# Norwegian: Eyelid crease



## Elske_m

Here's a weird one for you.

I'm writing about tattooing in Norwegian, and I was trying to tell a story about a Chinese woman I know who got a tattoo so it looked like she had creases in her eyelids like Westerners do. What word would you use in Norwegian for that crease? I looked it up in the dictionary and it gave me _en brett_, _en skrukk_, and _en press_, and I'm not convinced any of them are the right word. 

Can someone help?


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## GraaEminense

I would use _fold_ or _rynke_ to describe a crease in facial skin.


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## bicontinental

Hi Graa,
Quick question: would you use "rynke" to describe the *eyelid* *crease*, the crease (or fold) which is part of the normal anatomy of the upper eyelid in for instance Caucasians? I thought "rynke" in Norwegian would be "a wrinkle", a facial crease occurring as part of the aging process?

Thanks,
Bic.


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## GraaEminense

"Rynke" is indeed "wrinkle", but can be used to describe other kinds of facial crease than those caused by aging -"rynke brynene" (wrinkling the brows) means getting angry, for instance, and "smilerynke" (smile-wrinkle) describes the folds one gets at the corners of the mouth when smiling. 

In this particular case I would probably use the composite "hudfold" (crease of skin or folded skin), but "rynke" wouldn't sound off.


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## bicontinental

Hello again Graa,

Thanks for your reply. I'm much more familiar  with Danish than Norwegian, but it has always been interesting to me  that two seemingly similar words may be used completely differently in  these two languages. But in this case it appears that we agree. 

Like you, I would also use *fold *or, better yet, *hudfold* in Danish to describe the eyelid crease,  which is why I posted my question above. I use "rynke" to decribe a  crease which is not congenital but acquired through the use of facial  muscles (e.g. frowning and smiling), which over time with age and  repetition become permanent wrinkles. You seem to use "rynke" in that  way as well, based on our examples above.

Best,
Bic.


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## NorwegianNYC

I believe *rynke* is the better word here. If you use *fold* you are semi-implying that the skin is folded in layers. *Rynke *is also a dictionary preference


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## bicontinental

Hi Norwegian,
But that's exactly the point ! The skin *is* folded where the upper lid connects with the brow[area]...you better get that mirror out Anyway, like I said, I'm not a native Norwegian speaker, so I'll obviously let you have the last word in this.  I just wanted to make sure that everyone was talking about the same anatomical structure and not about some random facial wrinkle 

Best,
Bic.


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## NorwegianNYC

OK - as long as we are talking the illusory absence of the epicanthic fold, I agree that *fold* is better.


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## bicontinental

Norwegian,
  I think this Chinese lady had her lids tattooed to create the illusion of a so-called double eyelid to make her look more “westernized.” She likely has an epicanthal fold which is typically seen in individuals of Asian descent (this is probably getting beyond the scope of this forum)

All my best,
Bic.


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