# Norwegian: terms of endearment



## purpledaisy

I am dating a man who is from Norway, and am looking for some Norwegian terms of endearment...something like we use in English for darling, sweetheart, etc.  Thanks all for your help!


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## Grefsen

purpledaisy said:


> I am dating a man who is from Norway, and am looking for some Norwegian terms of endearment...something like we use in English for darling, sweetheart, etc.  Thanks all for your help!



*Velkommen til nordisk språk **forum* (Welcome to the Nordic language forum) *purpledaisy.  * 

One very special Norwegian term of endearment is* min **kjæreste,* which I believe means "my dearest" (or something close to that.)


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## purpledaisy

Thanks for the help!


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## oskhen

Grefsen said:


> *Velkommen til nordisk språk **forum* (Welcome to the Nordic language forum) *purpledaisy. *
> 
> One very special Norwegian term of endearment is* min **kjæreste,* which I believe means "my dearest" (or something close to that.)


 
To be honest, I don't think I would'nt normally use that. If you want to say something similar to "darling", I suggest "kjære" ("dear"), or, stronger, "elskede" ("beloved one"). However, this is far from my strongest field, so I hope somebody has better suggestions/can confirm these.


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## Grefsen

oskhen said:


> To be honest, I don't think I would'nt normally use that. (*English note: It is best to avoid using "double negatives."*)If you want to say something similar to "darling", I suggest "kjære" ("dear"), or, stronger, "elskede" ("beloved one"). However, this is far from my strongest field, so I hope somebody has better suggestions/can confirm these.



*Tusen takk for svaret oskhen!  

*I checked the online* norsk-spansk-engelsk ordbok (dictionary) *tritrans.net and the following translations are given for *kjæreste:*

beloved, boyfriend, darling, girlfriend, sweetheart

Since *kjæreste *can also be used to mean "boyfriend," as well as "darling" or "sweatheart,"I'm guessing that it could be too soon for *purpledaisy *to use this particular term of endearment. It all depends on the nature of the relationship. 

It is an interesting question because it falls into this gray area of what terms of endearment one can use for someone *på* *norsk *to show some level affection, but not inappropriately too much affection. Since I'm *norsk-amerikansk,* I'd be curious to know what suggestions some of the other native speaking Norwegians have.


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## Good Old Neon

Min skatt (literally: my treasure).


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## Grefsen

Good Old Neon said:


> Min skatt (literally: my treasure).



*Tusen takk *for this and all of your other recent contributions to this forum *Good Old Neon*. 

When I looked up *skatt, *one of the translations given was treasure.  However,  since *skatt* can also mean "tax" and "imposition" *på* *norsk  ** **, *I'd be curious to know how often *min skatt *is used by Norwegians as a term of endearment.


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## Pteppic

*Min skate* would not be a term of endearment, except perhaps in rather special circumstances, as *skate* means the same thing as it does in English (a cartilaginous fish). Anyway, I don't see it anywhere in the thread now, so maybe it's been edited.

*Min skatt* does mean "my treasure", but sounds rather formal with the possessive pronoun in front - *skatten min* would be better (or just *skatt*), although it strikes me personally as something you would say to your children, not your boyfriend (or girlfriend). Others may certainly disagree.

I can't really think of any other terms than oskhen has already mentioned, although some might say something like *kjæresten min*, even to their spouses.


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## aaspraak

I think I would use *(min) kjære*, but not *kjæreste* as a term of endearment. I'd say *kjæresten min* if I mean my _boyfriend_, but probably not use it for _my dearest_. 

I'd maybe use *skatt* or *skatten min*, maybe *elskede*, and maybe I'd make up something with *kose* or similar words.


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