When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you.
In Norwegian, there are two words that mean Yes. One is Ja and the other is Jo. What’s the difference between the two and when should you use one or the other? The rule is as below:
When we are answering a question which has an ikke or ingen in it we should always use Jo else we should always use Ja.
The following examples should help you understand the difference.
| Question | Answer |
|
Kommer han i morgen?
Is he coming tomorrow? |
Ja, han kommer i morgen.
Yes, he is coming tomorrow. |
|
Kommer han ikke i morgen?
Is he not coming tomorrow? |
Jo, han kommer i morgen.
Yes, he is coming tomorrow. |
|
Skal vi ha fisk til middag?
Shall we have fish for dinner? |
Ja, vi skal ha fisk til middag.
Yes, we shall have fish for dinner. |
|
Skal vi ikke ha fisk til middag?
Shall we not have fish for dinner? |
Jo, vi skal ha fisk til middag.
Yes, we shall have fish for dinner. |
|
Har du sett henne i dag?
Have you seen her today? |
Ja, jeg har sett henne i dag.
Yes, I have seen her today. |
|
Har du ikke sett henne i dag?
Have you not seen her today? |
Jo, jeg har sett henne i dag.
Yes, I have seen her today. |
To learn Norwegian fast from a Norwegian teacher, check out Norwegian Class 101.
You can get a Norwegian Beginner's Course for free at Mystery of Nils.
this is one of those issues we Norwegian teachers ‘overdrill’ — no one has every gotten confused if one says ‘ja’ instead of ‘jo.’
I think it is at least as important to use the ‘short form answers;”
spiser du? ja, det gjør jeg
spiser du ikke? Nei det gjør jeg ikke
Vil du spise? Ja, det vil jeg
Kan du norsk? Ja det kan jeg.
Thanks Louis. I think it’s quite easy once you get used to it.
I discuss the “short form answers” in detail in my next post.
tusen takk min venn det er veldig bra til meg
tusen takk min laerer
tussen takk
Tusen takk😊😊
Tusen takk