# Norwegian: Slik / så / så at



## mezzoforte

<Moderator note: New topic - new thread, split from Norwegian: 'to see someone as he truly is'>

I am still curious about "*slik*", and "*så*".  I read that "*Han er slik*" means "_That's the way he is_".  Is there another way to say this English expression?  I imagine "*Slik er han*" works too?  What about "*Han er den/det*", or "*Han er så*"?


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## vestfoldlilja

I'm not sure itf this will be of any help at all, but on the off chanse is may clear some things up:

Han er slik – he’s like that

Slik er han – that’s the way he is

Noen; can be somebody and someone, as well as anybody, anyone.  

Somebody is coming – det kommer noen/noen kommer

Someone is coming – det kommer noen/noen kommer

I’m not sure if there actual is a small difference in meaning between det kommer noen/noen kommer, but I feel they are used in the same manner. 

Did he see anybody in the room? – så han noen i rommet?

Is anyone there? – er det noen der?

Den/det means it.

Is it/this  yours (er den/denne din). 

Yes, it is (ja, den er det). 

Han er det – he is that (directly translated)

Is he your brother (er han broren din)

Yes, he is (ja, han er det) 

Så, can in some instances be used as slik, though I wouldn’t recommend using it. It has an odd ring to it and sounds like something one would say to make the language seem more proper and pretentious.


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## Cerb

I'm not familiar with the usage of "så" as anything but "so" in my dialect. "Han er så.." is used in Norwegian with the meaning "He is so.. ". "Han er den/det.." is used with  the meaning "He is the [adjective] [noun]..". As Vestfoldlilja explained, none of them work on their own however. As a side note, "Han er så" translates to "He's like that" in Swedish if I'm not mistaken. 

Not to confuse you any further, but it might help to be aware that "slik" feels a bit formal to some people and is replaced with "sånn" at times. It's not as elegant in my opinion, but I have to admit I cringe a bit when I have to put "slik" in a sentence. "Slik" is perhaps more common in writing, but you'll probably hear "sånn" when someone is speaking. They are interchangeable even though some phrases "prefer" one over the other.


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## mezzoforte

This was very helpful.  Thank you both!


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## SweetCherry

mezzoforte said:


> I am still curious about "*slik*", and "*så*".
> You are not alone, mezzoforte.
> Even now, when I have learnt what the word *slik* means and when it is to be used, I just cannot start using it. It just doesn't want to sink in.
> The worst trouble for me is *slik at,* which would mean _so that_ in English, I suppose.
> For example:
> Jeg tenker på å kjøpe en symaskin, slik at jeg kan lære meg å sy.
> (Is this correct?)
> 
> What makes the confusion in my head, is that the second part of the sentence would start with _so that_ in English, which tempts me to say _*så at*_ in Norwegian, and then the whole project goes_ ha det bra_.
> I just "walk around" the word *slik* all the time, don't dare to use it.


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## mezzoforte

I can't answer your question, but my impression is more and more that Norwegian is VERY similar to English; I feel that this topic has been discussed as if we were talking about English and not Norwegian.

In that respect, I think *slik at* is the same as the expression _such that_ in English.  Likewise, *så at* would be _so that_.  Perhaps you should find out how these two differ in English, and that will explain it for Norwegian.... maybe.

My guess is this: *slik at* places a restriction, while* så at* does not and may implicate desire.

"_I want a sowing machine *such that *I can learn to sow._" (I want *ONLY *the kind of machine that will help me learn.  I might *not *actually want to learn to sow.)

"_I want a sowing machine, *so that *I can learn to sow._" (I want *ANY* machine.  I *want *one because I will be able to learn to sow once I get it.)

In the second sentence, you could say "_I'm getting_ a...", and desire  to learn is still implied, albeit not as strongly.


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## SweetCherry

To my understanding,* slik at* means _so that_.

Another clumsy example:
Jeg ønsker å bo nærmere Oslo, slik at det blir lettere for meg å pendle. (Correction wanted.) 

The trouble is that I don't know if I can use *slik at* and *så at* in the same way.
It also sounds natural to say *så at* in this sentence, but it might be a trap because of it's meaning in English. Can someone explain the difference, please?

"_I want a sowing machine *such that *I can learn to sow._"
I have no idea what this would be in Norwegian.
Any good Norwegians out there who can help us out? 

...Jeg ønsker meg en symaskin som kan hjelpe meg til å lære å sy?
Av den slags som kan hjelpe meg... kanskje. Sounds very long and klønete.


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## Cerb

"Så" can't be used as "so" in "so that". It needs to be "slik" or "sånn" which could be what you've heard. "Sånn" og "slik" might have differed in meaning at some point, but these days the only real difference is "sånn" sounding a bit less dated/formal. "Så at" can mean "such that/so that" in Swedish and possibly archaic Norwegian, but "så" and "at" put together would have to mean that "så" is used as a verb ("saw that") in modern Norwegian.

edit 1&2: ( I type to slow  ): Actually I was forgetting about "så" alone. Simply skip the "at". 

"Jeg ønsker meg en symaskin så jeg kan lære meg å sy" is fine. "Jeg vil ha" is a more literal way of putting it and doesn't have the Birthday/Christmas association of wishing for something, but they're both correct.

Nothing wrong with your first sentence


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## SweetCherry

Cerb said:


> "Så" can't be used as "so" in "so that". It needs to be "slik" or "sånn" which could be what you've heard. "Sånn" og "slik" might have differed in meaning at some point, but these days the only real difference is "sånn" sounding a bit less dated/formal.
> 
> "Så at" can mean "such that/so that" in Swedish and possibly archaic Norwegian, but "så" and "at" put together would have to mean that "så" is used as a verb ("saw that") in modern Norwegian.


 

Tusen takk Cerb, this was a helpful explanation! 
So, *så at* is definitely a no-no, I have to show it out of my head urgently.  I think I have been hearing *sånn at*, which I was interpreting as *så at*...

Ja vel. I could use a pair of new ears.


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## vestfoldlilja

_Så at_ is not  an expression, like _slik at_ is, and is not used at all without being used wrongly. It feels very Swedish to me. 

I’ve made quite a few sentences I hope might help people understand the difference between _så _and _slik_.

_Så:_

Jeg så ham – I saw him.

Du må så frøene før den første frosten – You must sow the seeds before the first frost.

Så gjør som du må – So do as you must.

Han brukte lang tid, men så kom han endelig – He took a long time, but then he finally arrived.

Hun følte seg bedre, så hun ble med alikevel – She felt better, and therefore she came along anyhow/anyway.

Hvis du er trøtt, så bør du bli hjemme – If you are tired, you should stay at home.

Så han var borte i rundt et år – So he was away for about a year.

Det er ikke så lett som du tror – It’s not as easy as you think.

Han er så høy som faren sin er – He is as tall as his father is.

Hvis det er sant, så må vi forandre teksten - If that is true we must/have to change the text.

Han er klokere enn som så – He is wiser than that.

Hun kom for sent til middagen. Å så da! – She was late for dinner. So what?

_Slik:_ (as stated earlier in the thread many use sånn instead of slik)

Gjør det med en gang, slik at du får gjort det – Do it right away, so that you get it done.

Gjør det slik som dette – Do it like this.

Ikke gjør som foreldre dine sier – Don’t do as your parents say.

Hvis du fortsetter slik vil du bli utbrent – If you keep going like this, you’ll burn out. 

Har du hørt om slike ting før – Have you heard about things like that/such things before?

Har du hørt slikt før – Have you heard things like that before?
Det er slik det er – that is the way it is.

Det er ikke slik at jeg vil deg vond – It’s not that I want to see you hurt.

Jeg vil ikke gjøre det slik – I won’t do it like that/I won’t do it in such a manner.

I hope that helped and didn’t cause more confusion.


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## Cerb

I made a few late edits to my post regarding your sentences, Sweetcherry. In case you missed it


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## SweetCherry

Tusen hjertelig takk, vestfoldlilja! Jammen, you are typing fast! 
You helped a lot, and you inspired me to ask even more questions. 
But now it is very late/early so I leave it for tomorrow, wish you all good night.


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## SweetCherry

vestfoldlilja said:


> I’ve made quite a few sentences I hope might help people understand the difference between _så _and _slik_.
> 
> _Så:_
> 
> Så gjør som du må – So do as you must.
> 
> Hvis du er trøtt, så bør du bli hjemme – If you are tired, you should stay at home.
> 
> Hvis det er sant, så må vi forandre teksten - If that is true we must/have to change the text.


 
Is it possible to just drop *så* in these sentences, and if not, why not?





vestfoldlilja said:


> _Slik:_ (as stated earlier in the thread many use sånn instead of slik)
> 
> Det er slik det er – that is the way it is.


 
One can also say *Sånn er det bare*?
Another confusion of my is *sånn* and *sånt*.
How are these two different, and how to use them?

Det er sånt jeg ikke husker. (I don't remember *such *things).
Det er ikke sånn jeg husker det. (It is not *like that* I remember it).
Is this right?
Can someone give more examples, and explain them? På forhånd, takk!


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## vestfoldlilja

Slik/sånn is either a pronoun or an adjective

Jeg vil ikke se slik oppførsel – I don’t want to see such behaviour  (pronoun).

Han angret slik på hva han hadde gjort – He (much) regretted what he had done (adjective).

Sånn and sånt is the same word  (adjective) 

Sånn – sånt - sånne
Slik – slikt – slike 

Slik/sånn er det å være meg – This is how it is to be me.

Slik/sånn går det når man velger feil – This is how it goes /what happens when one makes a wrong choice.


Slikt/sånt skjer ikke av seg selv – such things don’t happen on their own.

Slikt/sånt kan man ikke gjøre – such things one can’t do.


Slike/sånne hus – houses (such) like that.

Slike/sånne mennesker – people (such) like that.



A small dictionary I have has this to say of adjectives:

They stand in front of the word they describe and take the same gender and number as that word. 

In the indefinite form (a, an), add nothing for the masculine and feminine

En stor gutt – a big boy
Ei stor bok – a big book

Add an _t_ for the neuter:
Et stort hus – a big house

Add an_ e_ to mark the plural
Store hus – big houses

In the definitive form (the), one places a definitive article in front of the adjective and adds an e to the adjective.

for masculine and feminine words use _den_:

Den store gutten – the big boy
Den store boka – the big book

For neuter words _det_:

Det store huset – the big house

To mark the plural _de_:

De store husene – the big houses


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## mezzoforte

Now I'm wondering something:  I read that with demonstrative pronouns, you can either use the following noun in definite or indefinite form.  How does it differ?  For instance, we can say: "det hus" or "det huset".  Also, "slikt hus", "slikt huset".

And with plural, can it be either?  "slike hus", "slike husene/husa"?

Are these correct, and how are they different?

<Deleted text, moved to new thread about noun suffixes>


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## vestfoldlilja

SweetCherry said:


> Is it possible to just drop *så* in these sentences, and if not, why not?



Yes, så can be dropped.


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## vestfoldlilja

I think it’s important to remember that slik is not a pronoun, but an adjective in these cases. 

Pronouns used in the context here would be det/de.

Det hus - det huset - slikt hus - slikt huset


_Pronouns - Det/de_

Det huset is the corret form – that house. 

Det hus is not used, and would translate directly to it house. 

_Adjectives – Slik/Slikt_

Slikt hus (som det) is the correct one – such a house (as/like that). 

Slikt huset is wrong.  Such the house makes no sense. 

Slike hus - slike husene/husa

_Pronouns – Det/De_

You can’t say slike husene/husa. That makes no grammatical sense. 

Husene/Husa  would have de in front of them in Norwegian. 

De husene/husa – those houses. 

_Nouns _

Hus – huset – husene/husa – hus : house – (the) house – (those) houses - houses


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## mezzoforte

I love how this is just like English (i.e. you need only make a literal translation to explain it).


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