200 Most Common Verbs in Norwegian

Here is a curated list of the 200 most common verbs in Norwegian. Mastering these will give you the ability to express almost any thought in daily conversation.

I have organized them by category to help you connect them to specific contexts.

🔑 The "Big 10" (Auxiliary & Most Frequent)

These are the grammatical building blocks of the language.

Å være – To be
Å ha – To have
Å kunne – To be able to / can
Å skulle – To shall / going to (future)
Å ville – To want to / will
Å måtte – To have to / must
Å burde – To should / ought to
Å få – To get / receive (also "may/be allowed to")
Å bli – To become / be (passive)
Å gjøre – To do / make

🗣 Kommunikasjon (Communication)

Å si – To say
Å snakke – To speak / talk
Å prate – To chat
Å fortelle – To tell
Å spørre – To ask
Å svare – To answer
Å mene – To mean (have an opinion)
Å bety – To mean (signify/definition)
Å skrive – To write
Å lese – To read
Å ringe – To call (phone)
Å sende – To send
Å diskutere – To discuss
Å forklare – To explain
Å kalle – To call (name someone)
Å hete – To be named
Å rope – To shout
Å hviske – To whisper
Å takke – To thank
Å love – To promise
Å klage – To complain
Å lyve – To lie (tell untruth)

🏃 Bevegelse (Movement)

Å gå – To walk / go
Å dra – To go / leave / pull
Å komme – To come
Å reise – To travel
Å løpe – To run
Å kjøre – To drive
Å fly – To fly
Å sykle – To cycle
Å svømme – To swim
Å hoppe – To jump
Å danse – To dance
Å klatre – To climb
Å falle – To fall
Å snu – To turn
Å forlate – To leave
Å følge – To follow
Å besøke – To visit
Å passere – To pass
Å nærme seg – To approach
Å skynde seg – To hurry

📍 Posisjon og Plassering (Position & Placement)

Norwegian is very specific about "putting" things.

Å stå – To stand
Å sitte – To sit
Å ligge – To lie (down)
Å henge – To hang
Å sette – To put/set (in a sitting position)
Å legge – To put/lay (in a lying position)
Å stille – To place/pose (in a standing position)

🧠 Tanker og Kunnskap (Thoughts & Knowledge)

Å vite – To know (facts)
Å kjenne – To know (people/places/feeling)
Å tro – To think / believe
Å tenke – To think (mental process)
Å synes – To think (subjective opinion)
Å forstå – To understand
Å skjønne – To understand (often informal)
Å huske – To remember
Å glemme – To forget
Å lære – To learn / to teach
Å studere – To study
Å øve – To practice
Å lure på – To wonder about
Å besteme – To decide
Å velge – To choose
Å gjette – To guess
Å håpe – To hope
Å ønske – To wish
Å drømme – To dream
Å planlegge – To plan

👁 Sanser (Senses)

Å se – To see
Å se på – To watch / look at
Å se ut – To look (appearance)
Å høre – To hear
Å lytte – To listen
Å høres ut – To sound (like)
Å føle – To feel (emotion)
Å kjenne – To feel (touch/sensation)
Å lukte – To smell
Å smake – To taste
Å virke – To seem / work (function)

❤ Følelser og Relasjoner (Emotions & Relationships)

Å like – To like
Å elske – To love
Å hate – To hate
Å savne – To miss
Å trives – To thrive / enjoy oneself (in a place)
Å kose seg – To have a cozy/good time
Å glede seg – To look forward to
Å grue seg – To dread
Å kjede seg – To be bored
Å le – To laugh
Å gråte – To cry
Å smile – To smile
Å bekymre seg – To worry
Å stole på – To trust
Å tilgi – To forgive
Å hjelpe – To help
Å møte – To meet
Å treffe – To meet / hit
Å invitere – To invite
Å dele – To share
Å kysse – To kiss
Å klemme – To hug
Å gifte seg – To get married

🏠 Dagligliv (Daily Life)

Å spise – To eat
Å drikke – To drink
Å sove – To sleep
Å våkne – To wake up
Å stå opp – To get up
Å legge seg – To go to bed
Å hvile – To rest
Å bo – To live (reside)
Å leve – To live (be alive)
Å dø – To die
Å føde – To give birth
Å vokse – To grow
Å jobbe – To work
Å arbeide – To work
Å leke – To play (children)
Å spille – To play (games/music/sports)
Å dusje – To shower
Å bade – To bathe / swim
Å vaske – To wash
Å rydde – To clean up / tidy
Å lage – To make / cook
Å bruke – To use / wear
Å kle på seg – To get dressed
Å kjøpe – To buy
Å selge – To sell
Å betale – To pay
Å koste – To cost
Å eie – To own
Å leie – To rent

🛠 Handlinger og Prosesser (Actions & Processes)

Å ta – To take
Å gi – To give
Å finne – To find
Å lete etter – To look for
Å miste – To lose
Å vinne – To win
Å tape – To lose (a game)
Å prøve – To try
Å forsøke – To attempt
Å begynne – To begin
Å starte – To start
Å slutte – To stop / quit (habit)
Å stoppe – To stop (movement)
Å fortsette – To continue
Å vente – To wait
Å endre – To change
Å forandre – To change (transform)
Å bytte – To switch / exchange
Å åpne – To open
Å lukke – To close
Å låse – To lock
Å hente – To fetch / pick up
Å bringe – To bring
Å bære – To carry
Å kaste – To throw / throw away
Å holde – To hold
Å slippe – To let go / release (also "to avoid")
Å trekke – To pull
Å skyve – To push
Å fylle – To fill
Å tømme – To empty
Å ødelegge – To destroy / ruin
Å reparere – To repair
Å fikse – To fix
Å bygge – To build
Å male – To paint
Å klippe – To cut
Å skjære – To slice / cut

🧩 Abstrakte og Diverse (Abstract & Misc)

Å trenge – To need
Å mangle – To lack / be missing
Å skje – To happen
Å hende – To happen
Å finnes – To exist
Å gjelde – To apply to / concern
Å stemme – To be correct / to vote
Å passe – To fit / suit
Å fungere – To function / work
Å vare – To last (duration)
Å øke – To increase
Å minke – To decrease
Å redusere – To reduce
Å la – To let / allow
Å tørre – To dare
Å orke – To have the energy to
Å gidde – To bother to (informal)
Å lykkes – To succeed
Å feile – To fail
Å anbefale – To recommend