# Norwegian: Good luck



## james.

Heisann alle sammen:

Beklager, norsken min er veldig dårlig, men hvordan sier du "good luck" på norsk? Jeg kan ikke husker det. Ville det væart "godt lykke?" eller "hell?" Jeg vet ikke. 


Tusen takk. 

James.


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## Vikingo

"Lykke til"


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## Grefsen

Vikingo said:


> "Lykke til"


An example of an unusual English expression that can be used to wish an  actor or musician "good luck" is "break a leg."   

Is there a Norwegian equivalent to "break a leg" or any other expressions besides "lykke til" that are sometimes used to wish someone "good luck" in Norwegian?


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## oskhen

Grefsen said:


> An example of an unusual English expression that can be used to wish an  actor or musician "good luck" is "break a leg."
> 
> Is there a Norwegian equivalent to "break a leg" or any other expressions besides "lykke til" that are sometimes used to wish someone "good luck" in Norwegian?



We are quite "americanized" (or Anglicanized?), so it's not unusual to actually say "break a leg". More jocularly, some people sometimes translate it directly into Norwegian - "Brekk et bein".

I suppose there are other ways of saying "good luck", but I can't think of any that are common - nowadays, at least. More old-fashioned, I think I've encountered "hell og lykke!" or something like that.

"Lykke til" is by far the most common.


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## Grefsen

oskhen said:


> We are quite "americanized" (or Anglicanized?), so it's not unusual to actually say "break a leg*.*" More jocularly, some people sometimes translate it directly into Norwegian - "Brekk et bein".


Sier du det?!?!  

I'm really surprised to learn that this expression is actually used in Norway. I chose "break a leg" as an example only because it was the first one I happened to think of.   



oskhen said:


> I suppose there are other ways of saying "good luck*,*" but I can't think of any that are common - nowadays, at least. More old-fashioned, I think I've encountered "hell og lykke!" or something like that.
> 
> "Lykke til" is by far the most common.


Tusen takk for hjelpen! 

BTW - I made a couple of small English corrections.    Punctuation marks such as commas and periods generally go inside the quote marks.

Also, I agree that for better or worse, Norwegians are becoming more and more "americanized" all the time.   However, in this case I think that the expression "break a leg" is also used by British actors and musicians as well as Americans.


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## Cerb

I agree with what Oshken says here. I've heard both "break a leg" and "brekk et bein" used like he described. I even remember being told the actors used "brekk et bein" from a guided tour to a theatre I was on as a kid. 

There are two other interesting topics here. First of all I'm not sure we're always aware if we're becoming Americanized or Anglicanized. "Anglicanization" would be the proper term for adopting both English and American words however. Not being a native speaker I also wrestle a lot with "o" or "ou" and "-ized" or "-ised". You have to decide where you want to be from in a way 

The other thing was punctuation and commas. Norwegian has very strict rules which are routinely neglected by most native speakers. Oshken applied the Norwegian rules correctly, but I trust you know the English ones Grefsen  I've tried looking into English/American rules, but haven't had much luck. A topic for another forum here maybe.


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## oskhen

Grefsen said:


> BTW - I made a couple of small English corrections.    Punctuation marks such as commas and periods generally go inside the quote marks.



Thank you. I like to think of myself as fairly skilled at Norwegian punctuation rules. The English, on the other hand - not so much. (Not to mention Danish, whose rules are seemingly impossible to grasp - but that's definitely off topic)


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## Grefsen

Cerb said:


> I agree with what Oshken says here. I've heard both "break a leg" and "brekk et bein" used like he described. I even remember being told the actors used "brekk et bein" from a guided tour to a theatre I was on as a kid.


Takk for det! 

If anyone is interested in the origin of this expression, here is the link to a discussion in the English Only forum:

*break a leg! [do  musicians say it?]*



Cerb said:


> There are two other interesting topics here. First of all I'm not sure we're always aware if we're becoming Americanized or Anglicanized. "Anglicanization" would be the proper term for adopting both English and American words however. Not being a native speaker I also wrestle a lot with "o" or "ou" and "-ized" or "-ised". You have to decide where you want to be from in a way*.*


I've never really thought about this much, but I see how it could be a bit confusing for Norwegians to learn English from both Americans and Brits. 



Cerb said:


> The other thing was punctuation and commas. Norwegian has very strict rules which are routinely neglected by most native speakers. Oshken applied the Norwegian rules correctly, but I trust you know the English ones Grefsen*.*  I've tried looking into English/American rules, but haven't had much luck. A topic for another forum here maybe.


Here is an interested quote I found about this rule:



> When it comes to commas and periods, though, logic  doesn't enter into the equation, at least not in the United States.   Universal American usage places commas and periods inside the quotation  marks, regardless of logic.


http://grammartips.homestead.com/inside.html


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## Grefsen

oskhen said:


> Thank you. I like to think of myself as fairly skilled at Norwegian punctuation rules. The English, on the other hand - not so much. (Not to mention Danish, whose rules are seemingly impossible to grasp - but that's definitely off topic)


You're welcome, but  I just learned that "this  comma and period inside the quotation marks business" is yet another way that American English differs from British English. 

Here is some more information about this topic that you may find useful:



> Now, keep in mind that this  comma and period inside the quotation marks business is strictly _American_ usage.   The British don't do it that way.  They are inclined to place commas  and periods _logically_ rather than _conventionally_, depending on whether the punctuation belongs to the  quotation or to the sentence that contains the quotation, just as we do  with question marks and exclamation points.
> 
> Since  most of my international students were taught in schools that followed  the British system, I tell them to continue placing their commas and  periods as they were taught.  In the first place, most of them will soon  return to their home countries, so it would be silly to force them to  switch to our style for the few years that they are here.​


http://grammartips.homestead.com/inside.html

Here also is the link to a thread in the English Only forum where "this  comma and period inside the quotation marks business" is discussed further:

[url=http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=1818543]* 	 Quotations and Commas*  [/URL]


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## oskhen

Grefsen said:


> You're welcome, but  I just learned that "this  comma and period inside the quotation marks business" is yet another way that American English differs from British English.
> 
> Here is some more information about this topic that you may find useful:
> 
> http://grammartips.homestead.com/inside.html
> 
> Here also is the link to a thread in the English Only forum where "this  comma and period inside the quotation marks business" is discussed further:
> 
> http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=1818543*      Quotations and Commas*



Ah, I see. So I was correct after all. I usually try to follow British English rules rather that American English - when I know the difference.


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## Frenchlover1

"Break a leg" or "Brekk et bein" are by far most used when someone's going on stage (mainly in theater). I play theatre and perform with singing and dancing (and want to become an actress, but that's even more off topic), so I know this pretty well

In the artist world, it's actually believed that saying "lykke til" is bad luck. So we either say "Break a leg"/"Brekk et bein" or "Tvi tvi". The last one is supposed to sound like spitting, because in the "old days" they spat over the shoulder twice to remove witches (= remove things that can cause bad luck).

"Tvi tvi" is much used outside the theater too.


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## oskhen

Frenchlover1 said:


> "Tvi tvi" is much used outside the theater too.



Of course, I'd forgotten about that one. It's much used.


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## Grefsen

Frenchlover1 said:


> In the artist world, it's actually believed that saying "lykke til" is bad luck. So we either say "Break a leg"/"Brekk et bein" or "Tvi tvi". The last one is supposed to sound like spitting, because in the "old days" they spat over the shoulder twice to remove witches (= remove things that can cause bad luck).
> 
> "Tvi tvi" is much used outside the theater too.


Tusen takk for det Frenchlover1!  

"Tvi tvi" has been used a lot by my Facebook friends in Lillestrøm the past day to wish the LSK Kvinner women's football club good luck in the NM Cup semifinal match that will be played against Røa in Oslo Tuesday afternoon.  If not for Frenchlover1's contribution to this thread, I would have had absolutely no idea what someone had meant by posting "Tvi tvi LSK!!!"


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## basslop

Does anyone know the origin of "tvi tvi"?


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## oskhen

basslop said:


> Does anyone know the origin of "tvi tvi"?


 
I'm far from certain, but what immediately comes to my mind is that it imitates spitting. Spit has from ancient times been thought of as having magical powers, and spitting has been used to ward one against evil, evil forces and dark magic - that for instance could bring bad luck.

Just a guess, though.


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## ermannoitaly

Frenchlover1 said:


> "Break a leg" or "Brekk et bein" are by far most used when someone's going on stage (mainly in theater). I play theatre and perform with singing and dancing (and want to become an actress, but that's even more off topic), so I know this pretty well
> 
> In the artist world, it's actually believed that saying "lykke til" is bad luck. So we either say "Break a leg"/"Brekk et bein" or "Tvi tvi". The last one is supposed to sound like spitting, because in the "old days" they spat over the shoulder twice to remove witches (= remove things that can cause bad luck).
> 
> "Tvi tvi" is much used outside the theater too.



Hei / Hi
Heter det overtro ? Jeg vet ikke...
Men istedenfor "lykke til = buona fortuna=good luck",
før en eksam kanskje er det  bedre å oppmuntre studentene med et uttrykk som (("break a leg -) "med andre ord"))"in bocca al lupo!" på italiensk som vanligvis sies, ofte uten å vite årsaken av/til denne definisjonen. Mange måter å si deler denne samme tilstanden med flere andre (måter å si). 
Hvis noe ikke gikk bra , er det mulig å si ? : Han hadde uflaks !
eller 
Jeg vant ikke noe pris i hest-konkurransen fordi favoritten min falte . Det var ren uflaks.
Takk for oppmerksomheten.
Mvh


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## Frenchlover1

*ermannoitaly:* Ja, 

"(...) because in the "old days" they spat over the shoulder twice to remove witches (= remove things that can cause bad luck)."

kalles "overtro" (superstition), som du sier (Vel og merke vanligvis blant mennesker som _ikke_ tror på det..)

Det er mye vanligere å ønske noen "lykke til" før en eksamen, enn "break a leg" (som sagt er det engelske uttrykket også brukt på norsk). Som jeg også sa, er "break a leg" mest brukt før noen skal på scenen.

Ja! Begge eksemplene du kommer med er riktige å bruke i forbindelse med at noen hadde uflaks

Vær snill å meld fra dersom du ønsker dette oversatt til engelsk!

_Lykke til_ videre med norsken! (hehe)

*Grefsen:* Your gratefulness is highly appreciated! It made me smile  
(Please correct the sentence if you find any part of it strange)

*Oskhen:* That is exactly what I think of as the origin, as well!


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## girecole

oskhen said:


> We are quite "americanized" (or Anglicanized?), so it's not unusual to actually say "break a leg". More jocularly, some people sometimes translate it directly into Norwegian - "Brekk et bein".
> 
> I would use the term "Anglicized," when  referring to  the influence of the English language on other languages.  To me, "Anglicanized" has a distinctly Church of England connotation.


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## sendintheclowns

"Skitt fiske" er et annet artig lite uttrykk med noe av den samme meningen - der man ønsker lykke til ved å si det motsatte. Fiskere er jo som kjent tradisjonelt nokså overtroiske.

Men det kan vel ikke akkurat brukes i teateret eller før en eksamen...


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## Frenchlover1

Festlig, sendintheclowns, det uttrykket har jeg aldri hørt før! Vet du hvor det stammer fra/i hvilke dialekter det er i bruk?


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## sendintheclowns

Sier du det? Jeg trodde alltid det var i vanlig bruk overalt, men kanskje det er typisk østnorsk (jeg er fra Oslo-området). Det ble ofte brukt av mine foreldre, onkler og tanter osv. Kanskje et litt gammedags uttrykk nå i dag?


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## Grefsen

Frenchlover1 said:


> _Lykke til_ videre med norsken! (hehe)


Sì,  buona fortuna con il norvegese *ermannoitaly. * 



Frenchlover1 said:


> *Grefsen:* Your gratefulness is highly appreciated! It made me smile
> (Please correct the sentence if you find any part of it strange)


Tusen takk for det *Frenchlover1*!  

Your first sentence is perfectly fine just the way it is.   

The only suggestion I have is to consider using  "gratitude" in place of "gratefulness."  "Your gratefulness"  sounds a bit formal to me and "gratitude" is also used much more often.   Here's another way you could write basically the same thing:

I really appreciated your gratitude.


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## ermannoitaly

Hei Hi
Lykke til ? Ja !Takk! Det er snill av dere !
I livet er det viktig å ha flaks!
Takk for oppmuntringen ! Frenchlover1 og Grefsen.
Jeg håper at jeg enda mer kan trenge å øve meg  i skriftlig. 
Mvh// Ciao


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## Frenchlover1

Grefsen said:


> Your first sentence is perfectly fine just the way it is.
> 
> The only suggestion I have is to consider using  "gratitude" in place of "gratefulness."  "Your gratefulness"  sounds a bit formal to me and "gratitude" is also used much more often.   Here's another way you could write basically the same thing:
> 
> I really appreciated your gratitude.



Thank you so much, Grefsen!!!


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## ermannoitaly

Hei alle
Det fins ordet "fortuna" i Bokmålsordboka og ordet kommer fra latin.
Men er dette ordet brukt av nordmenn ?

Det er noe annet om fortuna/lykke på italiensk :  
"La dea bendata"(dvs. gudinnen med bandasjer på øynene - i betydningen at lykken er blind) - er et italiensk uttrykk for å identifisere/representere "fortuna" på en annen måten.
Hvordan kan "fortuna" tegnes/forestilles av nordmenn ?  
Takk for oppmerksomheten
Mvh


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## Cerb

"Fortuna" brukes ikke på norsk i betydningen lykke. I ordboka finner jeg: 

"fortuna: fortu'na subst (lat., av Fortuna, romersk gudinne for skjebne og lykke) lykkens gudinne; lykken; skjebnen fru f-"

Det er altså snakk om gudinnen. Det vil variere fra person til person om de kjenner referansen. De fleste vil nok ihvertfall kjenne til ordet "fortune" (eng) og forbinde det med lykke.


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## kms

sendintheclowns said:


> Sier du det? Jeg trodde alltid det var i vanlig bruk overalt, men kanskje det er typisk østnorsk (jeg er fra Oslo-området). Det ble ofte brukt av mine foreldre, onkler og tanter osv. Kanskje et litt gammedags uttrykk nå i dag?



Tror det er i bred bruk i dag. Finnes også noen nettbutikker som heter det til og med.

http://www.skittfiske.no/
og
http://www.skittfiskelillesand.com/


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## oskhen

kms said:


> Tror det er i bred bruk i dag. Finnes også noen nettbutikker som heter det til og med.
> 
> http://www.skittfiske.no/
> og
> http://www.skittfiskelillesand.com/



Kjenner det godt selv


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## Grefsen

kms said:


> Tror det er i bred bruk i dag. Finnes også noen nettbutikker som heter det til og med.
> 
> http://www.skittfiske.no/


That certainly is an interesting choice for the name of a company.    Isn't one possible translation for "skitt fiske" something along the lines of "have crappy luck fishing?"


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## oskhen

Grefsen said:


> Isn't one possible translation for "skitt fiske" something along the lines of "have crappy luck fishing?"



That's basically the meaning, yes. The most literal translation would be "crappy fishing", I suppose. But as was more or less mentioned above, it's an expression used synonymous to "good luck" in a fishing context, since it's an old belief that wishing people good luck with their fishing would have the opposite effect, and wishing people "crappy fishing" would also have an opposite effect. It's the same logic as is behind "break a leg".


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## Grefsen

oskhen said:


> It's the same logic as is behind "break a leg".


Okey, jeg forstår.


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