Practical Bokmål with English translations
Norwegian Family Words and Relationship Phrases
Introduce relatives, explain who is related to whom and describe your household in Bokmål. Learn family words in useful sentences, including grandparents, cousins and partners. Add the guide once for gradual learning and ongoing review.
How do I introduce a family member in Norwegian?
Use Dette er … (“This is …”): Dette er søsteren min, Nora. (“This is my sister, Nora.”) To explain a relationship between two people, say Nora er tanten til Emil. (“Nora is Emil’s aunt.”)
Et søskenbarn means a cousin without specifying gender. En fetter is a male cousin and en kusine is a female cousin.
Learn these words and phrases over time
Includes all five sections below. A free account is needed.
Words and phrases
Parents, children and siblings
Name close family members and say whether you have siblings.
English
a mother
Norwegian
en mor
English
a father
Norwegian
en far
English
parents
Norwegian
foreldre
English
a daughter
Norwegian
en datter
English
a son
Norwegian
en sønn
English
siblings
Norwegian
søsken
English
I have a brother and a sister.
Norwegian
Jeg har en bror og en søster.
English
I am an only child.
Norwegian
Jeg er enebarn.
Words and phrases
Grandparents and cousins
Learn words that distinguish family sides and words that leave them unspecified.
English
a grandmother (either side)
Norwegian
en bestemor
English
a grandfather (either side)
Norwegian
en bestefar
English
my mother's mother
Norwegian
mormoren min
English
my mother's father
Norwegian
morfaren min
English
my father's mother
Norwegian
farmoren min
English
my father's father
Norwegian
farfaren min
English
a cousin (any gender)
Norwegian
et søskenbarn
English
She is my cousin.
Norwegian
Hun er kusinen min.
Words and phrases
Introducing relatives
Use complete sentences to explain how people are related.
English
This is my sister, Nora.
Norwegian
Dette er søsteren min, Nora.
English
Nora is Emil's aunt.
Norwegian
Nora er tanten til Emil.
English
Emil is my nephew.
Norwegian
Emil er nevøen min.
English
Lea is my niece.
Norwegian
Lea er niesen min.
English
Jonas is my uncle.
Norwegian
Jonas er onkelen min.
English
He is my cousin.
Norwegian
Han er fetteren min.
Words and phrases
Partners and households
Describe relationships without assuming every household has the same structure.
English
This is my partner.
Norwegian
Dette er partneren min.
English
I live with my partner. (unmarried, living together)
Norwegian
Jeg bor sammen med samboeren min.
English
My romantic partner lives in Bergen.
Norwegian
Kjæresten min bor i Bergen.
English
We are married and have two children.
Norwegian
Vi er gift og har to barn.
English
My wife is called Sara.
Norwegian
Kona mi heter Sara.
English
My husband is called Amir.
Norwegian
Mannen min heter Amir.
English
I have a stepsister.
Norwegian
Jeg har en stesøster.
English
I live alone.
Norwegian
Jeg bor alene.
Words and phrases
Talking about family
Ask about relationships, keep in touch and choose how much to share.
English
How are you related?
Norwegian
Hvordan er dere i slekt?
English
Do you have family nearby?
Norwegian
Har du familie i nærheten?
English
My parents live in another country.
Norwegian
Foreldrene mine bor i et annet land.
English
We often talk on the phone.
Norwegian
Vi snakker ofte sammen på telefon.
English
My brother helps us with the children.
Norwegian
Broren min hjelper oss med barna.
English
I would rather not talk about that.
Norwegian
Det vil jeg helst ikke snakke om.
Usage notes
Søsken means siblings, while søskenbarn means cousins. Mormor and morfar are your mother’s parents; farmor and farfar are your father’s parents. Bestemor and bestefar do not specify the side of the family.
In introductions, samboeren min normally means the partner you live with without being married. Kjæresten min identifies a romantic partner without saying that you live together. Partneren min is another useful choice. Use the terms people use for their own relationships.
With the possessive after the noun, use a definite form: broren min, barnet mitt, foreldrene mine. Both common-gender forms such as søsteren min and feminine forms such as søstera mi are Bokmål. The examples also use kona mi (“my wife”). This guide practises introductions, leaving detailed possessive grammar to a separate lesson.
References for the terminology and context: NTNU NoW: family words. NTNU LearnNoW: possessives. Bokmålsordboka: samboer. Bokmålsordboka: stesøster.
Practise a conversation
Draw a small real or invented family tree. Introduce three people, explain one relationship using til, and say who lives together. Then cover the answers and distinguish a sibling from a cousin, and the mother’s side from the father’s side. Share only personal details you want to share.
You can add the whole guide for ongoing learning; Learnalist introduces its cards gradually and brings them back for review. Use these examples to rehearse today's situation whenever you need them.