Comments on: Uff Da: What the Norwegian American Expression Really Means

By: Tricia

Tricia — Sun, 06 Jul 2025 20:22:52 +0000

My grandparents on both my mother and father’s side came to Canada from Norway in the early 1900’s, and my parents’ first language was Norwegian as a result.

Uff da, ( a mild exhortation) fy da, (things are getting seriously bad) and ish da (something is icky) were all a part of our vernacular growing up, not because of our wanting to signal our heritage but because my siblings and I thought that it was part of the English language and that everybody used it.

By: K

Fri, 04 Jul 2025 13:49:01 +0000

In reply to Elizabeth L Fiedler. This is my understanding of ish/ish da as well. I'm from Minnesota but have moved to New Mexico, and now a lot of my kids' New Mexican friends say ish/ish da because they've learned it from me. Their descendants are going to be very confused about why they're New Mexican but have somehow inherited this one Norwegian Minnesotan phrase

By: Six

Six — Mon, 28 Apr 2025 16:59:55 +0000

I landed here because I found a shirt that said “And then God said “Uff da” And he created Norwegians”
I had to find out what it means because my mom spend a lot of time in Norway with my daughter who’s very sick. My best friend (Norwegian) adopted her so she could get the best chance at survival through their healthcare system and educational system. I wanted to get her the shirt but now I’m even more confused.

By: Rodger Phillips

Rodger Phillips — Sat, 22 Jun 2024 01:24:23 +0000

Australian here, my wife and kids are of Norwegian descent, so this is my connection, however growing up in this part of Australia has shown me, in retrospect, the Norwegian influence is far reaching, my father would refer to Thunder as Thor and Loki playing billiards or moving furniture.
and we use Uff (more like Oof though) in a similar manner to the Minnesotans mentioned in the article. I recall many times over my life being exhausted and sore and saying “Oof, Crickey” or Oof, Blimey”
So for me it is good to know we basically used it as originally intended even without the ‘da’
as for using Uff Da, as a kid in the 1970’s, my parents would use Oof, to lead into alternative to ‘da’ when we would hurt ourselves. though it was also changed with ooh, and ow.
So again good for me to know that was used basically correct.
my son is learning Norwegian so I will add Uff Da to his vocabulary 🙂
my personal heritage is Welsh/Irish/Cornish/Scottish/Danish as we could trace through our ancestry, though my Uncle and I are the only ones that acknowledge the Danish connection. while not really relevant I am curious to know if the Danes use “uff da” or a variant.

By: Knute

Knute — Fri, 05 Jan 2024 17:31:11 +0000

I wonder if the usage morphed over time in Norway while getting set in stone here in the US. My grandmother brought it with her from Norway in 1916 and always used it in the US form.

By: K Wolff

K Wolff — Sun, 17 Dec 2023 18:40:11 +0000

In reply to Deb. Uff da fee da is when something isn't going very well... ish-ta fee da is something really disgusting... haha.

By: Mats

Mats — Sun, 02 Jul 2023 06:06:04 +0000

In reply to Monrad. Norwegian here. We never use "uff da" as a sigh of relief. This article was spot on describing how the expression is used in a Norwegian context.

By: Monrad

Monrad — Sat, 15 Apr 2023 01:10:43 +0000

This article is way too over the top. I grew up with a Norwegian grandfather born and raised in Norway and got citizenship into America. He used this uff-da often as did my German grandfather. What I noticed it was usually as a sigh of relief when they were relaxing/ taking a load off after hard work, or something maybe seemed a little confusing or stressful grabbing there forehead! I don’t know that’s what I experienced in America. I use it to this day because I picked up on it but it’s not a trend it just comes naturally growing up around it. But you got this Norwegian only go getter Yahoo talking about Norway well I don’t live in Norway so who gives a rats ass….perfect moment for uff-da after reading this making it weird when it isn’t.

By: Wendy Wicks

Wendy Wicks — Fri, 14 Apr 2023 17:44:51 +0000

Growing up that was the one Norwegian word I knew. My paternal Grandparents were 100% Norwegian. I only saw them when we would visit their farm in Illinois each summer (I grew up in Texas). My grandmother even painted “uf-da” on rocks for each of her grandchildren. I still have mine-it’s one of my most prized possessions!

By: Afty

Afty — Sun, 26 Feb 2023 05:48:05 +0000

I grew up saying “Uff da Meida” ok North Dakota does anyone know what the last part could mean?