Swear words in Norwegian
Profanity in theNorwegian language is referred to in Norwegian asbanneord (curse words) or simplyupassende språk (inappropriate language). Many words are characterized by dialect. The offensiveness and strength of a word may be very different between regions.
People fromNorthern Norway in particular are known for swearing in public.[1] Numerous decisions by Northerndistrict courts have confirmed that saying terms likehestkuk (literallyhorsecock) to a police officer is not punishable, as it is common usage (one ruling said: "[hestekuk] is not more than one should tolerate in daily conversation.").[2] At the same time, Northerners have been punished for using similar phrases in other parts of the country.[3] However, a 2022 ruling by the West Finnmark district court in Northern Norway, where a man was fined 42 000kroners after calling a police officerhestkuk, concluded that Northerners swearing was "a stigmatizing and dated idea – and under no circumstance correct", suggesting a reversal of this trend.[4]
Most common profanities
[edit]In 2015, the five most common profanities in Norwegian were, in order:[5]
- Forbanna means cursed, and is used as an adjective roughly equivalent to Englishfucking;forbanna hestkuk approximatesfucking horse cock. (The second part,bann, is equivalent to Englishban, and is the root of the wordbanneord.[6])
- Jævel, meaningdevil. In its noun form it carries a meaning similar tobastard. But it is most commonly used in adjective form,jævlig, for emphasis, as injævlig stor (really big).
- Fuck, sometimes spelledføkk, comes from English. A probable cognate offuck exists in Old Norwegian: Fukka means to have sex, but this fell out of use before the English term was introduced.[7]Fuck is almost always used as an interjection, and rarely refers to sex.[8]
- Faen is a contraction of the Norwegian wordfanden, which meansthe devil. It is used as an interjection, and usually translated tofuck.Faen ta deg correspons tofuck you or, literally,devil take you.[9]
- Helvete meanshell.Dra til helvete meansgo to hell.[10]
Other common swear words include:
- Forpulte, literally meaningfucked orwhore-like, frompule (to fuck).
- Satan, same as in English; used as an interjection or to refer to hell: gå til Satan meansgo to hell.
- Fitte meanscunt and is used as a noun similarly to in English;jævla fitte meansfucking cunt.
- Kuk orkukk, meaningcock; used as in English.
- Kuksuger, meaningcocksucker; same as above.
- Pikk, meaningdick, a generally less severe form ofkukk.
- Mongo, ormongoloid (occasionallymongis, particularly in theBergen area). An obsolete medical term for people withDown's Syndrome, it meansretarded orstupid.
In addition, English curse words likeretard andasshole have become increasingly popular.[11]
Norwegian grammar allows forcompound nouns, and therefore virtually infinite combinations of profanities. For instance, the termsfitte (cunt) andtryne (face) may be combined to producefittetryne (cuntface).
Less severe profanities
[edit]Note that profanities considered less severe in one region may be considered more severe in others. Most of these terms have been used on normal TV broadcasts, where profanity has become less taboo in recent years.[12]
- Kjerring refers to an old woman, usually married. It is considered a compliment in Northern and Eastern Norway. In many dialects it is simply used to meanwife.
- Dritt,drit,skitt,skit, are the same as Englishshit. The English spelling is also common.
- Drittsekk, meaningscumbag (literallyshit bag).
- Kyss meg i ræva, literallykiss my ass
- Hestkuk, meaninghorse cock. Considered mild in Northern Norway.
- Rævhål, meaningasshole. Alternative spellings includerævhøl,rasshøl,rasshull, andrævhull.
- Helsike, abowlderisation ofhelvete (hell).
- Svenskjævel (commonly spelled in Swedishsvenskjävel) roughly meaningSwedish bastard, is a common way of referring toSwedes used in Denmark as well as Norway.[13]
The following are mild terms considered acceptable for children:
- Hold kjeft, meaning shut up (literally "hold jaw").
- Søren, a bowlderisation ofSatan.[14]
- Pokker, referring tosmallpox.Pokker ta deg means(may the) smallpox take you. Often used by people who do not normally swear since it has no sexual or religious connotations.
- Fanken, a bowlderisation offanden (faen).
- Fillern, same as above, literallya dustrag.
- Fy flate, a bowlderisation offy faen.
