Bokmål and Nynorsk: All You Need to Know About Norwegian

If you’re thinking of learning Norwegian, you’ve probably already heard about Norway’s unique language situation – and come across the terms Bokmål and Nynorsk. And I’m guessing you have questions.

Are they two separate languages or just different forms of the same one? Why does Norway have them at all? Which one should you pick? And what’s the actual difference between them?

In this article, I’ll walk you through:

• What exactly Bokmål and Nynorsk are (and what they aren’t)
• The story behind the two forms
• The differences between the two
• And most importantly: what this means for you as a (future) learner – and which one you should go for

Ready to make sense of it all? Let’s start with what Bokmål and Nynorsk actually are.

Bokmål and Nynorsk are two official written standards of the same language: Norwegian. That means they’re not separate languages, and they’re not dialects either – just two different ways of writing the same language.

Both have their roots in norrønt (Old Norse) – the language spoken across Norway and much of Scandinavia during the Viking Age and the early Middle Ages.

Bokmål is the more widely used of the two – including in the Oslo area – and is based on the Dano-Norwegian writing tradition (more on that in a bit). Nynorsk, on the other hand, was “stitched together”  from Norwegian dialects – especially those spoken in rural and western Norway – and it still has its strongest roots there today.

The two forms are mutually intelligible. Yes, there are differences in spelling, vocabulary, and grammar – but if you learn one fluently, you’ll usually understand the other just fine,  too.

Both Bokmål and Nynorsk are officially recognized and regulated by Språkrådet (the Norwegian Language Council), and you’ll come across them both in public life, schools, media, and literature…  but Bokmål is definitely more dominant – it’s used by around 85–90% of the population.

In school, kids first learn the written form used in their municipality (this is decided locally). But they also learn the other one later on – so almost all Norwegians grow up being able to read and write in both. It’s not just about practicality – it’s also about cultural understanding, history, and national identity.

So, in short: Bokmål and Nynorsk aren’t  different languages, and they’re not dialects either (though Norway has enough of those!). They’re two official written forms of the Norwegian language. 

So, we’ve already covered that both Bokmål and Nynorsk trace their roots back to norrønt (Old Norse) – the language spoken in Norway during the Viking Age and early Middle Ages. But things got a lot more complicated after that.

In 1397, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden joined together in a political alliance called the Kalmar Union. When Sweden left in 1523, Denmark and Norway continued in a personal union that eventually became a fully integrated state: Denmark–Norway, also known at the time as the “Twin Kingdoms”. And for most of this period, Denmark was calling the shots.

That had big consequences for the language. Norwegian wasn’t really used in writing anymore – instead, people wrote in Danish. Not Danish-influenced Norwegian, but full-on Danish. People still spoke their own  local dialects in daily life, but when it came to writing, Danish was the norm.

Then, in 1814,  Norway broke away from the union and  got its own constitution. With independence came a renewed interest in national identity. And one big question was:

What should Norwegian look like in writing?

Should we keep using Danish? Or try to write in something more… Norwegian?

But after centuries of Danish rule, it wasn’t really clear what “Norwegian” meant anymore.

Norway’s landscape – with its fjords, mountains, and remote valleys – had made communication across the country difficult for centuries. So while Danish ruled on paper, people kept speaking their dialects. With no national standard to unify them, those dialects evolved freely. Even today, there are over 1,300 of them!

So, how do you build a single written language in a country with that much variation? It was definitely not an easy task. 

Well, in the end, Norwegians came up with two very different answers.

One answer came from Ivar Aasen, a linguist and poet from western Norway. He believed that a truly Norwegian written language should be based on the real, living speech of the people – not the Danish-based writing used by the urban elite. So he travelled across the country, studied local dialects, compared them to Old Norse, and built a brand-new standard: Landsmål (“Country language”), later renamed Nynorsk (“New Norwegian”).

Aasen’s project wasn’t just linguistic – it was part of a larger cultural movement to strengthen Norwegian identity, especially in rural areas. Nynorsk found strong support in the west of Norway and inspired literature, theatre, and music written in this new form.

But not everyone was on board.

In the cities, many found Aasen’s solution too radical. Their idea was to keep Danish as a base, but “Norwegianise” it. That’s where Knud Knudsen came in – a teacher and reformer who was deeply frustrated by the dominance of Danish in Norwegian writing. 

His solution was to adapt Danish into a more Norwegian form by updating the spelling and grammar, and adding more Norwegian vocabulary – to better reflect how Norwegians actually spoke, especially the educated classes in the cities. This form was first called Riksmål (“National language”) and later became Bokmål (“Book language”).

And in the end, Norway didn’t choose one or the other – it chose both.

In 1885, the Norwegian parliament officially recognised both Bokmål and Nynorsk as equal written standards. And that’s still how it works today: one language, with two official ways to write it.

Bokmål and Nynorsk are both official written standards of Norwegian – and while they share the same foundation, the differences show up in the details. And it’s not just spelling – grammar and vocabulary vary, too.

Nynorsk often leans into diphthongs (meir in Nynorsk vs. mer in Bokmål – “more”) and avoids doubled consonants (gut vs. gutt – “boy”). You’ll also notice some predictable sound patterns, like kv in Nynorsk becoming hv in Bokmål (kva vs. hva – “what”), or mn becoming vn (namn vs. navn – “name”).

You’ll often see different verb forms and tenses (elskar in Nynorsk vs. elsker in Bokmål – “love,” present tense), distinct endings for plural and definite nouns (kattar/kattane in Nynorsk vs. katter/kattene in Bokmål – “cats”/”the cats”), and variations in adjective comparisons (dyrare/dyrast in Nynorsk vs. dyrere/dyrest in Bokmål – “more expensive”/”most expensive”).

When it comes to vocabulary, sometimes the roots are totally different – but more often the shift is subtle: a different prefix, suffix, or a small change in the root (frihet in Bokmål vs. fridom in Nynorsk – “freedom”; tålmodighet vs. tolmod – “patience”).

Another difference: Nynorsk, originally created by Ivar Aasen, was designed to reflect Norwegian dialects and avoid foreign-sounding words – especially Danish ones. Aasen based its vocabulary on Old Norse and rural dialects, aiming for words that looked and felt “Norwegian”. Bokmål, on the other hand, evolved from the Dano-Norwegian tradition and has always been more open to loanwords, especially from Danish and Low German.

Just to give you a feel for it:

Even within a single written standard, there can be variations. In Nynorsk, for example, both sommar and sumar are accepted forms of the word for “summer”. And in Bokmål, you might see sommere, somre or somrer as plural forms of sommer. So even when you’re sticking to one variety, expect some variation. It’s all part of the charm.

If you’re curious to learn more, I’ve written another article on the main differences in spelling, grammar, and vocabulary – complete with tables and examples – right here. 

If you’re thinking of learning Norwegian and wondering where to start, the simple answer is: start with Bokmål.

It’s the more widely used form of the two – about 85-90% of Norwegians use it in daily life. It’s also what most teachers teach, what most textbooks are written in, and what you’ll see in the majority of books, newspapers, websites, and signs across the country. 

Even though Nynorsk is more common in certain regions – especially in western Norway – Bokmål is the safe, practical choice for learners. It opens more doors and helps you avoid confusion when reading or writing.

That said, Nynorsk absolutely deserves respect. It has deep cultural roots and reflects regional identity in a way Bokmål doesn’t. And as someone who’s always been fascinated by linguistic variety and dialects (I even wrote my master’s thesis on dialects – though Swedish ones), I find Nynorsk really interesting.  

But from a practical point of view? Go for Bokmål. You can always learn Nynorsk later – once you’ve got the basics down and feel more comfortable with the language.

At the end of the day, Bokmål and Nynorsk are just two sides of the same linguistic coin – each with its own charm, character, and history. 

If you’ve made it this far, you now know how Norway ended up with two written standards, how they differ, and why it’s really not as confusing as it might seem at first.

Whether you’re here out of curiosity or because you’re thinking about learning the language – well done! You’ve already taken a big step into understanding how Norwegian really works.