# Norwegian: had a crush on someone



## Grefsen

How would I write "had a crush on someone" på  norsk?  By crush I mean a "temporary infatuation."

Here is an example of how I would use "crush" in an English sentence:

I once had a crush on a tall blonde Norwegian woman. 

Jeg hadde engang ??  i en høy blondine norsk kvinne.

I had difficulty even finding an expression for "temporary infactuation."  

I found two possible translations for temporary, "forbigående og midlertidig," but couldn't find a translation for infatuation in the ordbok I used.


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## Zluim

A crush/infatuation: en forelskelse
To have a crush on someone: å være forelsket i noen

Those are the expressions I would normally use. Some alternatives are: å være betatt av noen, å være forgapt i noen, å falle for noen, (å ha et crush/(krøsj) på noen).


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## hanne

I don't think crush and forelskelse are quite the same thing (at least it isn't in Danish). If you don't want to talk about being in love in general, the nearest match is probably to use the English term, which has been adopted into Norwegian too (how can you _not_ love the spelling of krøsj ).


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## Zluim

I agree that crush and forelskelse are not necessarily the same thing, crush being a "forelskelse light", perhaps. In that case "å være småforelsket" is another option. Although crush has been adopted into Norwegian, I would still consider it teenage lingo (admittedly teenagers are getting very old lately), and I think Danes tend to embrace English loanwords a little bit quicker than Norwegians do. But if you're a teenager, or just young at heart …


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## hanne

So would it be fair to say that crush is what comes closest in meaning, but most Norwegians just get through without having that particular concept in their active vocabulary? Having a crush is a teenage thing anyway, so it makes sense that they need the word more .

(I wouldn't quite consider it a loanword in Danish - it's more like switching to English for a very short moment. If that makes any sense...)


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## Grefsen

Takk for hjelpen Zluim og Hanne! 


Zluim said:


> I agree that crush and forelskelse are not necessarily the same thing, crush being a "forelskelse light", perhaps. In that case "å være småforelsket" is another option. Although crush has been adopted into Norwegian, I would still consider it teenage lingo (admittedly teenagers are getting very old lately), and I think Danes tend to embrace English loanwords a little bit quicker than Norwegians do. But if you're a teenager, or just young at heart …


In English I think "crush" is also used mostly in "teenage lingo" such as "she had a schoolgirl crush on him." However, I have recently heard "crush" used by individuals who are no longer teenagers, but are still "young at heart." 



hanne said:


> (how can you _not_ love the spelling of krøsj ).


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## basslop

I have to admit that I've never heard the word, *krøsj*, in Norwegian. That could of course indicate that I'm getting (too) old.  So Hanne, you must be a teenager since you suggest that word .

Considering the information in this thread, I think *småforlesket* would be a good Norwegian word for crush.


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## kirsitn

I would also say either "å være småforelsket i" or "å være betatt av".


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## ermannoitaly

Hei
Hvis en sommerforelskelse er noe som kan vare bare et par uker, kunne det/den passe godt som "temporary infatuation" ?

Mvh

PS
Hva med "å sverme for noen" ?


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## Grefsen

ermannoitaly said:


> Hei
> Hvis en sommerforelskelse er noe som kan vare bare et par uker, kunne det/den passe godt som "temporary infatuation" ?


I think I  understand your question, but it would be too difficult for me to give  you an answer på norsk. 

For me there is a big difference between a "sommerforelskelse" (summer romance) and a crush  (temporary infatuation).  When I think of a summer romance I think of a  very intense passionate, but short-lived relationship (perhaps a few  weeks up to a few months).  A crush can often be feelings you have for another  that either aren't reciprocated or don't have an opportunity to be  reciprocated.


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## ermannoitaly

Ok. Takk for svaret.
La oss håpe at jeg tolker riktig: 
Når en (mann/kvinne) er betatt av kjæresten (eller noe som ligner på), men den  andre vet ikke eller vil/kan ikke gjengjelde  (=contraccambiare/reciprocate) det/den.  
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Er det feil?
Mvh

PS: Med andre ord "amore non corrisposto" (per qualche motivo) på italiensk,
      sannsynligvis - "invaghirsi"/"essere invaghito" (på italiensk) = "to be infatuated with"-.


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## Zluim

En sommerforelskelse er nok helst et kortvarig forhold, ja, og da gjerne på sommerferie, mens et crush vanligvis er en avstandsforelskelse. "Å sverme for noen" skulle derimot passe bra.


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## Grefsen

Zluim said:


> En sommerforelskelse er nok helst et kortvarig forhold, ja, og da gjerne på sommerferie, mens et crush vanligvis er en avstandsforelskelse.


Mitt forsøk på en oversettelse:

A summer love/romance is generally a short-term relationship, yes, and likely while on summer vacation, but a crush is usually an infatuation at a distance.



Zluim said:


> "Å sverme for noen" skulle derimot passe bra.


So would "å sverme for noen" be widely understood by most Norwegians as meaning roughly the same as "having a crush on someone"?


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## Tech12

I don't think "crush" or "krøsj" are acceptable in Norwegian, but maybe that's just me.

"Å sverme for noen" is apt, but it sounds a bit old-fashioned/literary to me. It might be your best bet, but you could also just use a sentence to describe what you mean instead of forcing it into one word. Sometimes it's hard to find the perfect word.


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## Grefsen

Tech12 said:


> "Å sverme for noen" is apt, but it sounds a bit old-fashioned/literary to me. It might be your best bet, but you could also just use a sentence to describe what you mean instead of forcing it into one word. Sometimes it's hard to find the perfect word.


Takk for forslaget! 



kirsitn said:


> I would also say either "å være småforelsket i" or "å være betatt av".


I was wondering if a possible translation for "å være betatt av" might be "to be smitten by"?


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## nickleus

Zluim said:


> I agree that crush and forelskelse are not necessarily the same thing, crush being a "forelskelse light", perhaps. In that case "å være småforelsket" is another option.



This is correct. A "crush" in Norwegian is "småforelsket".


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## Muzze

For me it sounds okey to translate "have a crush on" to "vara förälskad i" in Swedish. If you want to imply that it isn`t so serious you can still say "vara förälskad i" but with another tone in you voice or say "I am a little förälskad in" or "småförälskad" etc.


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## AutumnOwl

Muzze said:


> For me it sounds okey to translate "have a crush on" to "vara förälskad i" in Swedish. If you want to imply that it isn`t so serious you can still say "vara förälskad i" but with another tone in you voice or say "I am a little förälskad in" or "småförälskad" etc.


Eller varför inte "är småkär i någon" eller "förtjust i någon", inte så allvarligt som "förälskad i" eller "kär i" men ändå mer än vänskap.


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## hanne

AutumnOwl said:


> Eller varför inte "är småkär i någon" eller "förtjust i någon", inte så allvarligt som "förälskad i" eller "kär i" men ändå mer än vänskap.


I think "kär i" (and "förtjust" too) is specific to Swedish, which would explain why it can't be used in Norwegian . But again it brings us back to "småforelsket", which I don't think anyone has objected to yet.


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## Muzze

AutumnOwl said:


> Eller varför inte "är småkär i någon" eller "förtjust i någon", inte så allvarligt som "förälskad i" eller "kär i" men ändå mer än vänskap.


 
Vid närmare eftertanke tycker jag det är lite underligt att säga "småkär" eller "småförälskad". Jag accepterar ju givetvis orden och brukar dem säkert själv men man är väl egentligen förälskad i någon eller ej, finns det ett mellanting? 

Jag är nog icke helt klar över hur uttrycket "have a crush on" brukas men spontant känns det som att det i vart fall *kan *vara starkare än "att vara småförälskad i" etc. Därför kan säkert flera översättningar vara giltiga och det finns icke bara ett svar som är "rätt".


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## Muzze

For me is the expression "vara betagen i"  a little bite stronger than "have a crush on".


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