# Norwegian: good looking



## jancho

Hello.

How would you say in Norwegian language, while describing a person, that somebody is "good looking"?

It is an adjective.

suggestion: god jakt

Thank you.


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## Huffameg

jancho said:


> Hello.
> 
> How would you say in Norwegian language, while describing a person, that somebody is "good looking"?
> 
> It is an adjective.
> 
> suggestion: god jakt
> 
> Thank you.



No. "God jakt" means good hunting. 
There are several alternative terms you can use relative to the context: 
- "pen"
- "vakker" (formal): beautiful
- "fin" (when meant "good looking", this can be used of a girl and is quite informal, "guy talk")

You can also use closely related terms:

- kjekk (traditionally used of both sexes but is today reserved for men): handsome
- heit: hot
- digg (very informal)


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## vestfoldlilja

I don't agree that fin is only used to describe women. I at least would use that about men as well. 

These words are also used: søt (sweet), ven - same as vakker (beautiful), flott (great)

And Huffameg is right, these days kjekk is most commonly used to describe men, and then it does mean handsome, but the word is not only used in this way. In many dialects they use it differently. It can be gender neural and mean, nice, good, kind, and pretty.


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## oskhen

vestfoldlilja said:


> These words are also used: søt (sweet),


 

Shouldn't "søt" in this context be translated as "pretty"?


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## vestfoldlilja

Yeah, you're probably right Oskhen. 

If one were to say "you're very sweet" in English, I wouldn't translate that with søt. I think I would say "du er veldig god" but others might have a better translation.

Thanks for the correction


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## GraaEminense

oskhen said:


> Shouldn't "søt" in this context be translated as "pretty"?


Nope. "Pretty"="Pen". "Søt" would be best translated as "cute". 

"Pen" and "vakker" (pretty and beautiful, respectively) are what I would traditionally translate as "good-looking": Both refer to physical appearance rather than other qualities. "Kjekk" (handsome, as already mentioned most commonly used about males) could also fit, though to me at least "kjekk" is not exclusively about appearance.


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## Grefsen

Huffameg said:


> No. "God jakt" means good hunting.


 



vestfoldlilja said:


> These words are also used: søt (sweet), ven - same as vakker (beautiful), flott (great)


Would the following sentence be correct if you wanted to write that a woman is very sweet and beautiful *på norsk*? 

*Hun er så veldig søt og vakker. *


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## Obil Tu

Grefsen said:


> Would the following sentence be correct if you wanted to write that a woman is very sweet and beautiful *på norsk*?
> 
> *Hun er så veldig søt og vakker. *



This might just be me, but I think descriptions of physical attractiveness are really hard to get to sound "natural" in a (foreign) language – and at the same time there are many degrees of freedom because different people will use different words and expressions (as a function of social or age group as well as personal preference)...

So based on my personal opinion, I would not use "veldig" (although you're completely right – it does mean "very") but perhaps rather "utrolig", which means "incredible" or "incredibly", but is not to be taken literally here – it's just something of a collocation, I think. "Hun er utrolig vakker".

Also, "søt" has the meaning of both "sweet" and "cute" in Norwegian. And more like "sweet" than "cute", it can also be used about personality or behaviour ("det var søtt gjort"). For me, "søt" and "vakker" don't necessarily fit together, since "vakker" for me has connotations of "classic beauty". "Pen" also means "beautiful", but has less of these connotations.

I don't know if this helps at all, or if I'm just rambling, but as I said, I find this topic interesting and challenging!

Just so it's said, though, your sentence is not _wrong_, and it is definitely a compliment  

But I think I would omit the "så". With it, I get a feeling that you emphasize her beauty _as opposed to something else_. (Almost like "_Men_ hun er så veldig søt og vakker".)


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## Huffameg

Grefsen said:


> Would the following sentence be correct if you wanted to write that a woman is very sweet and beautiful *på norsk*?
> 
> *Hun er så veldig søt og vakker. *



Your sentence is both correct and well sounding! 

Obil_Tu points, however, to something important: that fact that these concepts work differently in different contexts and within different subcultures. I find "vakker" difficult. It's a very strong word and sounds very formal to me. I never use it and I feel strange when others use it. Either it gets too poetic, too full of feelings, or it gets pretensious. 
Many people use it, though, so it's a question of culture I think. 

I don't think I'm able to translate it but the best word to describe the usage of "vakker" is that it is "kleint".


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## vestfoldlilja

I agree with much of what Obil Tu and Huffameg has said. 

I think a big thing her is culture. Norwegians are not great with words, certainly not ”big” ones and we tend to hold back. While in England it is really common to use words like sweetie to strangers, like in a store for example, one would never do that here. If anyone I didn’t know well used such words I would feel very uncomfortable. Ironically I don’t feel uncomfortable when abroad, but I suppose that is just a ”when in Rome…” mentality. 

Calling someone vakker, to me, means the person saying it has great affection and love for her/him. I would use it sparsely and not in an off hand way. It is often used to describe babies, but as people grow older it seems more fitting to hear it from someone close to you, or who you are getting closer to. 

It’s a lot like ”I love you”. In Norwegian we have two expressions for that ”jeg elsker deg” and ”jeg er glad i deg”.  Jeg elsker deg, is very big, you wouldn’t say it in an off hand manner and only to a select few; partner, and close family. ”jeg er glad i deg” on the other hand is used among friends and relatives, as well as among the group within the ”jeg elsker deg” boundary.  And in everyday speech ”jeg er glad i deg” is the most use, ”jeg elsker deg” is used sparsely and only if one really mean it and when the mood is right for it. 

I think the word ”kleint” that Huffameg mentioned is related to the word ”keitet” which means awkward, clumsy.  And if something is kleint the situation is uncomfortable and awkward.


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