# Norwegian: Greetings From Cold and Gray



## Grefsen

I usually like to write "Hilsen fra solrike...." (Greetings from sunny....) in emails to friends in Norway, but lately close to the ocean where I live and even many kilometers inland, we haven't been seeing the sun all that often.  

Yesterday I wrote the following to a Norwegian friend:

"Hilsen fra kaldt og grått (name of city)" and was wondering if this was correct?  (My Norwegian friends almost never correct anything I write to them, even when I ask them to.)

På forhånd takk!


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## kirsitn

Almost correct.

You can either say "Hilsen fra et kaldt og grått..."  or "Hilsen fra kalde og grå..."


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## Grefsen

kirsitn said:


> Almost correct.
> 
> You can either say "Hilsen fra et kaldt og grått..."  or "Hilsen fra kalde og grå..."



So if I wrote either "Hilsen fra et kaldt og grått Oslo" or "Hilsen fra kalde og grå Oslo" then would the translation "Greetings from cold and gray Oslo"   be acceptable for both examples?


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## sigjak

Grefsen said:


> So if I wrote either "Hilsen fra et kaldt og grått Oslo" or "Hilsen fra kalde og grå Oslo" then would the translation "Greetings from cold and gray Oslo" be acceptable for both examples?


Yes, it would.
...
Then I start wondering. Would it be incorrect to use the masculine form when talking about a city? Could we also say "Hilsen fra *en* kald og grå Oslo"?????????????


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## Lemminkäinen

sigjak said:


> Could we also say "Hilsen fra *en* kald og grå Oslo"?????????????



In my ears that sounds very wrong. I'm sure there's some rule for it, but I have no idea what, unfortunately.


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## kirsitn

I don't know either if there's a rule for it, but I would definitely use the neutral form when talking about cities/places. Not entirely sure about names ending with "fjord", though. Masculine form sounds less akward in this case, but the neutral form sounds fine too.


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## sigjak

Hilsen fra en kald og grå Sognefjord./ ...den kalde og grå Sognefjorden.
Hilsen fra en kald og vindfull Karmøy./...den kalde og vindfulle Karmøy.
...Trollhaugen.
...Nesodden.
...Skudeneshavn.
These sound OK with "en" or "den", don't they?
Maybe it is even acceptable with city names ending in a neutral word, Haugesund or Ålesund?
Hilsen fra den kalde og grå (byen) Haugesund. ???????
But we can avoid the problem by forgetting all about the articles and only say:
Hilsen fra kalde og grå Haugesund/Sognefjorden etc.


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## kirsitn

To my ears it's only the fjords that sound ok with masculine form, but as long as we don't find any official rule for it, I guess it's more a matter of taste (and perhaps a question of dialect?).


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## sigjak

You could say "Det kalde Valdres". But could you say "Det kalde Hemsedal"????
I prefer "Den kalde Hemsedal/Smøla/Karmøy/Trollhaugen/Nesodden", but I am not so sure about some of the others...


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## Lemminkäinen

sigjak said:


> You could say "Det kalde Valdres". But could you say "Det kalde Hemsedal"????



I would say so, I think.



> I prefer "Den kalde Hemsedal/Smøla/Karmøy/Trollhaugen/Nesodden", but I am not so sure about some of the others...



For most of these, I think I would prefer it without the definite article (which leaves us without this dilemma  ):

*Hilsen fra kalde Nesodden/Karmøy/&c.*


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## Aleco

I would say *Hilsen fra kalde og gråe Fredrikstad* with the _-E_ after _grå_, but I don't know if that's even grammatically correct


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## Lemminkäinen

Both *grå* and *gråe* are acceptable (in the plural at least - but aren't adjectives in the plural and in the definite form similar?)


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## kirsitn

The final e is optional in adjectives ending with å (grå, blå, små etc.)


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## Grefsen

kirsitn said:


> You can either say "Hilsen fra et kaldt og grått..."  or "Hilsen fra kalde og grå..."



'Tusen takk' for all of the input from everyone.    I think for now I'll skip this whole issue of determining the gender of the various cities and just keep it simple by using "Hilsen fra kalde og grå..."


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## Grefsen

If I wanted to be a bit ironic and write "Summer greetings from cold and gray (name of city)!" would it be correct to write *"Sommerhilsen fra kalde og grå (bynavn)!"*?


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## vestfoldlilja

Yes, that would be correct Grefsen


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