Learning The Days Of The Week In Norwegian and Their Meanings

In many places, Sunday is considered as the first day of the week, but in Norway, the week officially starts on Monday. If you’re learning Norwegian, one of the first things you must do is memorize the days of the week. Mastering the days of the week is a great way to improve your skills in this Scandinavian language.

The interesting thing about the days of the week in Norwegian is that they never begin with a capital letter when written, and each has its own unique meaning. Some are associated with celestial bodies, while others are associated with figures from Norse mythology. If you’re curious what they are, read on!

Days of the Week

• Monday: mandag (man-dag) — named after Måne (the moon)
• Tuesday: tirsdag (tirsh-dag) — named after Tyr, the Norse god of war and justice
• Wednesday: onsdag (ons-dag) — named after Odin, the Norse god of war
• Thursday: torsdag (torsh-dag) — named after Thor, the Norse god of thunder
• Friday: fredag (freya-dag) — named after Frigg and Freya, the Norse goddesses of love
• Saturday: lørdag (lur-dag) — derived from “laugardagr” which means washing day
• Sunday: søndag (sun-dag) — named after Sól (the sun)

Basic Vocabulary

• Now: nå (noh)
• Daily: daglig (dag-lig)
• Weekly: ukentlig (ooh-kent-lig)
• Next week: neste uke (nes-teh ooh-ka)
• Weekend: helg (helg)
• Today: i dag (ee dag)
• Tomorrow: i morgen (ee mohrn)
• Tonight: i kveld (ee kuh-vel)