Norwegian word choices
Da vs når: which word means “when”?
Use da for a particular past occasion or period. Use når for repeated events and future situations. Practise the written Bokmål distinction in four short examples.
The difference
Da connects an event to a particular occasion or period in the past. Jeg lagde middag da jeg kom hjem i går describes one return home yesterday.
Når is used for repeated events and future situations. Jeg lager middag når jeg kommer hjem can describe a routine. Jeg lager middag når jeg kommer hjem i morgen looks ahead to tomorrow.
A past tense does not always mean da
Repeated past events use når too: Jeg tok alltid bussen når det regnet. The rain and bus journeys happened on repeated occasions. By contrast, da jeg var barn refers to childhood as a period in the past.
The exercise follows the standard written distinction. It covers da and når as words connecting clauses, not every use of either word. For example, når can also ask “when?”, while da can mean “then”.
See Språkrådet’s guidance on da and når for the grammar behind this distinction. The situations and practice notes here are original examples.
Four practice notes
Keep these examples for learning
Each note keeps the situation, sentence and explanation together.
Prompt
You are telling someone about one particular return home yesterday. Jeg lagde middag ___ jeg kom hjem i går. Choose da or når.
Answer and explanation
Jeg lagde middag da jeg kom hjem i går. I made dinner when I got home yesterday. This was one particular occasion in the past. Use da to connect the two events.
Prompt
You are describing what you regularly did on rainy days in the past. Jeg tok alltid bussen ___ det regnet. Choose da or når.
Answer and explanation
Jeg tok alltid bussen når det regnet. I always took the bus when it rained. Alltid makes this a repeated past habit. Use når even though the verbs describe the past.
Prompt
You promise to send a message after arriving tomorrow. Jeg sender deg en melding ___ jeg kommer fram i morgen. Choose da or når.
Answer and explanation
Jeg sender deg en melding når jeg kommer fram i morgen. I will send you a message when I arrive tomorrow. The arrival is in the future. Use når; the present-tense kommer can refer to that future event.
Prompt
You are talking about childhood as one period of your life. Jeg bodde i Bergen ___ jeg var barn. Choose da or når.
Answer and explanation
Jeg bodde i Bergen da jeg var barn. I lived in Bergen when I was a child. Da can refer to a past period, not only a brief event. Here it introduces the period when you were a child.