Numbers and Time in Norwegian

Overview

Numbers and time expressions are among the most practical vocabulary you will learn at the A1 level. You need them for shopping, scheduling, telling time, understanding addresses, and navigating daily life in Norway. Norwegian numbers follow a Germanic pattern that will be familiar if you know any other Scandinavian or Germanic language, though there are some specific conventions that differ from English.

Norwegian uses a relatively straightforward system for cardinal numbers, with the numbers 1-12 being unique words and the teens and larger numbers following predictable patterns. Telling time in Norwegian has its own conventions, including the use of halv (half) in a way that surprises English speakers — halv tre means 2:30, not 3:30.

Beyond basic counting, this topic covers ordinal numbers, days of the week, months, and seasons. These time-related words appear in essentially every conversation about plans, schedules, and dates. Mastering them at A1 gives you the practical tools to function in Norwegian-speaking environments.

How It Works

Cardinal numbers 0-20

Number	Norwegian	Number	Norwegian
0	null	11	elleve
1	en/ett	12	tolv
2	to	13	tretten
3	tre	14	fjorten
4	fire	15	femten
5	fem	16	seksten
6	seks	17	sytten
7	sju (syv)	18	atten
8	åtte	19	nitten
9	ni	20	tjue (tyve)
10	ti

Note: en is used with masculine/feminine nouns, ett with neuter: en bil but ett hus.

Tens and compound numbers

Number	Norwegian	Number	Norwegian
20	tjue	60	seksti
21	tjueen	70	sytti
30	tretti	80	åtti
40	førti	90	nitti
50	femti	100	hundre

Compound numbers are formed like English: tjueen (21), trettito (32), førtifem (45).

Telling time

Norwegian	English	System
Klokka er tre.	It's three o'clock.	Full hour
Klokka er fem over tre.	It's five past three.	Minutes past
Klokka er ti over tre.	It's ten past three.	Minutes past
Klokka er kvart over tre.	It's quarter past three.	Quarter past
Klokka er halv fire.	It's half past three (3:30).	Half to next hour!
Klokka er kvart på fire.	It's quarter to four.	Quarter to
Klokka er fem på fire.	It's five to four.	Minutes to
Klokka er 15.30.	It's 15:30.	24-hour clock

Important: Halv fire means 3:30 (halfway to four), not 4:30. This catches many English speakers off guard.

Days of the week

Norwegian	English
mandag	Monday
tirsdag	Tuesday
onsdag	Wednesday
torsdag	Thursday
fredag	Friday
lørdag	Saturday
søndag	Sunday

Days are not capitalized in Norwegian. Use på before days: på mandag (on Monday).

Months

Norwegian	English	Norwegian	English
januar	January	juli	July
februar	February	august	August
mars	March	september	September
april	April	oktober	October
mai	May	november	November
juni	June	desember	December

Months are not capitalized. Use i before months: i mars (in March).

Seasons

Norwegian	English
vår	spring
sommer	summer
høst	autumn
vinter	winter

Use i or om before seasons: i sommer / om sommeren (in summer / during the summer).

Ordinal numbers (1st-10th)

Norwegian	English
første	first
andre	second
tredje	third
fjerde	fourth
femte	fifth
sjette	sixth
sjuende (syvende)	seventh
åttende	eighth
niende	ninth
tiende	tenth

Used for dates: den første mai (the first of May), den tjuetredje juni (the twenty-third of June).

Examples in Context

Norwegian	English	Note
Klokka er tre.	It's three o'clock.	Telling time
Det er den første mai.	It's the first of May.	Ordinal + date
på mandag	on Monday	Day with preposition
tjueen kroner	twenty-one kroner	Currency
Jeg har to barn.	I have two children.	Cardinal number
Møtet er klokka ti.	The meeting is at ten.	Scheduling
Hun er tretti år gammel.	She is thirty years old.	Age
Det er halv fem.	It's 4:30.	Half to five
Vi reiser i juni.	We travel in June.	Month with i
Det er kaldt om vinteren.	It's cold in winter.	Season
Bussen går kvart over åtte.	The bus leaves at quarter past eight.	Transport schedule
Jeg bor i tredje etasje.	I live on the third floor.	Ordinal

Common Mistakes

Wrong: Halv tre to mean 3:30. Right: Halv tre means 2:30 (half to three). Why: In Norwegian, halv + number means "halfway to that number." Halv tre = 2:30, halv fire = 3:30. This is the single most common time-telling error for English speakers.

Wrong: på Mars (capitalized month) Right: i mars Why: Months and days are not capitalized in Norwegian, and months take the preposition i, not på.

Wrong: Jeg har en hus (using en with a neuter noun after a number) Right: Jeg har ett hus. Why: The number "one" has two forms: en for masculine/feminine and ett for neuter. Other numbers do not change.

Wrong: på juni (wrong preposition for months) Right: i juni Why: Months use i. Days use på: på tirsdag. Mixing them up is very common.

Wrong: Klokka er tre og halv (trying to say 3:30 like English) Right: Klokka er halv fire. Why: Norwegian expresses half hours as "halfway to the next hour." There is no construction equivalent to "three and a half" for time.

Usage Notes

Norwegians commonly use the 24-hour clock in writing and schedules: Toget går klokka 15.30 (The train leaves at 15:30). In casual speech, the 12-hour system with halv, kvart over, and kvart på is more common. Both systems are important to understand.

The informal word klokka (the clock) is used where English uses "at" with time: klokka fem = at five o'clock. In more formal writing, you might see kl. as an abbreviation.

Prices use Norwegian kroner (NOK): Det koster femti kroner (It costs fifty kroner). Decimals use a comma in Norwegian: 3,5 (three point five).

This is a highly practical A1 topic that you will use daily from the moment you arrive in Norway.

Practice Tips

• Tell the time throughout the day. Every time you check your watch, say the time in Norwegian. Focus especially on the halv construction until it feels natural.
• Practice dates. Say today's date in Norwegian every morning: I dag er det den andre april.
• Count things around you. When you see groups of objects, count them in Norwegian: tre biler, fem trær, to hunder.

Related Concepts

• Next steps: Ordinal Numbers — deeper coverage of ordinals beyond the basics
• Next steps: Temporal Expressions — more complex time phrases and expressions