# Norwegian: moro/morsomt/gøy/kul



## qiaozhehui

The words *moro*, *morsomt*, *gøy* and *kul/kult* all seem to mean something along the lines of "fun", "cool", "a nice time" in Norwegian. I am wondering if there are any subtle differences in the meaning and usage of these words? Or are they completely interchangeable?

The only difference I can find in the dictionary is that "moro" is technically a noun while the other words are all adjectives.

For example, one can say:

_Det var gøy å se deg._

Can one also say each of the following?

_Det var morsomt å se deg.
Det var moro å se deg.
Det var kult å se deg.

_If so, is there any difference in meaning?_
_


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## myšlenka

Hi,
_moro/morsom/gøy_ are somewhat foreign to me but I feel there is a difference.

_Moro/gøy_ - fun
_Morsom_ - funny

The meaning of _kul_ may subsume _moro/gøy_ in certain contexts but generally I wouldn't say they were synonyms.


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## raumar

qiaozhehui said:


> Can one also say each of the following?
> 
> _Det var morsomt å se deg.
> Det var moro å se deg.
> Det var kult å se deg.
> _



The answer is yes - in this context they are almost interchangeable. But _kul_ is more of a slang expression - a direct import of the English "cool" with Scandinavian spelling, like it is in Swedish. _Gøy_ is also originally slang, but older than _kul_. 

But as myšlenka has explained, they are not interchangable in all contexts, for example if you describe a person or a thing. _Hun er morsom _means "She's funny" (like Swedish _rolig_). That is not the same as _Hun er kul _("She's cool") - and in this context you can't use _gøy/moro_ at all.


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## NorwegianNYC

Det var gøy å se deg.
Det var morsomt å se deg.
Det var moro å se deg.
Det var kult å se deg.
will more often than not simply mean: _It was nice to see you_


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## Ben Jamin

myšlenka said:


> Hi,
> _moro/morsom/gøy_ are somewhat foreign to me ...


Which words do you use then speaking Norwegian?


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## myšlenka

Ben Jamin said:


> Which words do you use then speaking Norwegian?


In the given context I would most likely use _fint_: Det var fint å se deg.
To express _fun/funny_, the word that comes to mind as the most native one I can use, is _artig_.


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## Ben Jamin

myšlenka said:


> In the given context I would most likely use _fint_: Det var fint å se deg.
> To express _fun/funny_, the word that comes to mind as the most native one I can use, is _artig_.


Then your vocabulary differs from the majority of Norwegian speakers. Besides, "artig" is not quite synonymous with the words we are discussing (at least for me), and the last time I heard it in a conversation was about 25 years ago, but it was in the meaning "fine, good, advantageous", not "funny".


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## myšlenka

Ben Jamin said:


> ... and the last time I heard it in a conversation was about 25 years ago, but it was in the meaning "fine, good, advantageous", not "funny".


Google it, and you'll see more recent uses


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## NorwegianNYC

_Artig_ is a word I use myself_,_ and a popular Norwegian website is call artigebilder.no. As far as I see it, _artig/moro/morsomt/gøy/kul_ are synonyms, but I suspect not all of them are as common all over Norway. The word also has a rare secondary meaning, "special" or "peculiar", but _artig_ in meaning "fine, good" must either be very local or very old-fashioned - or confused with Swedish (artig = polite, refined). There are of course local synonyms and variants all over, such as Stavanger _løye_ and Trøndelag _lænt_.


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## Ben Jamin

NorwegianNYC said:


> _Artig_ is a word I use myself_,_ and a popular Norwegian website is call artigebilder.no. As far as I see it, _artig/moro/morsomt/gøy/kul_ are synonyms, but I suspect not all of them are as common all over Norway. The word also has a rare secondary meaning, "special" or "peculiar", but _artig_ in meaning "fine, good" must either be very local or very old-fashioned - or confused with Swedish (artig = polite, refined). There are of course local synonyms and variants all over, such as Stavanger _løye_ and Trøndelag _lænt_.


I had a colleague at work many years ago that used that word quite often, usually in the following context: "...og det artige ved dette er...". Since then I heard the word more and more seldom. _Gøy_ Was quite much used in the 1980s, but it seems that it is used much less nowadays. _Morsom(t)_ seems to be the most used word for funny, good, interesting, happy, likable, good, and so on, that it became a universal word for everythig. That's why I began to hate the word, and almost never use it.


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## NorwegianNYC

I think _gøy, moro, morsomt, artig, kul_ etc. serves a secondary purpose we cannot overlook. Look at the sentences:
- Det var moro å møte deg
- Det var morsomt å møte deg
- Det var gøy å møte deg
- Det var kult å møte deg
- Det var artig å møte deg
In none of these do _gøy, moro, morsomt, artig, kul_ mean "fun", but rather "nice/great" or even "surprising"


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## Grefsen

*"Tusen takk"* for starting this very informative thread. 


qiaozhehui said:


> The words *moro*, *morsomt*, *gøy* and *kul/kult* all seem to mean something along the lines of "fun", "cool", "a nice time" in Norwegian. I am wondering if there are any subtle differences in the meaning and usage of these words? Or are they completely interchangeable?_
> _





raumar said:


> The answer is yes - in this context they are almost interchangeable. But _kul_ is more of a slang expression - a direct import of the English "cool" with Scandinavian spelling, like it is in Swedish. _Gøy_ is also originally slang, but older than _kul_.


One thing I've noticed is that my Norwegian friends who are 25 years old or younger tend to use *"kult"* a lot more than my Norwegian friends who are over the age of 25.


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## basslop

Grefsen said:


> *"Tusen takk"* for starting this very informative thread.
> One thing I've noticed is that my Norwegian friends who are 25 years old or younger tend to use *"kult"* a lot more than my Norwegian friends who are over the age of 25.



Quite right, Grefsen. To me "kult" still feels a bit unnatural to use. Does this come from Swedish where "kul" has been a word for long or does it come from English? If the latter, is it synonym to funny in English? 

Actually when I was a kid in the late sixties I remember the word kul (I even think they spelled it the English way - cool) was used among the hippies. I have heard that before that it was also used among jazz musicans. The meaning back then was calm, easy, relax kjølig. Today the younger generation use "chille".


Does anyone have comments to my quasi theories?


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## NorwegianNYC

Hi basslop,

Well - I am past four-oh, but we used "kul" and "kult" when I was a kid, so it is not that new. It is possible it came via Swedish, but I have a feeling it was imported directly from Am English. It is indeed a jazz expression from the 20ies and 30ies - a time period which also gave us "hip", "groovy", "wicked" and others. Words like "kul" and "gøy" and a few other are kind of special words in Norwegian, because they are from English, and although Norwegian seem to use English expressions frequently, very few English words actually make it into the language.

On a side note - young Americans today almost never use the word "cool" in reference to temperature. To the point where I just the other day eaves-dropped and picked up the phrase "It is more chill in the shade"


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