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Silent letters in Norwegian

One of the problematic areas for new learners of Norwegian is the silent letters.
It can be confusing and unfortunately it might not help much to view lists of rules.
However, here are the main silent letters and in which contexts, so it might help you work in the habits when first starting out.


Silent "H" in question words

The main rule which you also will encounter from the beginning is the silent "h" when using question words (Norwegian equivalent of what, where etce).
In Norwegian the words start with Hv-. All of the "h"s are silent when using the very common words like: "Hvor" "Hvem" "Hvorfor" "Hvilken"


Silent "h" and "g" when starting with gj and hj

Many words in Norwegian starts with combinations of "hj" and "gj". In these words the first letter is silent.
Some simple examples are: "hjelpe" "gjeld" "hjerne" "gjerne". The last two with similar pronunciation but with quite different meaning.


Silent "g" in -lig/-ig combination

The rule is silent g in "-lig" combination, but it is almost 100% "-ig" combinations. This is a very common combination, particularly in adjectives.
This combination can be both in the end of words as well as in the middle of words. Examples: "vanlig" "merkeligere" "farlig"


Silent d

Many Norwegian words have silent "d". This is particularly true if the letter is in the end of a word.
The words keep the letter silent even after it has been conjugated in a manner that move the letter more to the front when it is a noun.
A very few dialects still pronounce the d in these words, but it is a rarety.
Some sample words are: "fjord" "skyld" "land". If you conjugate the last word you will get "landet" and the d remain silent.
In this case, also the "t" is silent as we will see in the nest rule.


Silent "t" in nouns - definitive form

As you might know, in Norwegian the definite form of a noun is expressed by putting an ending on the word.
In the neutral version of the nouns the ending will be "-et". In this conjugation the "-t" becomes silent.
For example "et hus" (a house) -> "Huset" (the house). In the latter the "t" is silent.

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