Animals

1. hund

   Dog

   Usage

   "Jeg har blitt bitt av en hund" — a dog bit me. Dogs go most places in Norway, but leads are a legal requirement during the sheep grazing season from spring to autumn

2. katt

   Cat

   Usage

   "Jeg er allergisk mot katt" — I'm allergic to cats. Worth asking before booking a private room

3. fugl

   Bird

   Usage

   Birdwatching is "fuglekikking". The seabird colonies of Lofoten and Runde are world-famous

4. fisk

   Fish

   Usage

   The same word for the animal and the food. Sea fishing is free to anyone, but salmon and trout in rivers and lakes need a "fiskekort" permit

5. hest

   Horse

   Usage

   Riding is "riding". Norway's own small breed, the "fjording" or fjord horse, is known for its pale mane

6. ku

   Cow

   Usage

   The plural is "kyr". In summer they go up to the mountain "seter" pastures. Beef is a separate word, "storfekjøtt"

7. gris

   Pig

   Usage

   Pork is "svinekjøtt". To avoid it, say "jeg spiser ikke svin"

8. sau

   Sheep

   Usage

   Free-roaming on mountains and roads all summer, so you will meet them on any hike. Hit one with a car and you owe the farmer compensation, so slow down on mountain roads. The mutton stew "fårikål" is the national dish

9. høne

   Hen

   Usage

   Chicken as food is a different word, "kylling", and that is what menus use. "Høne" is the live bird

10. rein

    Reindeer

    Usage

    Herded by Sámi families in Finnmark and a real hazard when they cross the road. Genuinely wild herds survive on the Hardangervidda plateau. Also called "reinsdyr"; on menus look for "reinsdyrsteik"

11. elg

    Moose / Elk

    Usage

    The "king of the forest" and Norway's largest wild animal, on those yellow warning triangles. They cross roads at dawn and dusk, and if you hit one you must stay and call 112

12. rev

    Fox

    Usage

    Found in suburbs as well as forests, and not to be touched. The mountains also hold the arctic fox, "fjellrev", though it is endangered and rarely seen

13. pinnsvin

    Hedgehog

    Usage

    Snuffling through gardens on summer nights, mostly in the south — they do not live in the north. Protected, so leave them alone

14. ekorn

    Squirrel

    Usage

    The red squirrel with tufted ears, easy to see even in city parks like Oslo's Frognerparken

15. hare

    Hare

    Usage

    The Norwegian species is the mountain hare, which turns white in winter. A pet rabbit is a different word, "kanin"

16. rådyr

    Roe deer

    Usage

    The commonest wild deer in the south — much smaller than a moose, and often by fields and roads. The bigger red deer, "hjort", is a western Norway animal

17. bjørn

    Bear

    Usage

    Brown bears cling on only along the eastern Swedish border and you will not meet one. The polar bear, "isbjørn", on Svalbard is genuinely dangerous — carrying a firearm outside the settlements is compulsory

18. ulv

    Wolf

    Usage

    A small population inside the eastern "ulvesonen" wolf zone. You will not see one, but the conflict with sheep farmers is a live political issue in Norway

19. sel

    Seal

    Usage

    Basking on rocks in the fjords and along the coast, and a regular sight on boat trips

20. hval

    Whale

    Usage

    A "hvalsafari" is a northern speciality, running from Andenes and Tromsø. In winter orcas ("spekkhogger") and humpbacks follow the herring into the fjords

21. måke

    Gull

    Usage

    They will take food off an outdoor table in any harbour town, and the ones at Bergen's fish market are notoriously bold — watch your plate

22. svane

    Swan

    Usage

    Common on city waterfronts, but aggressive near a nest, so keep your distance

23. and

    Duck

    Usage

    Plural "ender". Everywhere on park ponds — but do not feed them bread, which is bad for waterfowl

    Grammar Note

    Nothing to do with English "and" — Norwegian for "and" is "og"

24. kråke

    Crow

    Usage

    The Norwegian one is the grey-and-black hooded crow. The big all-black bird is a "ravn", the raven of Odin in Norse myth

25. skjære

    Magpie

    Usage

    The black-and-white long-tailed bird you see in every Norwegian town, and the one folklore accuses of stealing shiny things. Spelled like the verb "skjære" (to cut)

26. ugle

    Owl

    Usage

    More often heard than seen in the forest at night. The far north also has the snowy owl, "snøugle"

27. hoggorm

    European adder (venomous)

    Usage

    Norway's only venomous snake, marked by the zigzag stripe down its back and found on sunny rocks and forest-track edges. If bitten, keep still and call 113, the medical emergency number. The harmless "buorm" is told apart by the yellow patches on its neck

28. frosk

    Frog

    Usage

    They chorus in the marshes in spring. Despite appearances, Oslo's Frognerparken is named after a farm, not the frog

29. mygg

    Mosquito

    Usage

    They swarm in the northern summer — in July you simply cannot walk into a Finnmark forest without repellent, "myggmiddel". The form is the same in singular and plural

30. knott

    Blackfly / Midge

    Usage

    Smaller than a mosquito and swarming along rivers inland in summer. The bites swell more and itch longer than mosquito bites, and only a fine-mesh net keeps them out

31. flått

    Tick

    Usage

    The insect to take seriously in Norway, especially along the southern coast — ticks carry both borreliosis and tick-borne encephalitis. Check yourself after walking through long grass and pull any tick straight out with a "flåttfjerner" from a pharmacy

32. veps

    Wasp

    Usage

    They arrive at outdoor tables in late summer. "Jeg har blitt stukket av en veps" — a wasp stung me. Say so at once if you are allergic

33. bie

    Bee

    Usage

    Distinguished from the aggressive "veps". Honey is "honning" — useful when hunting for local honey at a market

34. maur

    Ant

    Usage

    Those metre-high mounds in the forest are "maurtue", wood ant nests. Step on one and you get sprayed with formic acid, so give them room

35. edderkopp

    Spider

    Usage

    No Norwegian spider is dangerous to people, including the big ones that wander indoors in autumn

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