Faen and beyond: When learning Norwegian, it鈥檚 important to learn Norwegian curse words. Even if you never use them, it鈥檚 helpful to know when someone is swearing in Norwegian…
It may be frowned upon in the best families, but sometimes nothing else than a good swear word will do. Who hasn鈥檛 uttered one after hitting their toe on the corner of the bed?
In this article, we aim to give you an overview of the Norwegian language鈥檚 most used profanities.
Forgive us if you get easily offended by expletives, because this article is full of them. If that鈥檚 you, I鈥檇 advise you to stop reading now! Although if you do scroll down to the end you鈥檒l find a list of minor, less offensive Norwegian curse words.
The root of Norwegian insults
Swear words differ quite a bit from one language to the other, but they do have common traits. They almost always stem from the most taboo parts of the language.
This means, very often, that they relate to one of three things: sex, bodily dejections, and religion. The Norwegian language is no exception in this respect.
Do Norwegians swear?
Yes, Norwegians do swear! They do it in much the same way as people from other countries. That is to say: they usually don鈥檛 do it in polite company.
If a Norwegian swears in your presence, it probably means they feel comfortable around you. Either that or you just made them very angry.
Norwegians also swear at work, sometimes. This varies from office to office, of course, but it鈥檚 not unheard of. Interestingly, a recent British study claims that .
In Norway, there is a stereotype that northerners swear more. This was even the basis of a game in an episode of the reality show, Alt for Norge.
How to swear in Norwegian
How should you, as a non-native speaker, swear in Norwegian? The answer to that is: very carefully. At least in the beginning while you are still learning Norwegian.
When learning a new language, one realises that words don鈥檛 correspond to each other exactly. A swear word, literally translated, may sound quite harmless in another language. This can easily lead to misunderstandings.
There are different levels of swearing, and it鈥檚 very easy for a non-native speaker to end up using a profanity that鈥檚 too strong for the occasion. This is why non-native speakers should tread carefully in the swearing department.
Faen
If we were to give an Oscar to the best, most commonly used and most adaptable Norwegian swear word, it would have to go to 鈥渇aen鈥�. This is the basic all-round Norwegian expletive, used in a similar way as f**k in English.
In the three categories we mentioned previously, it falls under 鈥渞eligion鈥�, as it means 鈥渄evil鈥�. Don鈥檛 get fooled though: if 鈥渄evil鈥� seems pretty harmless in English, 鈥渇aen鈥� in Norwegian is about as vulgar as f**k.
The reason faen stands out is that it can be used in so many situations. By itself, it usually expresses anger or irritation. It is often used in combination with 鈥渇y鈥� (fy faen), roughly translated: 鈥渇**king hell鈥� and with 鈥渉va鈥� (hva faen) which means 鈥渨hat the f**k.
It can also be used in expressions: 鈥渄et var som faen鈥�, which translates literally as 鈥渋t was like the devil鈥�, means something like 鈥渨ell I鈥檒l be damned鈥�.
鈥淔aen meg鈥� is also a recurring one: 鈥渄evil me鈥�. This one is hard to translate but you can get the jist of it with an example: 鈥渉an var faen meg ikke klar engang鈥� means 鈥渉e wasn鈥檛 even f**king ready鈥�.
Other common Norwegian swear words
鈥淔aen鈥� may be the leading actor but it certainly isn鈥檛 the only bad word Norwegians have in their repertoire. Here is a list of the most common and foul ones we found, if you should choose to enrich your vocabulary in that direction.
Read more: Common Phrases in Norwegian
J忙vlig, j忙vla, j忙vel
This little collection, like 鈥渇aen鈥�, has to do with the devil. 鈥淛忙vlig鈥� translates literally as 鈥渄evilish鈥� or 鈥渄evil-like鈥�, but it really means 鈥渢errible鈥�. It鈥檚 a negative adjective, but with the added characteristic of being bad language.
鈥淓n j忙vla idiot鈥� translates as 鈥淎 f**ing idiot鈥�. 鈥淛忙vel鈥� is the same word, but used as a noun. 鈥淗an er en rik j忙vel鈥� translates as 鈥淗e is a rich f**k鈥�. J忙vlig can also be used in a positive way, as in 鈥渏忙vlig god鈥� meaning 鈥渇***ing good鈥�.
Helvete
This word means 鈥渉ell鈥�. It can be used by itself, in anger – if you spill coffee on your laptop, for example: 鈥淗elvete!鈥�. Or it can be used for its literal meaning, as in 鈥淒ra til helvete鈥�, in English 鈥淕o to hell鈥�.
While the word 鈥渉ell鈥� is certainly not considered a good word in English, the word 鈥渉elvete鈥� in Norwegian seems to carry slightly more weight as a swear word than its English counterpart. It can also be combined with 鈥渇aen鈥�, as in 鈥渇aen i helvete鈥� or 鈥渇***ing hell鈥�.
Satan
By now you鈥檝e come to understand that anything that has to do with hell or the devil is (or has historically been, at least) very taboo in Norway. Satan is no exception.
This word can be used by itself as an interjection, in much the same way as 鈥渉elvete鈥�, to express anger or shock. One difference though is that 鈥渟atan鈥� can also be used to express a kind of shocked amazement, without the negative connotation.
Fitte
Let us now leave the religion aside for a moment and explore the realm of sex-related swears. 鈥淔itte鈥� refers to the female anatomy. It roughly corresponds to 鈥渃**t鈥� in English, though I say roughly because the word in English carries different weights of vulgarity depending on whether it鈥檚 pronounced in the US or in the UK.
鈥淔itte鈥� could be said to fall in between the US and UK level of 鈥渃**t鈥�. It is definitely not something you say in polite company – probably not in anyone鈥檚 company, to be honest.
It can be used to refer to a person (regardless of gender) much in the same way as one can call a person a c**t or an a** hole.
Kuk
This word is the Norwegian equivalent of 鈥渃*ck鈥�. Used as a swear word, it will most often be to insult someone. 鈥淔or en kuk!鈥� translates as 鈥淲hat a d*ck鈥濃�� or 鈥淲hat an a** hole!鈥�.
搁忙惫补
Here鈥檚 another anatomy-related profanity. 鈥淩忙v鈥� means 鈥渂utt鈥�, and r忙va is the adjective that goes with that noun.
This makes it a bit difficult to translate to English literally (there is no convenient adjective in English for 鈥渂utt-related鈥�). The meaning is easy to grasp though. 鈥淒ette var helt r忙va!鈥� means 鈥淭his really sucks!鈥�. 鈥淔or et r忙va hotellrom!鈥� means 鈥淲hat a sh*tty hotel room!鈥�.
Dritt
This is an easy one. It means 鈥渟h*t鈥� and can be used in exactly the same way.
Drit og dra
Literally translated as 鈥渟h*t and leave鈥�, this means 鈥渇*ck off鈥�.
Lesser Norwegian swear words: for milder circumstances
Sometimes the anger doesn鈥檛 reach a high enough level to justify the use of the absolute worst profanities. Or the company one keeps doesn鈥檛 allow it. Or television writers have to water down their language because they are writing a children鈥檚 show.
厂酶谤别苍 – This word falls in the same category as the American 鈥渄arn鈥� or the British 鈥渂limey鈥�. It can express anger, shock, disappointment, but without offending anyone.
Fillern – This one literally translates as 鈥渢he rag鈥�. Norwegian dictionaries tell us that it stems from faen – the idea being to modify the word to make it inoffensive.
Read more: The Norwegian Alphabet
Fyttirakkern – This one seems suspiciously close to 鈥渇itte鈥� (although I鈥檓 told there is no link here). It is another interjection that can mark surprise, shock or amazement, though rarely anger. It is safe to use in most contexts.
Pokker – This seems to be the go-to 鈥渟wear word鈥� used by people making Norwegian subtitles for foreign language shows. It is rarely used in real life, and has a slightly (unintended) comical effect when it is, because it is so harmless.
Hold kjeft – This one means 鈥渟hut up鈥�. It鈥檚 technically not a swear word, but it made the list because it is definitely offensive.
鈥淜jeft鈥� refers to the 鈥渕outh鈥� (or jaw) of an animal. To refer to a person鈥檚 mouth with that word, especially when ordering them to shut it, is therefore highly impolite. It is, however, not vulgar enough to be forbidden in children鈥檚 TV programmes.
Tell us what you think
We hope that this little guide enlightened you about the fascinating world of faen and other Norwegian profanities. Did we miss your favourite Norwegian swear word?
If you live outside of Norway but have Norwegian ancestry, does your family still use Norwegian curse words? Tell us about it in the comments!
I really appreciate this article! I think teaching learners how to swear and be angry in Norwegian should be an essential part of an advanced language course! So many times I have been frustrated at my inability to express myself pithily in Norwegian when confronted with bad service, life-threateningly reckless city bus drivers, or downright impoliteness. I wish I could have read your guide when I arrived here 46 years ago. I learned to swear in Norwegian by repeating what I heard my husband say. I think I shocked quite a few people! Turns out that women do not use the words he used. How was I supposed to know? They didn鈥檛 teach us that at the language courses I attended!
You mention that fitte is between the U.S. and U.K. senses of the word c**t. In which country would you say that c**t is more offensive? My sense is that it is used casually in the U.K. but is considered extremely offensive in the U.S., much more offensive than f**k. If that is the case, than an American in Norway would find fitte far worse than a Brit. What do you think?
Hey there! Absolutely, c**t is far more offensive in the US than in the UK. Not sure if that would impact an American person’s assessment of how offensive fitte is though, since the “offensiveness” doesn’t follow the literal translation (the best example being faen, which translates literally as a more or less completely inoffensive “devil”). Fitte can also be used casually, but that use is not as widespread as it is for c**t in the UK. Regional particularities within Norway also make it quite difficult to generalise. One thing is certain: if you’re concerned about offending people, don’t use fitte 馃槢
I am surprised to learn of the word 厂酶谤别苍…I lived near Lunner in Hadeland in 1960 when I was younger, visiting…I live in the US. That is also the name of my Great-Grandfather, who was born in Folda in 1852. How would this relate the the name, if any?
Hey Ragnar! You’re right that 厂酶谤别苍 is also a name. It’s a coincidence though, the two are completely unrelated as far as I can tell.
厂酶谤别苍 is an old euphemism for Satan.
Fytirakkern is a contraction of Fy til rakkeren literally “Fie, to the executioner” the rakker, besides executing criminals, also being the collector of night soil and doing other unsavoury duties in the old urban society. See also “rakkerunger” /”Children of the executioner” as an old fashioned expression for highly disagreeable children.
The rakkar was not the executioner, but below that level. He was the person emptying the toilet pans, clearing off dead animals and cleaning the scaffold and the remains after an execution. If the executed convicts head and body was to be put on display, it was the rakkar that had to put the body parts up on sticks and wheels. This job was below the level of the executioner to get involved in.
Fanden in Danish
I would say rompe translate to butt, r忙va to ass . Greetings from a Norwegian in Calgary .
Here are a couple that my grandfather used, but I never knew what they meant. Maybe they will sound familiar to a Norwegian speaker.
1. Sounded like “fy fos og en.” All spoken together, of course.
2. Sounded like “酶schling.” This one was a noun, something that I gathered that is was insulting to be called.
Possibly a Fy fasan drawn out, a mild euphemism for “Fie, the devil”.
脴shling is probably usling, literally”wretch”, but with worse connotations of despicable. craven and untrustworthy.
Possibly a Fy fasan drawn out, a mild euphemism for “Fie, the devil”.
脴shling is probably usling, literally”wretch”, but with worse connotations of despicable. craven and untrustworthy.
I don鈥檛 currently live in Norway so I鈥檓 not up on all the latest slang and such. I pick up what I can on my visits but I learned to speak Norwegian as a young child over 60 years ago.
One of my favorite go to curses is faen ta. Is that still in use?
I’ve been to Norway 3 times and know just a few words of Norwegian. Something I learned from my friend who lives there is the huge number of dialects in different regions of Norway and each region stubbornly refuse to back off from their dialect. Is this true of swear words as well?
You forgot “hestkuk” = horse-dick.
Mamma鈥檚 favourite was 鈥渒yss meg p氓 r忙va鈥�. Dad used a few Norsk/ Engelsk combinations which were highly entertaining as we grew old enough to know what they meant.
Good article , but you left out the juicy swear words that are common in Northern Norway.
Fyttirakkern stems from “fy til rakkeren” or to spit at the “rakker”. Rakker was the person who was the assistant to the executioner and who removed the body after a suicide. He also emptied the toilets at night and performed castration on animals. The word “rakkerunge” means the kid of the rakker and it became forbidden to use in the late 1600, because the “rakker” or “nattmannen” (night-man) was important for the community and needed protection. In modern Norway rakker-unge is used both in positive and negative terms and points to a (positive) mildly mischievous child or (negative) a kid who is being a general pain in the lower parts of the back.
I鈥檓 of Norwegian descent in the US, but grew up hearing 鈥淔y鈥� , not sure of the spelling, used to express varying degrees of dislike, disapproval or disgust. I use it, but I鈥檓 not sure how it translates.