# Norwegian: sounds like a fun time



## Grefsen

One of my friends in Norway just wrote a short message about what she did today and I wanted to send her a reply  *p**å **norsk,* that means something along the lines of "That sounds like a fun time" or better still, "Sounds like fun."

Could I write the following?

Det høres ut som en  morsom tid.

Or perhaps even shorten it to this?

Høres ut morsom.


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## Cerb

"Morsom tid" doesn't really work here in Norwegian. Your second suggestions is pretty close however. Add a "t" and swap around "morsom" and "ut" and you're there  "Gøy" is probably better unless you want the meaning of funny as in something you'd laugh of. 

"(Det) Høres gøy/morsom*t*/hyggelig ut" 

gøy = fun
morsomt = funny (not as in strange)
hyggelig = nice

A smiley or exclamation mark would work well here to capture the exact meaning as the Norwegian suggestions don't carry the intent in the same way the English sentences do.


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## Grefsen

Cerb said:


> "Morsom tid" doesn't really work here in Norwegian. Your second suggestions is pretty close however. Add a "t" and swap around "morsom" and "ut" and you're there  "Gøy" is probably better unless you want the meaning of funny as in something you'd laugh of.
> 
> "(Det) Høres gøy/morsom*t*/hyggelig ut"
> 
> gøy = fun
> morsomt = funny (not as in strange)
> hyggelig = nice
> 
> A smiley or exclamation mark would work well here to capture the exact meaning as the Norwegian suggestions don't carry the intent in the same way the English sentences do.


Since my friend was describing activities that were fun as in being enjoyable and not something funny that one would laugh at, I think that "Høres gøy ut!  " might be the best option for my example.


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## Grefsen

Cerb said:


> "(Det) Høres gøy/morsom*t*/hyggelig ut"
> 
> gøy = fun
> morsomt = funny (not as in strange)
> hyggelig = nice


Would using *"artig"* have been another option for me?


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## basslop

Yes, *artig* is equivalent to *morsomt*.


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## Grefsen

basslop said:


> Yes, *artig* is equivalent to *morsomt*.


Tusen takk for det! 

Just so that I am sure I understand when it is appropriate to use *artig *and *morsomt,* I would appreciate it if someone could give me some examples.

På  forhånd takk!


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## Stian

Grefsen said:


> Just so that I am sure I understand when it is appropriate to use *artig *and *morsomt,* I would appreciate it if someone could give me some examples.



The disctinction isn't as clear as one might think, and they often get mixed up. It doesn't matter all that much; I doubt anyone would point it out. Let's see if this makes sense:

Saying something is *morsomt* presents a stronger emotion than saying that it is *artig*.

- "Jeg har det *morsomt*" generally means you would be having a great time, having a laugh.
- "Dette programmet er *morsomt*" - this show is funny, makes me chuckle.

- "Jeg har det *artig*" - I'm having a good time, I am amused.
- "Dette programmet er *artig*" - this show is interesting/amusing/different in a good way.
- "This power drill is *artig*". It isn't *morsom*, but interesting nonetheless.


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## Grefsen

Tusen takk for hjelpen og velkommen til nordiske språkforumet *Stian*!  


Stian said:


> The disctinction isn't as clear as one might think, and they often get mixed up. It doesn't matter all that much; I doubt anyone would point it out. Let's see if this makes sense:
> 
> Saying something is *morsomt* presents a stronger emotion than saying that it is *artig*.
> 
> - "Jeg har det *morsomt*" generally means you would be having a great time, having a laugh.
> - "Dette programmet er *morsomt*" - this show is funny, makes me chuckle.
> 
> - "Jeg har det *artig*" - I'm having a good time, I am amused.
> - "Dette programmet er *artig*" - this show is interesting/amusing/different in a good way.


Takk for god forklaring! 



Stian said:


> - "This power drill is *artig*". It isn't *morsom*, but interesting nonetheless.


I'm not much of an expert at all when it comes to power tools, but could you use *artig* to describe a particular power drill that had some features which made it unique and special?


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## Ben Jamin

Grefsen said:


> Tusen takk for det!
> 
> Just so that I am sure I understand when it is appropriate to use *artig *and *morsomt,* I would appreciate it if someone could give me some examples.
> 
> På forhånd takk!


As far as I understand the use of the words, artig has less of laughter in it than morsomt, but more "nice". The younger generation says mostly "kuul" or even "schpaa" ("kebab-norsk", a hybrid slang with multiligual roots).

Artig was used much in the 1980-s, not so much nowadays. 
In Swedish "artig" means polite.


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## Grefsen

Cerb said:


> "(Det) Høres gøy/morsom*t*/hyggelig ut"
> 
> gøy = fun
> morsomt = funny (not as in strange)
> hyggelig = nice


I just saw a video of some of my Facebook friends in Norway playing "putball" (a combination of golf and fotball) and wanted to comment "That looks like fun" på norsk.  Would it be correct if I just substitute "Ser" for "Høres" and use "Ser gøy ut"?


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## vestfoldlilja

Grefsen said:


> I just saw a video of some of my Facebook friends in Norway playing "putball" (a combination of golf and fotball) and wanted to comment "That looks like fun" på norsk.  Would it be correct if I just substitute "Ser" for "Høres" and use "Ser gøy ut"?



Yes, that works just fine.


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