# Norwegian: I'll be there in spirit



## Grefsen

I belong to several Norwegian Facebook groups that keep inviting me to events that I would love to attend, but unfortunately can't because I'm halfway around the world from Norway. 

The options for responding to these invitations are only "I'm attending," "Maybe," or "No," but there is the possibility of adding a comment.  How would I write på norsk something like "Unfortunately I can't attend the event, but I'll be there in spirit."

Mitt forsøk:

Dessverre jeg kan ikke gå til  hendelsen, men jeg vil være der i ånden.


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## cevita

I'll be there in spirit = Jeg vil være der i ånden.

But we don't really say that. 

How polite do you wanna be?
Colloquial I would say something like:
"Jeg kan dessverre ikke komme, men jeg vil tenke på dere"

But more polite (like your English is) I'd say:
"Dessverre kan jeg ikke være tilstede ved hendelsen, men mine tanker vil være hos dere"



> Dessverre jeg kan ikke gå til  hendelsen/QUOTE]
> This means "unfortunately I can't walk towards the happening".


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## Grefsen

cevita said:


> I'll be there in spirit = Jeg vil være der i ånden.
> 
> But we don't really say that.


Well it is good that checked here first before embarrassing myself yet again on Facebook. 

Just out of curiosity, what do think most Norwegians would think if they received a message that included a comment such as "Jeg vil være der i ånden."?  



cevita said:


> How polite do you wanna be?
> Colloquial I would say something like:
> "Jeg kan dessverre ikke komme, men jeg vil tenke på dere"
> 
> But more polite (like your English is) I'd say:
> "Dessverre kan jeg ikke være tilstede ved hendelsen, men mine tanker vil være hos dere"


The Facebook Groups that have been inviting me to events lately are quite large groups and I don't know a lot of the members.  

Perhaps I should say something along the lines of this:

If I was in Norway I would definitely come.

Hvis  jeg var i Norge jeg ville definitivt komme.



> Dessverre jeg kan ikke gå til  hendelsen/QUOTE]
> This means "unfortunately I can't walk towards the happening".


A friend of mine is a musician and the invitation I had in mind when I wrote that was to a concert of hers this summer in Oslo.

If I had used the suggestion you gave me a year ago I would have written "Dessverre jeg skal ikke på konserten." 

http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=1496798


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## Cerb

The expression "å være tilstede/der i ånden" does exist in Norwegian, but it's very rarely used. I faintly remember it being used jokingly by someone not attending something he should have. 



> Hvis jeg var i Norge jeg ville definitivt komme.


"Hvis jeg var i Norge, jeg ville jeg definitivt ha kommet"  

"Hendelse" isn't really used for this meaning of "event". "Arrangement" is the most common term and the one Faceook uses. "Happening" is used in the same way as in English (i.e. in English).


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## cevita

> "Jeg vil være der i ånden."?


I`d probably think the samas Cerb, it sounds jokingly 
It also sounds kinda funeral-y.



> "Hvis jeg var i Norge, jeg ville jeg definitivt ha kommet"


Agreeing with Cerb again, this sounds good 

Your Norwegian is getting better and better 
I think it is cool when someone are as interested in my native language as you are  
Keep up the good work!


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## kms

cevita said:


> men mine tanker vil være hos dere



To me this sounds a bit too formal. Something more suitable for a serious event like a funeral.


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## Grefsen

cevita said:


> I`d probably think the samas Cerb, it sounds jokingly
> It also sounds kinda funeral-y.


So it looks like "I'll be there in spirit" is another example of an AE expression that just doesn't translate well into Norwegian. 

As far as the Facebook event replies go, I'll probably just stick with using something like the following:

Hvis jeg var i Norge, ville jeg definitivt ha kommet.



cevita said:


> Your Norwegian is getting better and better
> I think it is cool when someone are as interested in my native language as you are
> Keep up the good work!


Tusen takk for det! 

Jeg  setter pris det positive tilbakemeldinger.


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## Grefsen

cevita said:


> I'll be there in spirit = Jeg vil være der i ånden.
> 
> But we don't really say that.
> 
> How polite do you wanna be?
> Colloquial I would say something like:
> "Jeg kan dessverre ikke komme, men jeg vil tenke på dere"
> 
> But more polite (like your English is) I'd say:
> "Dessverre kan jeg ikke være tilstede ved hendelsen, men mine tanker vil være hos dere"


Over the weekend I posted a picture on Facebook of *Karl Johans Gate* on *17. mai* and several of my Norwegian friends asked me *på norsk* if I had been in Norway last Saturday.  I'd like to reply by writing something close to the following *på norsk*:

I was actually here in Southern California, but feel like I was with Norwegian friends and family in spirit during last Saturday's 17th of May celebrations in Norway.

What are some of the *norsk* phrases I could use that would convey a similar meaning to "feel like I was with Norwegian friends and family in spirit"?

Could I use the following phrase or something similar to this?

"mine tanker var hos norsk venner og familie"

På forhånd takk!


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## raumar

I would not use "mine tanker var hos norske venner og familie" in this context.  I would only use that expression to express my sympathy if they had experienced something sad, for example a death in the family (more suitable for a funeral, as kms wrote in post #6). I actually think that "jeg var der i ånden" is better, even though I agree with Cerb's objections in post #4. It might be too pompous.

How about rephrasing it completely? For example, something like "Når jeg ser bildene fra 17.mai-feiringen i Oslo, føles det nesten som om jeg var der selv."


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## Grefsen

raumar said:


> I would not use "mine tanker var hos norske venner og familie" in this context.


Tusen takk for det, *raumar!* 


raumar said:


> How about rephrasing it completely? For example, something like "Når jeg ser bildene fra 17.mai-feiringen i Oslo, føles det nesten som om jeg var der selv."


Jeg liker dette forslaget beste. 

Her er hva jeg postet på FB:

Når jeg så bildene fra 17.mai-feiringen i Oslo, føltes det nesten som om jeg var der selv.


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## raumar

Grefsen said:


> Her er hva jeg postet på FB:
> 
> Når Da jeg så bildene fra 17.mai-feiringen i Oslo, føltes det nesten som om jeg var der selv.



That's almost right. When you write this sentence in the past tense, you should replace "Når" with "Da". 
But don't worry about this small mistake in your FB post - many native speakers make the same mistake.


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## Grefsen

raumar said:


> That's almost right. When you write this sentence in the past tense, you should replace "Når" with "Da".


Tusen takk for det,* raumar!

*When I changed the sentence to past tense, I actually considered replacing "Når" with "Da" so hopefully next time I'll get it right.  


raumar said:


> But don't worry about this small mistake in your FB post - many native speakers make the same mistake.


Fortunately it's now possible to edit FB comments so I just went back and made the correction.  

Tusen takk for all din hjelp!


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## sjiraff

Sorry for a bit of a bump, but a good way to remember the da/når thing Grefsen is "Den gangen da..." and "Hver gang når..." so it's like "That one time when x happened" as opposed to something on-going!


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## Grefsen

sjiraff said:


> Sorry for a bit of a bump, but a good way to remember the da/når thing Grefsen is "Den gangen da..." and "Hver gang når..." so it's like "That one time when x happened" as opposed to something on-going!


Tusen takk for det *sjiraff!*  

This is very helpful.


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