# Norwegian: attending



## Grefsen

In another thread I attempted to write the following *på norsk*:

I'm really looking forward to _attending this conference_ that starts  tomorrow morning.

Here's the first reply I received:


bicontinental said:


> While we´re waiting for the Norwegians to comment, may I suggest:
> 
> "Jeg gleder meg virkelig til _å delta på konferansen_ som begynner  i morgen tidlig      ."


I'm wondering if for my example it might be better to use *"å dra på" *instead of *"å delta på"* since I will mainly be an observer gathering information at this conference as opposed to being an active participant. I should also add that even though this three day event is being called a conference by the organizers, it could probably be called a "trade show" or an "expo" too.

I'd like to limit the focus of this thread to how I could write "attending" *på norsk* in my particular example.   It was my understanding that *"å delta på" *has a meaning that is closer to "participating in" or "taking part in" as opposed to "attending."


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## NorwegianNYC

å delta på konferansen
å ta del i konferansen
å være på konferansen
å dra til konferansen (which is the lesser of options here)

However, the more accurate translation of "to attend" is "å delta" (according to Ordnett)


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## Ben Jamin

NorwegianNYC said:


> å delta på konferansen
> å ta del i konferansen
> å være på konferansen
> å dra til konferansen (which is the lesser of options here)
> 
> However, the more accurate translation of "to attend" is "å delta" (according to Ordnett)


"Å dra på konferansen" means only "to leave for the conference", but says nothing about whether you really managed to arrive, and even less whether you actually participated in it.


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## Grefsen

Tusen takk for hjelpen! 



NorwegianNYC said:


> å delta på konferansen
> å ta del i konferansen
> å være på konferansen
> å dra til konferansen (which is the lesser of options here)
> 
> However, the more accurate translation of "to attend" is "å delta" (according to Ordnett)


As I mentioned in my first post, I thought that *"å delta på" *had a meaning that was closer to "participating in" or "taking part in," so thanks for clearing that up for me.  Would a possible translation of "å ta del i konferansen" be "to take part in the conference"?

På forhånd takk!


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## Wilma_Sweden

Grefsen said:


> As I mentioned in my first post, I thought that *"å delta på" *had a meaning that was closer to "participating in" or "taking part in," so thanks for clearing that up for me.  Would a possible translation of "å ta del i konferansen" be "to take part in the conference"?


Is there any huge difference between attend, participate or take part in a conference in English? 
In Swedish, "delta" and "ta del" are used in different contexts.


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## Ben Jamin

Wilma_Sweden said:


> Is there any huge difference between attend, participate or take part in a conference in English?
> In Swedish, "delta" and "ta del" are used in different contexts.



I am not a native English speaker, but I understand 'attend' as merely being present at a conference, while I'm inclined to interpret 'participate' rather as being active, though I guess many people will use them interchangeably.


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## perevoditel

Ben Jamin said:


> I understand 'attend' as merely being present at a conference



Shouldn't be _å være på konferansen_ better translation, then? Since Grefsen said he will more observe then participate in conferention?


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## NorwegianNYC

This is a slippery slope of near identical meanings. I agree with Ben Jamin that _ta del_ does not fit, since it implies participation. On the other hand, _delta_ and _være (med) på_ can easily refer to the same thing - attending​ a conference


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## utmarker

I'm hardly an expert in Norweigan but would "besøke konferansen" work? That at least doesn't seem to imply any great amount of activity.


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## Ben Jamin

utmarker said:


> I'm hardly an expert in Norweigan but would "besøke konferansen" work? That at least doesn't seem to imply any great amount of activity.


Yes, you can use that, but it implies that you are not there the whole duration of the confererence, only a short time.


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