Norrǿnt mál

Old Norse

Germanic · historical / hidden variety

FamilyGermanic SpeakersExtinct ScriptRunic / Latin CountriesScandinavia, Iceland, settlements Official inNorse kingdoms Vitalityextinct ISO 639-3non

Old Norse (c. 700-1300 CE) was the language of the Viking Age sagas, Eddas, and runic inscriptions, spoken from Iceland and the Faroes through Scandinavia and the Norse colonies of the British Isles, Greenland, and Vinland. It split into East Norse (giving rise to Danish and Swedish) and West Norse (Norwegian, Icelandic, Faroese), and left a substantial loanword stratum in English (sky, leg, take, they) from the Danelaw period.

Where it is spoken

31 core words in Old Norse

Water

vatn

/vɑtn/

Fire

eldr

/eldr/

Sun

sól

/soːl/

Moon

máni

/mɑːni/

Star

stjarna

/ˈstjarna/

Mother

móðir

/moːðir/

Father

faðir

/fɑðir/

I

ek

/ek/

You

þú

/θuː/

Name

nafn

/nafn/

Eye

auga

/ɑuɣɑ/

Hand

hǫnd

/hɔnd/

Heart

hjarta

/hjɑrtɑ/

Love

ást

/ɑːst/

Tree

tré

/treː/

House

hús

/huːs/

Dog

hundr

/hundr/

Cat

kǫttr

/kɔtːr/

Eat

eta

/etɑ/

Drink

drekka

/drekːɑ/

One

einn

/ɛinː/

Two

tveir

/tveir/

Hello

heill

/hɛilː/

Thank you

þǫkk

/θɔkː/

Good

góðr

/ɡoːðr/

Cuckoo

gaukr

/ˈɡɔukr̩/

Sushi

skreið

/ˈskreið/

Sources

Words compared

Compared with related Germanic languages

Meaning Old NorseNorwegian NynorskOld FrisianMiddle EnglishOld EnglishOld SaxonNorwegian
Water vatn /vɑtn/ vatn /vɑːtn/ wetir /wetir/ water /watər/ wæter /wæter/ watar /ˈwatar/ vann /vɑnː/
Fire eldr /eldr/ eld /ɛld/ fiur /fjuːɾ/ fyr /fyːr/ fȳr /fyːr/ fiur /fiur/ ild /ilː/
Sun sól /soːl/ sol /suːl/ sunne /sunːe/ sonne /sɔnːə/ sunne /sunːe/ sunna /ˈsunːa/ sol /suːl/
Moon máni /mɑːni/ måne /moːnə/ mōna /moːnɑ/ mone /moːnə/ mōna /moːnɑ/ māno /ˈmaːno/ måne /moːnə/
Star stjarna /ˈstjarna/ stjerne /ˈʃæːɳə/ stera /ˈstɛra/ sterre /ˈstɛrːə/ steorra /ˈstæɔrːɑ/ sterro /ˈsterro/ stjerne /ˈʂæːɳə/
Mother móðir /moːðir/ mor /muːr/ moder /moːdeɾ/ moder /moːdər/ mōdor /moːdor/ modar /ˈmoːdar/ mor /muːr/
Father faðir /fɑðir/ far /fɑːr/ feder /fædeɾ/ fader /faːdər/ fæder /fæder/ fader /ˈfadər/ far /fɑːr/
I ek /ek/ eg /eːɡ/ ik /ik/ I /iː/ ic /itʃ/ ik /ik/ jeg /jæɪ/
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Word order compared

Compare with major world languages

I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
Ich möchte einen Anzug anprobieren den ich in einem Geschäft gegenüber vom Hotel gesehen habe
Old Norse
Ek vil reyna klæði er ek í búð gagnvart herberginu
أنا أريد أن أجرب بدلة رأيتها في محل مقابل الفندق
试穿 酒店 对面的 商店 看到的 那套西装
मैं होटल के सामने एक दुकान में देखा सूट को पहनकर देखना चाहता हूँ
私は ホテルの 向かいの お店 見た スーツを 試着 したいです
Я хочу примерить костюм который я увидел в магазине напротив отеля

Compare with closely-related languages

Ek wil 'n pak aanpas wat ek gesien het ‌in 'n winkel oorkant die hotel
Jeg vil prøve et jakkesæt som jeg i en butik overfor hotellet
Ik wil een pak passen dat ik zag ‌in een winkel tegenover het hotel
I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
Old Norse
Ek vil reyna klæði er ek í búð gagnvart herberginu

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