When the subject and the object of a sentence refer to the same person, Norwegian uses a special reflexive pronoun: seg. It means "himself," "herself," "itself," or "themselves."
For example, if you want to say "He washes himself," you say "Han vasker seg." You can't use "ham" (him) here because "han" (he) and the person being washed are the same.
It's important to remember that "seg" is only used when the subject of the sentence is also performing the action on themselves.
Think of it as a way to show that the action is reflecting back onto the person doing it.
When we talk about "seg" in Norwegian, we're looking at a fascinating little word that often trips up English speakers. Essentially, it's the reflexive pronoun for the third person singular and plural. This means it refers back to the subject of the sentence when that subject is "han" (he), "hun" (she), "den" (it - masculine/feminine), "det" (it - neutral), or plural subjects like "de" (they).
The key here is understanding reflexivity. Think of it like this: if the action of the verb is being done to or for the subject itself, then you'll likely use "seg." For example, instead of saying "He washes him" (meaning another man), you'd say "Han vasker seg" (He washes himself).
It contrasts directly with "ham" (him) or "henne" (her), which refer to someone else. So, if Jan washes Peter, you'd say "Jan vasker ham." But if Jan washes himself, it's "Jan vasker seg." This distinction is crucial for clarity and correct grammar in Norwegian.
Mastering "seg" can significantly improve your fluency and understanding of Norwegian sentence structure. Pay close attention to the subject-verb relationship and whether the action is directed back to the subject or towards another entity.
When we say something like, 'He washes himself,' or 'She dresses herself,' we're using a reflexive pronoun. In English, we have words like 'myself,' 'yourself,' 'himself,' 'herself,' 'itself,' 'ourselves,' and 'themselves' for this purpose.
Norwegian also has reflexive pronouns, but they work a bit differently. For the third person singular (he/she/it) and plural (they), the reflexive pronoun is 'seg'. This means 'seg' can refer to 'himself,' 'herself,' 'itself,' or 'themselves,' depending on the subject of the sentence.
For example, if you want to say 'He sees himself,' you would say 'Han ser seg.' If you want to say 'She washes herself,' you would say 'Hun vasker seg.' And for 'They are enjoying themselves,' it's 'De koser seg.'
It's important to remember that 'seg' is only used when the action of the verb reflects back on the subject of the sentence. It's a key part of constructing many common Norwegian phrases and sentences.
When we say something like, 'He washes himself,' the 'himself' part is reflexive. In Norwegian, for 'himself' or 'herself,' we often use seg. It tells us the action is bouncing back to the person doing it.
You'll see seg with verbs like vaske seg (to wash oneself) or kle på seg (to get dressed). It's a key little word for making sentences sound natural in Norwegian.
Ejemplos por nivel
Han vasker seg.
He washes himself.
Used when the subject and object are the same person.
Hun kler på seg.
She dresses herself.
Commonly used with verbs describing daily routines.
De gleder seg til ferien.
They look forward to the holiday.
Used with reflexive verbs like 'å glede seg' (to look forward to).
Barnet ser seg i speilet.
The child sees himself/herself in the mirror.
Refers back to the subject 'barnet'.
Han barberer seg hver morgen.
He shaves himself every morning.
Indicates the action is performed by the subject on themselves.
Hun setter seg ned.
She sits herself down.
Used with verbs of movement, meaning 'to sit down'.
Vi koser oss.
We are enjoying ourselves.
Commonly used in the phrase 'å kose seg' (to enjoy oneself).
De forbereder seg til eksamen.
They prepare themselves for the exam.
Used with 'å forberede seg' (to prepare oneself).
Han vasker seg hver morgen.
He washes himself every morning.
Hun kler på seg raskt.
She dresses herself quickly.
Barnet gjemte seg bak gardinen.
The child hid himself/herself behind the curtain.
De gleder seg til ferien.
They are looking forward to the holiday.
Here 'seg' indicates a reciprocal action or an internal feeling.
Katten slikker seg ren.
The cat licks itself clean.
Han skadet seg under fotballkampen.
He injured himself during the football match.
Hun bestemte seg for å reise.
She decided (for herself) to travel.
Used with verbs that express a decision or change of state.
Vi lærer oss å snakke norsk.
We are teaching ourselves to speak Norwegian.
'seg' is often used after 'lære' (to learn/teach) when the subject is also the object of learning.
Han skyndte seg å komme til avtalen i tide, til tross for den uventede trafikken.
He hurried himself to get to the appointment on time, despite the unexpected traffic.
De gledet seg over å se hverandre igjen etter så mange år fra hverandre.
They rejoiced themselves at seeing each other again after so many years apart.
Hun kledde seg raskt om etter treningsøkten og dro direkte på jobb.
She quickly changed clothes (dressed herself) after the workout and went straight to work.
Barnet gjemte seg under sengen da det hørte tordenbygen nærme seg.
The child hid itself under the bed when it heard the thunderstorm approaching.
De forberedte seg grundig til eksamen, og det syntes på resultatene deres.
They prepared themselves thoroughly for the exam, and it showed in their results.
Han prøvde å uttrykke seg tydelig, men fant det vanskelig å finne de rette ordene.
He tried to express himself clearly, but found it difficult to find the right words.
Hun ville ikke avsløre seg, så hun holdt en lav profil gjennom hele arrangementet.
She didn't want to reveal herself, so she kept a low profile throughout the entire event.
De organiserte seg effektivt for å løse den komplekse oppgaven innen fristen.
They organized themselves efficiently to solve the complex task within the deadline.
Modismos y expresiones
"å glede seg til noe"
to look forward to something
Jeg gleder meg til ferien. (I'm looking forward to the holiday.)
neutral"å bestemme seg for noe"
to decide on something
Vi har bestemt oss for å reise til Bergen. (We have decided to travel to Bergen.)
neutral"å forberede seg på noe"
to prepare for something
De forbereder seg på eksamen. (They are preparing for the exam.)
neutral"å føle seg"
to feel (a certain way)
Hvordan føler du deg i dag? (How do you feel today?)
neutral"å kose seg"
to enjoy oneself, to have a cozy time
Vi koser oss på hytta. (We're enjoying ourselves at the cabin.)
informal"å skynde seg"
to hurry up
Du må skynde deg, ellers kommer vi for sent. (You have to hurry up, otherwise we'll be late.)
neutral"å huske seg"
to remember (oneself/one's manners/to do something)
Husk deg! (Remember your manners! / Watch yourself!)
informal"å ta seg av noe/noen"
to take care of something/someone
Hun tar seg av barna. (She takes care of the children.)
neutral"å uttrykke seg"
to express oneself
Det er viktig å uttrykke seg tydelig. (It's important to express oneself clearly.)
neutral"å se seg om"
to look around
Vi må se oss om etter en ny leilighet. (We need to look around for a new apartment.)
neutralPonte a prueba 60 preguntas
He washes himself.
She dresses herself.
The child learns to walk (learns itself to walk).
Read this aloud:
Han ser seg i speilet.
Focus: seg
Dijiste:
Speech recognition is not supported in your browser. Try Chrome or Edge.
Read this aloud:
De gleder seg til jul.
Focus: seg
Dijiste:
Speech recognition is not supported in your browser. Try Chrome or Edge.
Read this aloud:
Hun hjelper seg selv.
Focus: seg
Dijiste:
Speech recognition is not supported in your browser. Try Chrome or Edge.
'Han' is the subject, 'vasker' is the verb, and 'seg' refers back to 'Han'.
Here, 'seg' is used with the verb 'kle på' (to dress) and refers to 'Hun'.
'De' is plural, and 'seg' correctly refers to them as a reflexive pronoun.
Han vasker __ hver morgen. (He washes himself every morning.)
When the subject of the sentence (Han) performs an action on itself, the reflexive pronoun 'seg' is used.
Hun kler på __ før hun går ut. (She dresses herself before she goes out.)
The action of dressing is performed by the subject (Hun) on herself, requiring the reflexive pronoun 'seg'.
De gleder __ til ferien. (They are looking forward to the holiday.)
The verb 'å glede seg' (to look forward to) is inherently reflexive, and 'seg' is used regardless of the subject's gender or number.
Barnet gjemmer __ bak gardinen. (The child hides himself/herself behind the curtain.)
The child is performing the action of hiding on itself, so 'seg' is the correct reflexive pronoun.
Vi må skynde __ hvis vi skal rekke bussen. (We must hurry ourselves if we are to catch the bus.)
This exercise is a trick question to ensure understanding of 'seg' only being used for third person. For 'vi' (we), the reflexive pronoun is 'oss'.
Han undrer __ over hvorfor det skjedde. (He wonders to himself why it happened.)
The verb 'å undre seg' (to wonder) is reflexive, indicating the subject is performing the action on itself mentally.
Han vasker __ hver morgen. (He washes himself every morning.)
The reflexive pronoun 'seg' refers back to the subject 'han' (he).
Hun kler på __ før hun går ut. (She dresses herself before she goes out.)
The reflexive pronoun 'seg' refers back to the subject 'hun' (she).
De har kjøpt __ en ny bil. (They have bought themselves a new car.)
The reflexive pronoun 'seg' refers back to the subject 'de' (they).
Barnet gjemmer __ bak gardinen. (The child is hiding himself/herself behind the curtain.)
'Seg' is the appropriate reflexive pronoun for a third-person singular subject like 'barnet'.
Katten vasker __ etter å ha spist. (The cat washes itself after eating.)
'Seg' is used for a third-person singular subject like 'katten'.
Han gleder __ til ferien. (He is looking forward to the holiday.)
In many reflexive verbs in Norwegian, 'seg' is used even if the English translation doesn't explicitly use 'himself/herself'. 'Glede seg' is a common reflexive verb.
The sentence means: 'Listen, I have bought myself a new car.'
The sentence means: 'She dressed herself quickly to catch the bus.'
The sentence means: 'They are looking forward to the holiday.'
Read this aloud:
Han vasker seg hver morgen.
Focus: vasker seg
Dijiste:
Speech recognition is not supported in your browser. Try Chrome or Edge.
Read this aloud:
Barnet klatrer opp på bordet av seg selv.
Focus: av seg selv
Dijiste:
Speech recognition is not supported in your browser. Try Chrome or Edge.
Read this aloud:
Vi lærer oss norsk hver dag.
Focus: lærer oss
Dijiste:
Speech recognition is not supported in your browser. Try Chrome or Edge.
This sentence means 'She washes herself every morning.' 'Seg' is the reflexive pronoun referring back to 'hun'.
This means 'They are looking forward to the holiday.' 'Seg' refers to 'de' (they).
This translates to 'He looks at himself in the mirror.' 'Seg selv' emphasizes the reflexive action.
Listen for how 'seg' is used when someone dresses themselves.
Pay attention to 'seg' in the context of looking forward to something.
How is 'seg' used when someone hides themselves?
Read this aloud:
Jeg vasker meg hver morgen.
Focus: vasker meg
Dijiste:
Speech recognition is not supported in your browser. Try Chrome or Edge.
Read this aloud:
Hun forbereder seg til eksamen med stor innsats.
Focus: forbereder seg
Dijiste:
Speech recognition is not supported in your browser. Try Chrome or Edge.
Read this aloud:
De koser seg alltid på hytta i fjellet.
Focus: koser seg
Dijiste:
Speech recognition is not supported in your browser. Try Chrome or Edge.
Etter en lang dag slapper hun av og unner ___ en god bok.
«seg» er den refleksive formen og brukes her for å vise at handlingen (unner) retter seg mot subjektet selv (hun).
Han forberedte ___ grundig til eksamen, studerte sent hver kveld.
«seg» indikerer at 'han' utfører handlingen 'forberedte' på seg selv. Dette er standardbruk for refleksive verb.
Barna gleder ___ til sommerferien hvert år, og drømmer om sol og bading.
Når subjektet er flertall (barna) og handlingen er refleksiv, brukes «seg» som den refleksive formen.
For å holde ___ frisk, trener hun regelmessig og spiser sunt.
«seg» viser at handlingen 'holde frisk' retter seg mot subjektet 'hun'. Det er en refleksiv bruk.
Vi må minne ___ på å kjøpe melk på veien hjem fra jobb i dag.
Dette er et triksspørsmål! Selv om 'seg' er refleksivt, er 'oss' den korrekte refleksive formen for 'vi'. Dette viser at «seg» kun brukes for tredje person entall og flertall.
Etter at han hadde kledd ___, gikk han ut for å møte vennene sine.
«seg» er nødvendig her for å indikere at 'han' kledde på seg selv, ikke noen andre. Dette er en vanlig refleksiv konstruksjon.
This sentence demonstrates the reflexive pronoun 'seg' indicating that she is buying the car for herself.
Here, 'seg' is used with the verb 'gleder' (to look forward to) as a reflexive action, meaning they are looking forward to the holiday themselves.
'Seg' is essential here to show that he is washing himself, not someone else.
This sentence means 'he sees himself in the mirror.' The reflexive pronoun 'seg' refers back to 'han'.
This sentence means 'she is ashamed of the mistake.' 'Seg' refers to 'hun'.
This means 'they are getting ready to leave.' 'Seg' refers to 'de'.
/ 60 correct
Perfect score!
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