# Norwegian: helt kake



## Kvitebjørn

Hei.
Hva betyr denne setningen?: Jeg er helt kake.
Mener det at jeg er nervøs? Hvorfor? En kake?


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## Cagey

Hello, Kvitebjørn.

Where did you hear or read this?  What was being discussed?  

I ap*o*logize that I can't write Norwegian: 

*6.* Gi alltid en eksempelsetning og kontekst.    ​Cagey, moderator


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## raumar

Thanks for asking for context, Cagey - but I don't think we need it here. _Helt kake_ usually means tired - _sliten, utslitt_. I don't know anything about the background for this expression. Maybe somebody else can help us?



Kvitebjørn said:


> Mener det at jeg er nervøs?



"_Mener_" is not correct here, Kvitebjørn. It should be "_Betyr_". "_Å mene_" means to have an opinion; to think. It is easy to make this mistake, since you don't have this distinction in English.


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## Wilma_Sweden

raumar said:


> Thanks for asking for context, Cagey - but I don't think we need it here.


You say that "helt kake" *usually *means tired. Are there situations when it doesn't? If so, how do you know what situation the OP is referring to when they didn't provide context?(*) I'm also curious about this expression - is it very informal? Is it like super-tired, exhausted? It sounds fun, in a way, like you've been baked, you're a cake! 

(*) That's why all the WR forums have the "context required rule"!


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## raumar

I'm sorry if my "usually" has confused you, Wilma! It just reflects my uncertainty. "_Helt kake_" is very informal, or slang, and I have not seen or heard it very often. So I will not try to say anything definite about this expression - but when I have come across it, the meaning has been "exhausted".


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## Kvitebjørn

Tusen takk for forklaringene!
Her er forresten en kontekst: Jeg lurer samtidig på hvor all denne selvtilliten kommer fra, for på innsiden er jeg helt kake.
Og jeg tror jeg kan forstå hva dette uttrykket betyr. Takk for hjelpen!


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## Wilma_Sweden

Kvitebjørn said:


> Tusen takk for forklaringene!
> Her er forresten en kontekst: Jeg lurer samtidig på hvor all denne selvtilliten kommer fra, for på innsiden er jeg helt kake.
> Og jeg tror jeg kan forstå hva dette uttrykket betyr. Takk for hjelpen!


In this context, 'nervous' makes much more sense than 'tired'! Again, context is everything!


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## myšlenka

Wilma_Sweden said:


> In this context, 'nervous' makes much more sense than 'tired'! Again, context is everything!


A lot of translations can make sense in this context, but making sense does not make the translations correct. As raumar mentioned, _helt kake_ means: tired, exhausted, destroyed. Physically or mentally.


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## Wilma_Sweden

Wilma_Sweden said:


> Context is everything!


Read the forum rules!


myšlenka said:


> A lot of translations can make sense in this context, but making sense does not make the translations correct. As raumar mentioned, _helt kake_ means: tired, exhausted, destroyed. Physically or mentally.


What are you saying? How would you put this entire sentence in English, then?


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## myšlenka

Wilma_Sweden said:


> Read the forum rules!


Was this meant for me?


Wilma_Sweden said:


> What are you saying? How would you put this entire sentence in English, then?


If I understand what you wrote in #7 correctly, you seem to claim that 'nervous' is a better translation of _helt kake_ in this particular context. I don't see how you arrive at this conclusion. If one understands the entire phrase that Kvitebjørn provided in #6 apart from _helt kake_, one could guess that _helt kake_ means 'nervous, reserved, shy, unconfident, quiet or careful etc', all of which are compatible with the semantic context in question (but also wrong). It is unclear to me why 'nervous' strikes you as the most natural one.

A possible translation:
_for på innsiden er jeg helt kake_ - because on the inside I am exhausted/a wreck.


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## Wilma_Sweden

Was this meant for me?[/QUOTE]
This was meant for the OP in particular, who should have provided a context in the first post, see item 3 in the forum rules. 



myšlenka said:


> If I understand what you wrote in #7 correctly, you seem to claim that 'nervous' is a better translation of _helt kake_ in this particular context. I don't see how you arrive at this conclusion. *If one understands the entire phrase that Kvitebjørn provided in #6 apart from helt kake, one could guess that helt kake means 'nervous, reserved, shy, unconfident, quiet or careful etc', all of which are compatible with the semantic context in question* (but also wrong). It is unclear to me why 'nervous' strikes you as the most natural one.
> 
> A possible translation:
> _for på innsiden er jeg helt kake_ - because on the inside I am exhausted/a wreck.


No, you misunderstood me, I drew the conclusion exactly in the way you describe above (in bold), and also the OP made the same suggestion of 'nervous' in post 1 without providing any context. In post 6 the context sentence appears, but we don't know where it comes from - is it something the OP made up, or is it something seen or heard somewhere in Norway, spoken or written by Norwegians? 


Kvitebjørn said:


> Jeg lurer samtidig på hvor all denne selvtilliten kommer fra, for på innsiden er jeg helt kake.


Does the sentence in Norwegian make sense to you? Does 'helt kake' fit logically and/or semantically in the sentence in Norwegian? This is why I challenged you to translate *the whole sentence* - to find something that would make sense in English, too. If, however, you can't use 'helt kake' in that context, why not just say so?


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## myšlenka

Wilma_Sweden said:


> No, you misunderstood me, I drew the conclusion exactly in the way you describe above (in bold), and also the OP made the same suggestion of 'nervous' in post 1 without providing any context. In post 6 the context sentence appears, but we don't know where it comes from [...]


Then I don't really see the point you are trying to make in #7.


Wilma_Sweden said:


> Does the sentence in Norwegian make sense to you?'


It's not an expression I use a lot, but I don't see anything odd about the sentence. The meaning of the expression is within the field of fatigue regardless of the context.


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## raumar

I agree with myšlenka - the Norwegian sentence makes sense. The person is fatigued, but outwardly he/she appears to be self-confident. The cake metaphor also makes sense: a cake isn't strong and energetic.


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## Hannouschka

Judging from your discussion above I think "knackered" might be be an appropriate (oh well ;-)) translation..? If we're looking for English equivalents...


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## Grefsen

Hannouschka said:


> Judging from your discussion above I think "knackered" might be be an appropriate (oh well ;-)) translation..? If we're looking for English equivalents...


I agree with *Hannouschka* that "knackered" would be an appropriate *British* English (BE) translation, but just thought I'd add that this word is not commonly used in the U.S.


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## Hannouschka

Ah, I see. Thank you, Grefsen.


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## Grefsen

Hannouschka said:


> Ah, I see. Thank you, Grefsen.


Vær så god! (Du är välkommen!)


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## Hannouschka

Hehe, I think "Varsågod" would be more correct in Swedish too ;-). (Although we are indeed an americanised lot, so it wouldn't surprise me to come across "Du är välkommen" in this context.)


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## Grefsen

Hannouschka said:


> Hehe, I think "Varsågod" would be more correct in Swedish too ;-).


Mens jeg bruker dette forumet til å lære norsk, er jeg også lære litt svensk også.   Tusen takk for det, *Hannouschka! *


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