# Norwegian: I'm single



## enaid_cean023

Good Evening!

How do we say "I'm single" in Norwegian?
Some of the variations that I've heard since I started learning Norwegian are:
"Jeg er ugift."
"Jeg er enkelt."
"Jeg er singel."
Which statement is wrong and what makes it wrong? 

Thanks in advance!


----------



## raumar

The traditional Norwegian translation of "single" is _enslig_, but most people today would probably prefer "_Jeg er singel_". But you may still see "_enslig_" as a category in statistics, questionnaires, etc. 

"_Jeg er ugift_" means "I am not married". That is not necessarily the same as "single". A _samboer_ (living with her/his boyfriend/girlfriend) is _ugift_, but I would not call him/her _singel._ 

"Jeg er enkelt" is wrong. _Enkelt _is a different meaning of "single": "one only, not in a group". We can, for example, say "_en enkelt rose_" (a single rose), but "jeg er enkelt" does not make any sense. And "_Jeg er enkel_" means something completely different: "I am simple"!


----------



## enaid_cean023

Thank you so much for the helping hands.


----------



## Grefsen

raumar said:


> The traditional Norwegian translation of "single" is _enslig_, but most people today would probably prefer "_Jeg er singel_". But you may still see "_enslig_" as a category in statistics, questionnaires, etc.
> 
> "_Jeg er ugift_" means "I am not married". That is not necessarily the same as "single". A _samboer_ (living with her/his boyfriend/girlfriend) is _ugift_, but I would not call him/her _singel._


Is there a Norwegian word or expression (other than *"ikke enslig" *or* "ikke singel"*) that can be used to describe someone who has a boyfriend or girlfriend, but does not live with his or her significant other?


----------



## raumar

Grefsen said:


> Is there a Norwegian word or expression (other than *"ikke enslig" *or* "ikke singel"*) that can be used to describe someone who has a boyfriend or girlfriend, but does not live with his or her significant other?



Not a single word, and I can't think of any expression right now. Maybe some others can help? But if you should describe your status, you could say "_Jeg har kjæreste_".


----------



## Claribelsofia

I agree with Raumar. Additionally, I believe that "enslig" is more used to describe elderly that are widow/widower, divorced or unmarried. That is, for a young person I would say " han/hun er single", whereas I would say "hun/han er enslig" if it is an elderly person. 

 If a person is not single, but does not live with his or her boy/girlfriend I would also say "hun/han har kjæreste". If it was an elderly person I would probably not say "kjæreste", but use "venn".


----------



## Claribelsofia

"Han/hun er enkel" will in most cases imply that a person is not intelligent, so it´s not an option for the translation of "I´m single"


----------



## Grefsen

raumar said:


> Not a single word, and I can't think of any expression right now. Maybe some others can help? But if you should describe your status, you could say "_Jeg har kjæreste_".


Tusen takk for det *raumar!* 



Claribelsofia said:


> I agree with Raumar. Additionally, I believe that "enslig" is more used to describe elderly that are widow/widower, divorced or unmarried. That is, for a young person I would say " han/hun er single", whereas I would say "hun/han er enslig" if it is an elderly person.


Takk for denne gode svar *Claribelsofia!* 



Claribelsofia said:


> If it was an elderly person I would probably not say "kjæreste", but use "venn".


Would you use _*venn*_ for a "girlfriend" as well as for a "boyfriend"?


----------



## Claribelsofia

I would use "venn" for a "boyfriend" and "venninne" for a "girlfriend". However, only with respect to elderly.


----------



## flukså

Grefsen said:


> Is there a Norwegian word or expression (other than *"ikke enslig" *or* "ikke singel"*) that can be used to describe someone who has a boyfriend or girlfriend, but does not live with his or her significant other?



In addition to what Raumar said, you could also use *"i et forhold*"_, _for example "Er du i et forhold?", "Ja, jeg er er i et forhold nå", "De er ikke samboere, men de er i et forhold". 
Forhold as a word for describing a couple is quite common and you can often, in the tabloids, see headlines like "Få forholdet til å vare", "Hvor viktig er sex i et forhold?", "Dette elsker menn i et forhold" etc. 



			
				Grefsen said:
			
		

> Would you use _*venn*_ for a "girlfriend" as well as for a "boyfriend"?



Most of the time I would use venn for a boyfriend, and venninne for a girlfriend, but there is no problem in using venn for a girl.


----------

