Nynorsk vs Bokmål: Spelling, Grammar and Vocabulary

If you read my other article on the topic, you’re already familiar with Nynorsk and Bokmål – Norway’s two official written forms. Now, we’re taking a closer look into Nynorsk vs Bokmål: the differences they have in spelling, grammar, and vocabulary. But don’t worry: I’ll keep it clear and easy to follow. No complicated terms, just useful patterns you can actually notice and learn from.

We can’t really talk about the differences without starting with the most obvious one: the name of the country itself.

Not a big deal – but if you’re used to seeing one and suddenly see the other, now you know it’s not a mistake.

This one is pretty simple. Bokmål often doubles consonants where Nynorsk doesn’t.

A consistent difference is the use of “j” in many Nynorsk verb and noun stems – and even in the Norwegian word for “not” (ikkje vs Bokmål’s ikke). In Bokmål, that “j” is often absent. Now, there is a fancy linguistic term for this,  but I’m not going to bother you with it. This is a very simplified explanation, but it’s enough for you to see the pattern and get a feel for how it works.

These two patterns are super consistent – in Nynorsk, you’ll often see “kv” where Bokmål has “hv”, and “mn” where Bokmål uses “vn”*.

* The “mn” → “vn” shift is very similar to another Swedish vs Danish pattern – very often, words with “mn” in Swedish have “vn” in Danish.

Here’s a quick comparison of some related words in Nynorsk, Bokmål, Swedish, and Danish:

These patterns clearly show how Bokmål has a stronger Danish influence, while Nynorsk stays closer to traditional Norwegian dialects – and in some cases, even leans a bit more toward Swedish in form or vocabulary.

Here’s a pattern you’ll see very often: where Nynorsk has a “k” before “n”, Bokmål often uses “g” instead. 

Sometimes, a “g” in Nynorsk turns into “i”, “y”, or disappears completely in Bokmål (there is a rule for that, but we’ll get to that some other time).

There are also some vowel shifts between Nynorsk and Bokmål. In some cases, the patterns are pretty consistent – in others, they seem a bit random. We won’t go into the details here (just to keep things simple), but take a look at these examples to get a feel for how the changes might look:

* In these examples, it’s actually the adjective suffixes -leg / -lig and -sam / -som – they follow the same vowel shift patterns across all words they’re attached to.

Nynorsk tends to keep more traditional diphthongs (double vowel sounds), while Bokmål often simplifies them.  The most common patterns are “ei” vs “e”, “øy” vs “ø”, and “au” vs “ø”. 

This is where things get a little more technical – but I’ll keep it light. Nynorsk and Bokmål  share a lot of grammar, but there are some key differences – especially in how words change form. Here are a few of the most useful patterns to know.

Verb endings can differ across both present and past forms. Bokmål often sticks to Danish-style endings, while Nynorsk reflects dialect-based patterns.

Nynorsk uses all three genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter. In Bokmål, feminine forms do exist, but they’re optional – many speakers just use the masculine instead. Depending on the gender, nouns take different endings in both Bokmål and Nynorsk  when forming definite forms and plurals. 

* As you can see, there can even be variations within a single written standard – whether it’s Nynorsk or Bokmål.

Adjective endings shift slightly between Nynorsk and Bokmål  in the comparative and superlative forms. A few consistent patterns can help you recognize the differences. For example, the comparative ending “-are” in Nynorsk becomes “-ere” in Bokmål, and the superlative “-ast” becomes “-est”.

Although most pronouns are more or less the same, there are a few key differences. I’ve put them together here for you:

Basically: Although Nynorsk and Bokmål share the same grammatical foundation, they have differences in verb, noun and adjective forms – and in some pronouns, too. These  differences might take a little getting used to, but they generally follow consistent and predictable patterns. 

Vocabulary differs too – sometimes just a little, sometimes quite a lot. Some words have completely different roots, while others are more alike – just with different prefixes or suffixes, which isn’t a big deal once you get the hang of it.

Nynorsk tends to stick closer to Norwegian dialects and Old Norse roots, while Bokmål leans more on Danish and international vocabulary. That’s why you’ll often see prefixes like be- or an- and suffixes like -else or -het in Bokmål but not as much in Nynorsk – because they come from Low German (the historical details are a bit more complex, but that’s the short version).

In most cases, the words are still related. You’ll often see the same root with different prefixes, suffixes, or both. Sometimes the Nynorsk version is a shorter or more traditional form – other times, the word looks completely different but still comes from the same base.

Here are some examples to give you a sense of how it works:

Of course, this list – and the possible changes – isn’t exhaustive at all, but it should give you a feel for the kinds of differences you might come across. The good news is: once you know one version of a word, you can usually guess the other pretty easily. And if you’re curious to explore more, Språkrådet (the Norwegian Language Council) has a more detailed overview of vocabulary differences between Bokmål and Nynorsk.

In short: A lot of vocabulary differences between Nynorsk and Bokmål come down to prefixes, suffixes, or stylistic choices rooted in history. Nynorsk often goes for older, more native forms, while Bokmål leans on words with Danish or Low German influence. But in many cases, the words are still closely related – once you spot the patterns, it’s easier than it looks.

You’ve probably seen for yourself that Nynorsk and Bokmål can look pretty different – but once you start spotting the patterns, it all makes a lot more sense. Most of the differences follow consistent rules, and if you’re comfortable with one, the other gets easier to understand. You don’t need to master both, but knowing how they work makes navigating Norwegian much more flexible. And now, you’ve got a solid foundation to build on.