NorskGrammatikk logo Norskgrammatikk
EN

Formal writing

Emails, applications and complaints: how to open, connect and close a formal text in Norwegian.

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

Rules

  1. Greeting: Hei / Hei, Kari! (most common, also at work) – God dag (more formal) – Til den det mĂ„tte angĂ„ (To whom it may concern; very formal, rare).
  2. Norwegian formal style is plain: du for everyone, first names are normal. 'KjĂŠre herr Hansen' and 'De' sound old-fashioned. Don't copy 'Dear Sir/Madam'.
  3. Opening: Jeg viser til annonsen pÄ finn.no 
 (With reference to
) / Jeg skriver for Ä sÞke pÄ stillingen som 
 / Takk for svar.
  4. Closing: Med vennlig hilsen (Kind regards; formal, also mvh), Vennlig hilsen, Hilsen (neutral). No comma after it, name on a new line.
  5. Before the closing: Jeg ser fram til Ä hÞre fra deg. / Ta gjerne kontakt hvis du har spÞrsmÄl.
  6. Connectors – cause/result: derfor (therefore), dermed (thus), pĂ„ grunn av (because of), ettersom (since). Contrast: likevel (still), imidlertid (however), derimot (on the other hand), selv om.
  7. Addition: dessuten (besides), i tillegg (in addition), ogsÄ, for Þvrig. Structure: for det fÞrste, for det andre, til slutt, pÄ den ene siden 
 pÄ den andre siden.
  8. An adverb at the start triggers inversion: Derfor sþker jeg 
 / Likevel mener jeg 
 / I tillegg har jeg 
 (not 'I tillegg jeg har' – the classic English-speaker mistake).
  9. Register: kjempebra → svĂŠrt bra, fĂ„ → motta, si fra → informere, sjekke → undersĂžke, fikse → ordne. Avoid abbreviations like pga. and bl.a. in applications.
  10. Typical mistakes: 'sþke for stillingen' → sþke PÅ; 'interessert for' → interessert I; capitals on days and languages – norsk, mandag are lower case.
  11. One paragraph = one idea. Short sentences. Read it aloud before sending.

Examples

  • Jeg viser til annonsen pĂ„ finn.no og sĂžker herved pĂ„ stillingen som sykepleier.With reference to the advert on finn.no, I am applying for the position of nurse.
  • Jeg har fem Ă„rs erfaring fra butikk. I tillegg snakker jeg tre sprĂ„k.I have five years of experience in retail. In addition, I speak three languages.
  • Varen kom Ăždelagt. Derfor ber jeg om Ă„ fĂ„ pengene tilbake.The item arrived damaged. I am therefore asking for a refund.
  • Prosjektet er dyrt. Likevel mener jeg at vi bĂžr satse pĂ„ det.The project is expensive. Still, I think we should go for it.
  • PĂ„ den ene siden er det praktisk, pĂ„ den andre siden er det dyrt.On the one hand it's practical, on the other hand it's expensive.
  • Ta gjerne kontakt hvis du har spĂžrsmĂ„l.Feel free to get in touch if you have any questions.
  • Jeg ser fram til Ă„ hĂžre fra deg.I look forward to hearing from you.
  • Med vennlig hilsen – Anna NowakKind regards, – Anna Nowak

Practise with a test (B2) Translate into Norwegian

✉ Found a mistake? Tell us