) | slåst |
| to hunt (transitive) | jakta, jaga, veida |
| to hit | slå |
| to cut | skjera |
| to split | kløyva, skilja, dela |
| to stab (or stick) | stikka, stinga |
| to scratch (an itch) | kleia, klå, klora (inflict pain) |
| to dig | grava |
| to swim | symja |
| to fly | fly, flyga |
| to walk | gå, ganga (poetic/archaic) |
| to come | koma |
| to lie (as on one's side) | liggja |
| to sit | sitja |
| to stand | stå, standa |
| to turn (change direction) | snu, venda |
| to fall (as in drop) | falla, detta |
| to give | gje, gjeva |
| to hold (in one's hand) | halda |
| to squeeze | klemma, trykkja |
| to rub | gnida, gni, gnu |
| to wash | vaska, två |
| to wipe | tørka, turka |
| to pull (drag) | dra, draga |
| to push | dytta, skuva, skumpa |
| to throw (cast) | kasta, slengja, hiva |
| to tie (bind) | binda, knyta |
| to sew | sy, sauma |
| to count | telja |
| to say | seia |
| to sing | syngja |
| to play | leika |
| to float | flyta |
| to flow | fløyma, renna, strøyma, flyta |
| to freeze | frysa |
| to swell | hovna, svella, trutna |
| sun | sol |
| moon | måne |
| star | stjerne, stjerna |
| water | vatn |
| to rain | regna |
| river | elv, å (small) |
| lake | innsjø, vatn, tjørn, tjern |
| sea (as in ocean) | hav, sjø |
| salt | salt |
| stone | stein |
| sand | sand |
| dust | bos, støv, dust |
| earth (as in soil) | jord |
| cloud | sky |
| fog | tåke, skodde |
| sky | himmel |
| wind (as in breeze) | vind |
| snow | snø |
| ice | is |
| smoke | røyk |
| fire | eld |
| ash | oske, oska |
| to burn (intransitive) | brenna |
| road | veg |
| mountain | fjell |
| red | raud |
| green | grøn |
| yellow | gul |
| white | kvit |
| black (swart) | svart |
| night | natt] |
| day (daytime) | dag |
| year | år |
| warm (as in weather) | varm (hot), logn (warm) |
| cold (as in weather) | kald |
| full | full |
| new | ny |
| old | gamal |
| good | god, bra |
| bad | ill, vond, dåleg |
| rotten (as a log) | ròten |
| dirty | møkut, skiten |
| straight | rett, bein, rak |
| round | rund |
| sharp (as a knife) | skarp, kvass |
| dull (as a knife) | slø |
| smooth | jamn, slett |
| wet | våt, blaut |
| dry (adjective) | tørr, turr |
| correct | rett |
| near | nær, nære |
| far | langt |
| right (side) | høgre |
| left (side) | venstre, vinstre |
| at | hjå, hos, på |
| in | i |
| with | med |
| and | og |
| if | om |
| because | av di, på grunn av at |
| name | namn |