The fastest way to learn Norwegian is to spend most of your study time on Norwegian you can mostly understand. That kind of Norwegian is called comprehensible input. What you read and listen to should change as you improve, so the plan below shows what to do at each level and how to split an hour of study.
What to Do at Each Level
Find the level that sounds like you. Its bar shows how to spend an hour of study.
- Level 1
I'm just starting out or know only a few words.
Read and listen 35 min. Review 15 min. Speak 10 min.
Read the free picture stories on Barnebøker for Norge while you listen, starting at the easiest of its five levels. Work through Norwegian on the Web, NTNU's free beginner course, and say a few lines out loud.
- Level 2
I can handle simple exchanges.
Read and listen 40 min. Review 10 min. Speak 10 min.
Hide the translation and look up only the words that stop you. Read the Bokmål stories on Duostories, which ask short questions as you go, and start short talks with a tutor or a friend.
- Level 3
I follow conversations on familiar topics.
Read and listen 40 min. Review 5 min. Speak 15 min.
Read the news in Klar Tale, a newspaper written in simple Norwegian, and listen to the Lær norsk nå! podcast, which uses slow, clear Norwegian. Talk about what you read for longer.
- Level 4
I understand most content but miss some nuance.
- Level 5
I read complex topics but rare words slow me down.
Read and watch 50 min. Speak 10 min.
Watch NRK series without subtitles and read articles about things you like. Look up only the words that block the story in Bokmålsordboka on ordbokene.no.
- Level 6
I read at near-native level.
Read and watch 50 min. Speak 10 min.
Read Norwegian novels and newspapers, and listen to podcasts on NRK Radio. Talk about them for their own sake.
Move up a level when your lessons start to feel easy, and move back down if you lose the thread by the third line.
How Long Does It Take to Learn Norwegian?
Norwegian takes about 24 weeks of full-time classes, or 552 class hours, to reach professional fluency, according to the U.S. Foreign Service Institute. That puts Norwegian in its first group, the languages it calls close to English, with Swedish, Danish and Dutch.
| Language | FSI group | Full-time weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Norwegian, Swedish | Category I | 24 |
| German | Category II | 36 |
| Russian | Category III | 44 |
| Japanese | Category IV | 88 |
The University of Oslo (UiO) teaches 84 class hours at Level 1 of its Norwegian course for international students, 84 at Level 2 and 112 at Level 3. So its first two levels take 168 hours, and its first three take 280. Here is how long those take at different amounts of study a week:
| Study per week | UiO Levels 1–2 (168 hours) | UiO Levels 1–3 (280 hours) | FSI professional fluency (552 hours) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3½ hours | About 11 months | About 18 months | About 3 years |
| 7 hours | About 5½ months | About 9 months | About 18 months |
| 14 hours | About 3 months | About 4½ months | About 9 months |
| 28 hours | About 6 weeks | About 10 weeks | About 4½ months |
These are class hours, so treat them as a rough guide. Time you spend understanding Norwegian on your own counts too.
What Slows Learners Down
- Nouns Without en or etEvery Norwegian noun takes a word like en or et, and it decides the ending for “the”, as in bilen, the car, and huset, the house. Save each new noun with the word it came with.
- Two Written Forms at OnceBokmål and Nynorsk are both written Norwegian, and they spell many words differently: “I” is jeg in Bokmål and eg in Nynorsk. Read mostly one at first, and Bokmål is the one most people write.
- Hearing Only One AccentNorway has no official rules for how to say its words, and every dialect counts as equal, so you will hear many on TV and radio. Listen to speakers from different parts of the country early on.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Norwegian app should a beginner choose?
If you are serious about learning Norwegian, start with Bubblegum. Poppy writes lessons at your level about things you like. Our Norwegian app comparison covers courses, tutors and speaking apps too.
Can I learn Norwegian in three months?
You can learn enough Norwegian to order food, greet people and talk about your day. At 14 hours a week, three months is about 180 hours, which is a little more than the 168 class hours in the University of Oslo's first two levels.
How much should I study Norwegian each week?
Aim for three to five hours a week of Norwegian you understand, in sessions of at least 15 to 30 minutes. A longer session lets you get lost in a story, which teaches more than five minutes a day, and steady time each week matters more than a daily streak. Our post on deep sessions over daily streaks explains why.
Is Norwegian hard for English speakers?
No, by the Foreign Service Institute's measure: Norwegian is in its first group, the languages it calls close to English. Many words look like English ones, such as hus (house) and bok (book), and a verb keeps one form for every person, as in jeg er (I am) and vi er (we are). Most of the time goes into words and getting used to the sounds, which you pick up fastest from Norwegian you understand.
Is Bubblegum free?
Yes. The lesson library is free for everyone, because we believe everyone should be able to learn. It holds lessons that other learners asked Poppy for. A new custom lesson costs us real money to make, so your first one is free, and Bubblegum Pro gives you unlimited custom lessons.
Sources
- U.S. Department of State, Foreign Language Training (FSI language categories)
- University of Oslo, NORINT0110 Norwegian for International Students, Level 1 (84 hours of teaching)
- University of Oslo, NORINT0120 Norwegian for International Students, Level 2 (84 hours of teaching)
- University of Oslo, NORINT0130 Norwegian for International Students, Level 3 (112 hours of teaching)
- Språkrådet: Norsk er både bokmål og nynorsk
- Språkrådet: Uttaleråd (no official rules for pronunciation)
