# Norwegian: jobbe (definition) vs arbeide



## Xander2024

Hello again,

Will a Norwegian native speaker please tell me if the verb "arbeide" is still in good use in everyday speech? The fact is that the Teach-Yourself book I'm reading now sticks to "jobbe" and has never once mentioned "arbeide". Meanwhile, my dictionary defines "jobbe" as "to work very hard", "to work to the point of exhaustion". I guess the dictionary is wrong because the TY has sentences like "Hvor jobber du?" and "Jobber du på lørdag?" 
Would it be normal to always use "arbeide" instead of "jobbe"? Or does it sound too formal?

Takk.


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## TomTrussel

To me, "jobbe" sounds more formal than "arbeide", and as I just wrote in the other thread, in large parts of inland Norway atleast, "jobbe" is not in day to day use, but something seen as "city-language"

TT


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## Xander2024

Yes, I've seen that post of yours, Tom. So it's OK to use "arbeide" eller "ærbe" (as you've said) in some areas and not to use "jobbe" at all?


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## TomTrussel

Sorry, clarification needed, to an average Oslo-citizen, "arbeide" would likely be seen as more formal than "jobbe". The dialects that does not use "jobbe" in inland Norway has a shortened version of "arbeide" They use only the first part "arbe" and then adds local variations to the pronounciation.

TT


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## TomTrussel

Xander2024 said:


> Yes, I've seen that post of yours, Tom. So it's OK to use "arbeide" eller "ærbe" (as you've said) in some areas and not to use "jobbe" at all?



Yes, in some areas, that's the norm

TT


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## Xander2024

Mange takk for hjelpen.


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## NorwegianNYC

I see them as interchangeable. If anything, _arbeid_ has more the connotations of 'labour', whereas _jobb/jobbe_ is more general.


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## Xander2024

Thanks a lot, Norwegian.


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## sendintheclowns

In the sentence "Hvor jobber du?" the meaning is along the lines of "what city do you work in" or "what company are you working for?" or even "What is your profession?" whereas if you say "Hvor arbeider du?" the meaning is "where are you working (right now)" i.e. more a question of the specific physical location of your labor.


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## Xander2024

Takk for eksplikasjonen, sendintheclowns. But in the manuals I have they don't use "arbeide" at all. As if there existed no such word. Therefore, they have dialogs like:

- Hvor jobber du nå?
- Jeg er kokk på en restaurant i Fjellgata.


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## NorwegianNYC

Xander2024 said:


> Takk for eksplikasjonen, sendintheclowns. But in the manuals I have they don't use "arbeide" at all. As if there existed no such word. Therefore, they have dialogs like:
> 
> - Hvor jobber du nå?
> - Jeg er kokk på en restaurant i Fjellgata.



The difference between 'jobbe' and 'arbeide' is relative. Very often it is based on dialectal, professional, and even individual preferences. Whereas the original distinction lay in the difference between _labor_ (arbeid) and _profit_ (jobbe), the words are more or less interchangeable today.


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## sendintheclowns

Xander2024 said:


> Takk for eksplikasjonen, sendintheclowns. But in the manuals I have they don't use "arbeide" at all. As if there existed no such word. Therefore, they have dialogs like:
> 
> - Hvor jobber du nå?
> - Jeg er kokk på en restaurant i Fjellgata.



Ja, det stemmer nok. Du kunne for eksempel ha det følgende: 
- Hvor jobber du nå? 
- På en restaurant i Fjellgata.
- Hva slags arbeid gjør du der? 
- Jeg er (eller _arbeider som_) kokk.


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## Xander2024

Mange takk.


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