# Norwegian: Nobel Peace Prize Birthday



## Grefsen

If someone happens to have a birthday on a significant day such as the day the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded in Oslo each year, could they refer to their special day as being "My Nobel Peace Prize Birthday" *på norsk*?  

If so, would either of the following be a correct way to write this *på norsk*?

*"Min Nobels fredpris bursdagen" eller "Min Nobels fredpris **fødselsdagen"*?

*På forh**ånd takk!
*


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## Grefsen

Also how would you tell someone your age *på norsk*? 

Could you write something like "*Jeg er 30 **år gammel" f.ek.?
*


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## Tjahzi

Hm, instinctively, both your examples appear odd to me. Partly because the construction itself looks unfamilliar, partly because a noun following a possive pronoun can't be definite.

Anyhow, in Swedish it would be possible to say "Jag fyller år på Nobeldagen", or optionally "Jag har födelsedag på Nobeldagen/Min födelsedag är (på) Nobeldagen", although I've never heard anyone saying (however, I don't know anyone having that exact birthday).


And, yes, that looks like an appropriate way to express one's age. However, as a reply to a question, "år gammal" is (everything but very formal/formal contexts) omitted (since the age of a person is implicitly measured in years).


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## Grefsen

Tjahzi said:


> Hm, instinctively, both your examples appear odd to me. Partly because the construction itself looks *unfamiliar*, partly because a noun following a possive pronoun can't be definite.



*Tusen takk* for your feedback *Tjahzi.  *I was just wondering if someone could say something like "Today is my Nobel Peace Prize Birthday" without it sounding too strange *på norsk*?  




Tjahzi said:


> Anyhow, in Swedish it would be possible to say "Jag fyller år på Nobeldagen", or optionally "Jag har födelsedag på Nobeldagen/Min födelsedag är (på) Nobeldagen", although I've never heard anyone saying (however, I don't know anyone having that exact birthday).



So would the translation of what you have written be something like  "My birthday is on the Nobel Prize day."?


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## Grefsen

Tjahzi said:


> And, yes, that looks like an appropriate way to express one's age. However, as a reply to a question, "år gammal" is (everything but very formal/formal contexts) omitted (since the age of a person is implicitly measured in years).



When someone is asked in English "How old are you?" it is quite common to respond by saying "I'm 30 years old,"  "I'm 30," or even just "30."  That is interesting to know that in Swedish it would be considered to be quite formal to include* "år gammal"* in the reply.  I would assume that it is also probably the same *på norsk *and *"år gammel"* is omitted as well.


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## Tjahzi

Regarding the former question; well, yes. To me, it sounds odd mixing the Nobel (Peace) Prize and one's birthday. One cannot "posses" the Nobel day as one "posses" one's birthday. However, in case they would indeed coincide, that could be worth mentioning and is done so as I proposed below. 

Although, again, that's from a Swedish point of view. There is always the possibility of Norwegian actually having the expression that, with more or less the same words, sounds awkward to me.


Another note, I'd say adding "år gammal" when expressing one's age is more common (less uncommon) in written languages, it does, however, hardly ever occur in spoken language. Also, it is possible to just omit "gammal", which I would say is naturally somewhere in between of complete omission and no omission in terms of formality.


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## missTK

No, I don't think you could, at least I can't think of a way to say it that doesn't sound strange. The concept of modifying "birthday" doesn't carry over well. In English I think I've heard "Christmas birthday"  as in "having a Christmas birthday", but in Norwegian that would be phrased as "å ha bursdag på julaften".


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## oskhen

Tjahzi's answer applies to Norwegian as well. If someone asks "Hvor gammel er du?" ("How old are you"), one would most likely answer for instance "(Jeg er) 30 (år)", with the words in the parenthesis (is that how you write it?) as optional. One would not normally add "gammel", at least not in spoken language, if not to sound very formal.

Concerning the birthday-question; you can say "Jeg har bursdag på (fill in day here)", but nothing like your suggestions.


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## Grefsen

missTK said:


> No, I don't think you could, at least I can't think of a way to say it that doesn't sound strange. The concept of modifying "birthday" doesn't carry over well. In English I think I've heard "Christmas birthday"  as in "having a Christmas birthday", but in Norwegian that would be phrased as "å ha bursdag på julaften".



*Tusen takk missTK!*

This is exactly the type of feedback I was hoping to receive.   

Yes, I have also heard it said in English that someone born on December 25th has a Christmas birthday" or someone born on December 31st has a "New Year's Eve birthday."  

This is actually the main reason why I was wondering if I could perhaps "get away" with writing "My Nobel Peace Prize Birthday" *på norsk*, but apparently not.


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## Grefsen

oskhen said:


> Tjahzi's answer applies to Norwegian as well. If someone asks "Hvor gammel er du?" ("How old are you"), one would most likely answer for instance "(Jeg er) 30 (år)", with the words in the parenthesis (is that how you write it?) as optional. One would not normally add "gammel", at least not in spoken language, if not to sound very formal.



*Tusen takk oskhen!  *This is another example of a Norwegian reply typically being just a little less wordy than its English equivalent.



oskhen said:


> Concerning the birthday-question; you can say "Jeg har bursdag på (fill in day here)", but nothing like your suggestions.



Okay it looks like it will be best for me to just use *Jeg har bursdag på **Nobels fredpris** dagen* in the future.


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## oskhen

Grefsen said:


> Okay it looks like it will be best for me to just use *Jeg har bursdag på **Nobels fredpris** dagen* in the future.


 
I think you should have a "-" in there: "Jeg har bursdag på Nobels fredspris-dagen". Though I have to warn you: It is not certain that everyone will understand what you mean at once.


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## Grefsen

oskhen said:


> I think you should have a "-" in there: "Jeg har bursdag på Nobels fredspris-dagen". Though I have to warn you: It is not certain that everyone will understand what you mean at once.



Do you have any suggestions for me?  Should I perhaps consider writing something that is a bit more wordy, but easier to understand along the lines of something like "My birthday which happens to be on the same day that the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded."?


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## Tjahzi

In Sweden/Swedish, the 10th of December is/can be refered to as just "Nobeldagen". Would that sound odd to a Norwegian?


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## kirsitn

Grefsen said:


> *Tusen takk oskhen!  *This is another example of a Norwegian reply typically being just a little less wordy than its English equivalent.



I would definitely just say the number (32 at the moment) if someone asked me how old I am. Anything else would seem a waste of syllables. 

I may be wrong, but I think it is more likely that people will say "X år" or "X år gammel" when talking about children. Maybe because most numbers below 13 are monosyllabic? Or maybe because most people who talk about the age of children are either parents or children themselves, and both are likely to take the matter of age more seriously than the rest of us.


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## Daeniel

Tjahzi said:


> In Sweden/Swedish, the 10th of December is/can be refered to as just "Nobeldagen". Would that sound odd to a Norwegian?


Not sure if it's really odd, but in Norway there is a lot of people that don't know when "Nobeldagen" is. But, sure, you could say "Jeg har bursdag på Nobeldagen", even though "Jeg har bursdag samme dag som nobelprisen deles ut" sounds a lot better.


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## Grefsen

Daeniel said:


> Not sure if it's really odd, but in Norway there is a lot of people that don't know when "Nobeldagen" is. But, sure, you could say "Jeg har bursdag på Nobeldagen", even though "Jeg har bursdag samme dag som nobelprisen deles ut" sounds a lot better.



*Velkommen til nordisk forum* *Daeniel*!  You've made a really good point in your first post.    

I'm sure most Norwegians know that the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded in Oslo sometime during the first half of the month of December, but I wonder how many know that the *Nobeldag* is actually on December 10th?


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## oskhen

Grefsen said:


> I'm sure most Norwegians know that the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded in Oslo sometime during the first half of the month of December, but I wonder how many know that the *Nobeldag* is actually on December 10th?


 
I hadn't a clue, at least. Actually, I don't think I've ever heard the word "Nobeldag". So I agree that one should choose something more wordy. "Jeg har bursdag på samme dag som nobelprisen deles ut (or "utdeles")" was suggested, I think, and it sounds very good to me too.


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## Grefsen

oskhen said:


> So I agree that one should choose something more wordy. "Jeg har bursdag på samme dag som nobelprisen deles ut (or "utdeles")" was suggested, I think, and it sounds very good to me too.



What would be the translation for *deles ut eller utdeles* as it is used in the above example?  I wasn't able to find *deles eller utdeles* in either of the *ordbø**ker *that I use, but the translation for *dele* was given as "divide, share."


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## oskhen

Grefsen said:


> What would be the translation for *deles ut eller utdeles* as it is used in the above example? I wasn't able to find *deles eller utdeles* in either of the *ordbø**ker *that I use, but the translation for *dele* was given as "divide, share."


 
"Å dele ut" basically means to give (away). Often it means to give stuff to several persons, but it may also be used in connection with awards as in the relevant case.

Edit: By the way; the "s" is a passive s.


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## Grefsen

oskhen said:


> "Å dele ut" basically means to give (away). Often it means to give stuff to several persons, but it may also be used in connection with awards as in the relevant case.
> 
> Edit: By the way; the "s" is a passive s.



*Tusen takk! * This is an interesting distinction here between "to give out" an award and just "to give" in general.

For fun I just put "he gives out an award" into a translator and the result is: *han gir ut en premien*

When I go the other way with it and put in *han deles ut prisen* the result is:   "he be cut edged award"


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## kirsitn

Grefsen said:


> When I go the other way with it and put in *han deles ut prisen* the result is:   "he be cut edged award"   [/COLOR]



Du kan si "han deler ut prisen" eller "prisen deles ut av ham", men ikke "han deles ut prisen".


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## Myha

When you use active *Han deler ut prisen* you use regular verb ending, but when it's something being given out, a passive *Prisen deles ut* you use the -s ending.


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## Grefsen

kirsitn said:


> Du kan si "han deler ut prisen" eller "prisen deles ut av ham", men ikke "han deles ut prisen".





Myha said:


> When you use active *Han deler ut prisen* you use regular verb ending, but when it's something being given out, a passive *Prisen deles ut* you use the -s ending.



* Tusen takk for norsk grammatikk leksjon kirsitn og Myha.*


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## Wilma_Sweden

Grefsen said:


> When I go the other way with it and put in *han deles ut prisen* the result is: "he be cut edged award"


ROFL!  Top prize for language destruction goes to automated translators. Close runner-up: teenage SMS/online chats...

/Wilma


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## Grefsen

Daeniel said:


> Not sure if it's really odd, but in Norway there is a lot of people that don't know when "Nobeldagen" is. But, sure, you could say "Jeg har bursdag på Nobeldagen", even though "Jeg har bursdag samme dag som nobelprisen deles ut" sounds a lot better.


Since most of my friends and family in Norway know that my birthday is the same day that the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded in Oslo would it be correct if I wrote the following to those who have sent me birthday greetings today?

Tusen takk for hjelpen til å gjøre dette Nobels fredspris-dag veldig spesiell for meg.

Thanks for helping to make this Nobel Peace Prize day very special for me.


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## basslop

We have another way to express this, or something like it, in Norwegian. Say my birthday is first of January and I am asked about my birthday. Then I can say “*Jeg er (et) nyttårsbarn*”. Even though I am far from a child I can use this expression.  I think one also could say “*Jeg er et julaftenbarn*”, ”*Jeg er et juledagsbarn*”, etc.These are not so common but they should work too. For you Grefsen, it would be something like “J*eg er et Nobelprisdagsbarn” *or rather “*Jeg er et fredsprisdagsbarn*“ in order to separate from other Nobel price dates. It is maybe a bit lumpy but it should work. What do you native language Norwegians think about this?

BTW: Since my birthday actually is the first of October, maybe I could say: *Jeg er et Kinabarn*. It is the Chinese National day. At least I can say that my birthday is a very important day, since about 20% of the world’s population celebrates my birthday.


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## Myha

Fredsprisdagsbarn would work, though it would be very heavy in my opinion. 



> Thanks for helping to make this Nobel Peace Prize day very special for me.


I would translate this with:
Tusen takk for at du gjør Nobelprisdagen veldig spesiell for meg.





basslop said:


> BTW: Since my birthday actually is the first of October, maybe I could say: *Jeg er et Kinabarn*. It is the Chinese National day. At least I can say that my birthday is a very important day, since about 20% of the world’s population celebrates my birthday.


I think I would assume that you were Chinese if you said that...


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## Södertjej

Myha said:


> Tusen takk for at du gjør Nobelprisdagen veldig spesiell for meg.


I don't speak Norwegian so it may be different but if I heard that in Swedish somehow I'd assume you had some kind of connection to the Nobel prize, maybe what you'd answer to someone sending you a special message on the day you're getting the award, or maybe of you are part of the ceremony somehow, one of the arrangers... that kind of thing. Basically because the day of the Nobel Prize ceremony and party is not exactly like Christmas, where we all celebrate and it's part of everybody's upbringing.

Just a thought, it may be just a personal perception.


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## Myha

Well that's what the original sentence looked like to me. Nothing in that sentence said anything about it being a birthday, so I just translated the source material. If you'd want the fact that it's that someone's birthday then I would say it differently.


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## Grefsen

Myha said:


> I would translate this with:
> Tusen takk for at du gjør Nobelprisdagen veldig spesiell for meg.


Tusen takk for det *Myha!*   Det er hyggelig å se deg tilbake på forumet igjen. 



Södertjej said:


> I don't speak Norwegian so it may be different but if I heard that in Swedish somehow I'd assume you had some kind of connection to the Nobel prize, maybe what you'd answer to someone sending you a special message on the day you're getting the award, or maybe of you are part of the ceremony somehow, one of the arrangers... that kind of thing. Basically because the day of the Nobel Prize ceremony and party is not exactly like Christmas, where we all celebrate and it's part of everybody's upbringing.
> 
> Just a thought, it may be just a personal perception.


Tack för era kommentarer *Södertjej*.  

You make a good point. I agree with you that there could be some confusion if I used the sentence that *Myha* has suggested in a message to someone who didn't already know that *Nobelprisdagen** (10. desember)* was my birthday.


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## Myha

Grefsen said:


> Tusen takk for det *Myha!*   Det er hyggelig å se deg tilbake på forumet igjen.


Thanks


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## Wilma_Sweden

basslop said:


> We have another way to express this, or something like it, in Norwegian. Say my birthday is first of January and I am asked about my birthday. Then I can say “*Jeg er (et) nyttårsbarn*”. Even though I am far from a child I can use this expression.  I think one also could say “*Jeg er et julaftenbarn*”, ”*Jeg er et juledagsbarn*”, etc.These are not so common but they should work too. For you Grefsen, it would be something like “J*eg er et Nobelprisdagsbarn” *or rather “*Jeg er et fredsprisdagsbarn*“ in order to separate from other Nobel price dates.


As far as I'm aware, there is only one significant Nobel prize date and that's December 10, so - at least in Sweden - we simply refer to it as Nobeldagen (Nobel day). 

I must agree with Södertjej that any congratulatory note mentioning the Nobel day would lead me into thinking that you had got the prize yourself or had some other significant connection with the Nobel festivities. On the other hand, it's almost impossible in Sweden to forget about the Nobel day since there is so much publicity beforehand in the media... It's certainly a good way to remember what your birthday is. Belated happy birthday wishes!

/Wilma


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## Grefsen

Wilma_Sweden said:


> As far as I'm aware, there is only one significant Nobel prize date and that's December 10, so - at least in Sweden - we simply refer to it as Nobeldagen (Nobel day).


I think that the Nobel Prizes have always been awarded in Stockholm and Oslo on *10. desember,* which was the day that Alfred Nobel died in 1896.  

This year the day that the announcement was made about Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize *(9. oktober)* was also quite significant as well. It just happened to be my first full day in Oslo during my recent trip to Norway and the announcement from the Nobel Institute in Oslo dominated the news in Norway, as well as in the USA too, for several days.

I just did a little research online and it looks like the announcement of the Nobel Peace Prize over the previous 10 years was usually made on the second Friday in October. The exceptions were in 1999 when it was made on *15. oktober* and in 2005 when it was made on *7. oktober.*



Wilma_Sweden said:


> On the other hand, it's almost impossible in Sweden to forget about the Nobel day since there is so much publicity beforehand in the media... It's certainly a good way to remember what your birthday is. Belated happy birthday wishes!
> 
> /Wilma


Tusen takk for det Wilma!


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