# Norwegian: The victim of a practical joke



## Grefsen

I'd like to know what some of the possible ways are for writing the following sentence *på norsk*:

He was the victim of a practical joke on April Fools' day.

Her er mitt forsøk:

Han var offeret av en narrestrek på Aprilsnarr dag.


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## sjiraff

I believe you say "for" after things like offer, "Et offer for vold" and other things like "De som er utsatt for noe" (vulnerable to/for something), it can be kind of tricky for a native English speaker with the whole "av" thing in Norwegian with things like this.

Besides that I'm not sure (although I might be wrong) if you would say offeret in this case, I think that might be a thing we just say in English. Maybe here you would just say "Han ble offer for..."?.


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## Ífaradà

sjiraff said:


> I believe you say "for" after things like offer, "Et offer for vold" and other things like "De som er utsatt for noe" (vulnerable to/for something), it can be kind of tricky for a native English speaker with the whole "av" thing in Norwegian with things like this.
> 
> Besides that I'm not sure (although I might be wrong) if you would say offeret in this case, I think that might be a thing we just say in English. Maybe here you would just say "Han ble offer for..."?.


You are correct. "Han ble offer *for*" is the right expression.

I would translate it this way: han ble offer for en aprilspøk.


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## Grefsen

sjiraff said:


> I believe you say "for" after things like offer, "Et offer for vold" and other things like "De som er utsatt for noe" (vulnerable to/for something), it can be kind of tricky for a native English speaker with the whole "av" thing in Norwegian with things like this.


Tusen takk for det *sjiraff! *

I was wondering if I should write *"et offer"* instead of *"offeret"* and *"for"* instead of *"av."* Another option I was also considering was to use *"er utsatt."*



sjiraff said:


> Besides that I'm not sure (although I might be wrong) if you would say offeret in this case, I think that might be a thing we just say in English. Maybe here you would just say "Han ble offer for..."?.


Tusen takk igjen! 

I'll anxiously wait to see what comments some of the native Norwegian speaking members have.  



Ífaradà said:


> You are correct. "Han ble offer *for*" is the right expression.


I didn't have to wait very long.  Tusen takk for det *Ífaradà! *



sjiraff said:


> I would translate it this way: han ble offer for en aprilspøk.


So it looks like *"en aprilspøk"* is a much more efficient way to express *"**en narrestrek på Aprilsnarr dag" på norsk.* 

Tusen takk igjen!


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## Ífaradà

Grefsen said:


> I didn't have to wait very long.  Tusen takk for det *Ífaradà! *
> 
> So it looks like *"en aprilspøk"* is a much more efficient way to express *"**en narrestrek på Aprilsnarr dag" på norsk.*
> 
> Tusen takk igjen!


Indeed!

You're very welcome


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## raumar

Grefsen said:


> So it looks like *"en aprilspøk"* is a much more efficient way to express *"**en narrestrek på Aprilsnarr dag" på norsk.*



It certainly is -- and there aren't many good alternatives, either. "Narrestrek" sounds a bit dated. There aren't any good Norwegian words for "practical joke", as far as I know. The English phrase "practical joke" is sometimes used in Norwegian, for lack of a better word. 

The Norwegian translation of "April Fools' day" is just "første april". The day isn't called anything that refers to "fool", but everybody knows that "første april" is that day you get fooled.


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## Grefsen

raumar said:


> There aren't any good Norwegian words for "practical joke", as far as I know. The English phrase "practical joke" is sometimes used in Norwegian, for lack of a better word.


Would it be possible to use "_skøyerstrek, fantestrek eller rampestrek" _for "practical joke"?


raumar said:


> The Norwegian translation of "April Fools' day" is just "første april". The day isn't called anything that refers to "fool", but everybody knows that "første april" is that day you get fooled.


Is it more common to use "_første april_" instead of "_Aprilsnarr_" _på norsk_?


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## raumar

Grefsen said:


> Would it be possible to use "_skøyerstrek, fantestrek eller rampestrek" _for "practical joke"?
> Is it more common to use "_første april_" instead of "_Aprilsnarr_" _på norsk_?



Well, it is certainly possible to use _skøyerstrek, fantestrek, rampestrek_ or _narrestrek_. But in my opinion, all these four words are more often used to describe pranks done by naughty children, if they are used at all. All of them are also a bit old-fashioned or dated, more likely to be used by my grandparents' generation.

"_Aprilsnarr_" can either be the joke (the "_aprilspøk_") or the person who is fooled, while "_Første april_" is the day.


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## Grefsen

Tusen takk *raumar*! 





raumar said:


> Well, it is certainly possible to use _skøyerstrek, fantestrek, rampestrek_ or _narrestrek_.


All four of these compound words contain "_strek_."  Could "_strek_" mean "unexpected" in the first example? 

_skøyer + strek_ => jokester + unexpected (something unexpected done by a practical joker).


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## raumar

Grefsen said:


> All four of these compound words contain "_strek_."  Could "_strek_" mean "unexpected" in the first example?
> 
> _skøyer + strek_ => jokester + unexpected (something unexpected done by a practical joker).



No, I don't think so. "_Strek_" means "prank" or "mischief" in this context, and the first part of these compound words characterizes the person who is responsible, or the way it is done. 

Another example is "_guttestrek_" -- a prank done by boys, a boyish prank.


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