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

20 core words in Old Norse

Water

vatn

/vɑtn/

Fire

eldr

/eldr/

Sun

sól

/soːl/

Moon

máni

/mɑːni/

Mother

móðir

/moːðir/

Father

faðir

/fɑðir/

Eat

eta

/etɑ/

Drink

drekka

/drekːɑ/

Love

ást

/ɑːst/

Heart

hjarta

/hjɑrtɑ/

Tree

tré

/treː/

House

hús

/huːs/

Dog

hundr

/hundr/

Cat

kǫttr

/kɔtːr/

Hand

hǫnd

/hɔnd/

Eye

auga

/ɑuɣɑ/

Hello

heill

/hɛilː/

Thank you

þǫkk

/θɔkː/

One

einn

/ɛinː/

Good

góðr

/ɡoːðr/

Sources

Words compared

Compared with related Germanic languages

Meaning Old NorseNorwegian NynorskNorwegianOld EnglishOld FrisianMiddle EnglishGothic
Water vatn /vɑtn/ vatn /vɑːtn/ vann /vɑnː/ wæter /wæter/ wetir /vetiɾ/ water /watər/ 𐍅𐌰𐍄𐍉 /wɑtoː/
Fire eldr /eldr/ eld /ɛld/ ild /ilː/ fȳr /fyːr/ fiur /fjuːɾ/ fyr /fyːr/ 𐍆𐍉𐌽 /foːn/
Sun sól /soːl/ sol /suːl/ sol /suːl/ sunne /sunːe/ sunne /sunːe/ sonne /sɔnːə/ 𐍃𐌿𐌽𐌽𐍉 /sunːoː/
Moon máni /mɑːni/ måne /moːnə/ måne /moːnə/ mōna /moːnɑ/ mōna /moːnɑ/ mone /moːnə/ 𐌼𐌴𐌽𐌰 /meːnɑ/
Mother móðir /moːðir/ mor /muːr/ mor /muːr/ mōdor /moːdor/ moder /moːdeɾ/ moder /moːdər/ 𐌰𐌹𐌸𐌴𐌹 /aiθiː/
Father faðir /fɑðir/ far /fɑːr/ far /fɑːr/ fæder /fæder/ feder /fædeɾ/ fader /faːdər/ 𐌰𐍄𐍄𐌰 /ɑtːɑ/
Eat eta /etɑ/ eta /eːtɑ/ spise /spiːsə/ etan /etɑn/ eta /etɑ/ eten /eːtən/ 𐌼𐌰𐍄𐌾𐌰𐌽 /mɑtjɑn/
Drink drekka /drekːɑ/ drikka /drɪkːɑ/ drikke /drɪkːə/ drincan /drinkɑn/ drinka /dɾinkɑ/ drinken /drɪŋkən/ 𐌳𐍂𐌹𐌲𐌺𐌰𐌽 /driŋkɑn/
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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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