Synonyms and shades of meaning

Si or fortelle? Mene, synes or tro? At C1 level you choose the word that says exactly what you mean.

We teach Bokmål, the written standard most people in Norway use.

In short: Words that look alike often differ in nuance. Choose the word that fits the situation precisely.

Rules

Si: the most general word, 'say'. Hun sa at hun var sliten.
Fortelle: to tell someone information or a story. Han fortalte meg om ferien.
Uttale: formal, used for public statements – 'state'. Ministeren uttalte at saken var løst.
Påstå: to claim that something is true without proof. Han påstår at han var hjemme.
Mene: to hold a view after thinking it over – 'believe, be of the opinion'. Jeg mener at skatten bør ned.
Synes: personal taste or experience – 'think, find'. Jeg synes filmen var kjedelig.
Tro: to think something is true without knowing for sure – 'think, believe'. Jeg tror det blir regn.
Anta: to assume something as a hypothesis; more formal. Vi antar at prisene vil stige.
Viktig, vesentlig, avgjørende: viktig = important (neutral); vesentlig = essential, at the core; avgjørende = decisive, the outcome depends on it. Været ble avgjørende for kampen.
Endre, forandre, justere: endre and forandre both mean 'change' (endre is more common in formal texts); justere = adjust slightly. Vi justerte planen.
Tip: Bokmålsordboka (ordbokene.no) shows examples of how the words are used.

Typical mistake: translating 'I think' as «jeg tenker». Use «jeg synes» (taste), «jeg mener» (opinion) or «jeg tror» (not sure).

Hun fortalte at hun hadde fått ny jobb.She told us she had got a new job.
Politiet uttalte at ingen ble skadet.The police stated that no one was injured.
Han påstår at han aldri har fått brevet.He claims he never received the letter.
Jeg synes maten var for salt, men det mener ikke kokken.I thought the food was too salty, but the chef doesn't agree.
Vi antar at alle deltakerne har lest rapporten.We assume that all participants have read the report.
Det er en vesentlig forskjell på de to tilbudene.There is a significant difference between the two offers.
Det siste målet ble avgjørende for kampen.The last goal decided the match.
Vi må justere budsjettet litt, ikke endre hele planen.We need to adjust the budget a little, not change the whole plan.