Do Swedish and Norwegian sound the same?
Danish and Norwegian are very similar, or indeed almost identical when it comes to vocabulary, but they sound very different from one another. Norwegian and Swedish are closer in terms of pronunciation, but the words differ.
Can Danes Swedes and Norwegians understand each other?
Mutual intelligibility. Generally, speakers of the three largest Scandinavian languages (Danish, Norwegian and Swedish) can read and speak each other’s languages without great difficulty. Danish speakers generally do not understand Norwegian as well as the extremely similar written norms would lead one to expect.
How different are Norwegian and Swedish?
With the written language, Norwegian has a much tighter bond with Danish and most natives of the two languages rarely have problems reading and understanding texts from their counterparts. Swedish on the other hand tends to differ a bit more, both when it comes to spelling and vocabulary.
Is Danish similar to Norwegian and Swedish?
Danish and Norwegian are very similar, or indeed almost identical when it comes to vocabulary, but they sound very different from one another. Norwegian and Swedish are closer in terms of pronunciation, but the words differ. I like to think of the Scandinavian languages like three sisters.
What do Swedes and Norwegians think of each other?
If a Swede and a Norwegian agree to do something roligt together, the Swede will be expecting to have a lot of fun, but the Norwegian will be preparing for something more calm and relaxing. If a Dane thinks a Norwegian is nice or cute, they call them rar . The Norwegian, however, might be quite offended, as rar means “strange.”
Why is the Norwegian language so different from other languages?
There are three main reasons for this. First, Norwegian is quite simply the “middle child” — written like Danish but sounding like Swedish. Second is that they’re used to hearing Swedish and Danish on TV and radio.
Are conversations between Swedes and Danes really that awkward?
Conversations between Swedes and Danes in particular take a lot of concentration and are known to be a bit awkward. The clichés are many: “They sound like they’re drunk all the time!”, “It’s as if they had a potato in their throat!”, “Raging drunk Norwegians speak perfect Danish!” or “Why don’t they articulate?”