Which is the easiest Nordic language to learn? (2024)

Scandinavia is the Northern part of Europe. The languages of Scandinavia are equally fascinating. These North Germanic languages, also known as Nordic languages, are connected by more than just merely geography. If you are fascinated by Scandinavia, but you're not sure which nordic language to learn, it is better to start with the easiest one. Still, which is the easiest Nordic language to learn?

What are the Nordic languages?

Nordic languages are all part of the North Germanic language family. These are Danish (Denmark), Faroese (Faroe Islands), Icelandic (Iceland), Norwegian (Norway), and Swedish (Sweden). Contrary to popular belief, Finnish is not a Nordic language. It is actually part of the Finno-Ugric language family.

Are Nordic languages mutually intelligible?

The answer is "yes". Many of the Scandinavian languages are mutually intelligible. This means that if a Norwegian and a Dane speak to each other in their native languages, they are likely to understand each other fairly well. This is thanks to the common history and vocabulary Nordic languages have.

The truth is, they should not even be different languages. They should be dialects of a common Scandinavian language. Nordic languages are very similar to each other.

How many people speak Nordic languages?

They are roughly 22 million speakers of Nordic languages. Out of all the Nordic languages, most speak Swedish with 10 million speakers worldwide; 6 million speak Danish; 5,3 million speak Norwegian; 340,000 speak Icelandic; and 80,000 speak Faroese.

FSI Ranking of Nordic Languages

Deciding which Nordic language is the easiest can't happen without considering the US Foreign Service Institute ranking. This is a government-defined rating of how easy or hard foreign languages are. If you want to determine how long will it take an English native speaker to learn a foreign language, this chart is quoted.

According to the FSI ranking, most of the Nordic languages are very easy to learn for native English speakers. This is because English is also a Germanic language (although West-Germanic). Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish are all Category I languages. This means you can reach complete fluency in them in 575-600 hours or 23-24 weeks. In other words, you should study 24-26 hours per week to reach a C2 level.

On the other hand, Icelandic is a bit more complicated. It is a Category IV language according to the FSI. This raises the difficulty level and the amount of time estimated to learn it. You may need up to 44 weeks or 1100 hours of study to master Icelandic. So, we can definitely rule Icelandic out as the easiest Nordic language.

The three relatives

Once upon a time, when the Vikings inhabited the Scandinavia area, there was a big family.

Grandpa, Old Norse, had two daughters, West Scandinavian languages and East Scandinavian languages. Subsequently, West Scandinavian languages gave birth to two twins Norwegian (called Bokmål and Nynorsk), Icelandic, and Faroese. East Scandinavian languages instead had Danish and Swedish.

When it comes to Norwegian and Danish, they are similar in vocabulary. The difference comes in, in the sound as they differ. On the other hand, Swedish and Norwegian are similar when it comes to pronunciation but their words used are different. To understand the relation these Nordic languages have to each other, we can look at them as Scandinavian relatives.

Norwegian is the eldest. It is often considered the mediator between the other two, as it is closer to both. Danish is the rebel relative. Understanding Danish requires a lot of concentration from Norwegians and Swedes.

Which is are the main factors?

When it comes to learning a Scandinavian language, it is difficult to determine which is the easiest to learn. Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian are all very beautiful, but choosing which Scandinavian language to study can be hard. So, let's compare these three Nordic languages to determine which is the easiest to learn.

1. Pronunciation of Nordic Languages

Danish is difficult to understand for other Scandinavian natives. Thanks to this pronunciation, there are a lot of jokes about Danish in the Scandinavian community. Some say that Danish sounds like a drunk person talking. Others say that only a drunk Norwegian could understand a Dane. Someone says that Danish cannot even understand other Danish people speaking like shown on a popular Norwegian show Uti Vår Hage (short video). Swedish people love joking about Danish pronunciation as can be seen in the picture.

However, Danish is not messy at all. It is simply different in pronunciation – still, it has some rules to respect in order to have a standard pronunciation. Danish word endings are often "swallowed". But the writing is very similar to Norwegian and Swedish.

An example can be the sentence "What is your name?"

Danish: Hvad hedder du? [vɑ ˈheðə d̥u]

Norwegian: Hva heter du? [ˈʋɑː ˈheːtə dʉː]

Swedish: Vad heter du? [vɑː(d̪) heːter d̪ʉː]

But the most remarkable characteristics of the Nordic languages are the stød (Danish) and the tones (Swedish and Norwegian).

Also about this topic, there are several jokes. One can be seen in the following picture.

The stød [ˈstøð] is a laryngealization or a glottal stop. There are some words that are with stød and without stød. For instance, hun (she) will be [ˈhun], hund (dog) will be [ˈhunˀ]; ven (friend) will be [ˈvɛn], instead vend! (the imperative of 'turn around') will be [ˈvɛnˀ].

The tones are fundamental in some words, because they change completely their meaning. Very often they are called Pitch 1 and Pitch 2. An example may be anden (the duck) [ˈanːdɛn or ˈan˥˧dɛn˩ or ˈa᷇ndɛ̀n] and anden (the spirit) [²anːdɛn or ˈanːˌdɛn or ˈan˧˩dɛn˥˩ or ˈa᷆ndɛ̂n].

2. Nordic Vocabulary

Having a useful vocabulary list is crucial to achieving fluency. Luckily, the Nordic languages share a lot of vocabulary. Thanks to their proximity and shared history, these three languages have a lot of cognates and loanwords. If any of the three stands out with different vocabulary, it is Swedish. They use a slightly different set of words in everyday language.

Despite the shared vocabulary, there are a few false cognates you should look out for – some of them are very dangerous.

Grina – in Danish means "to laugh", whereas in Norwegian and Swedish means "to cry"

Lide – in Danish means "to like" (sometimes also "to suffer"), whereas in Norwegian and Swedish means "to suffer".

Tös/Tøs –in Swedish, tös means "girl". In Danish, tøs has two meanings "girl" and "slu*t". In Norwegian, tøs means "slu*t".

Avoid these false cognates to avoid misunderstandings and embarrassments.

3. Nordic languages writing

Despite the many differences that exist in Nordic languages, there are some similarities that exist. The written versions of Norwegian and Danish are almost identical. Swedish, this time, is the different relative.

Still, Norwegian is the rebel relative as today there are two official forms of written Norwegian, Bokmål and Nynorsk, each with its own variants. Bokmål developed from the Dano-Norwegian koiné language that evolved under the union of Denmark-Norway in the 16th and 17th centuries, while Nynorsk was developed based upon a collective of spoken Norwegian dialects.

To make an example, let's use the first article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Danish: Alle mennesker er født frie og lige i værdighed og rettigheder. De er udstyret med fornuft og samvittighed, og de bør handle mod hverandre i en broderskabets ånd.

Norwegian (Bokmål): Alle mennesker er født frie og med samme menneskeverd og menneskerettigheter. De er utstyrt med fornuft og samvittighet og bør handle mot hverandre i brorskapets ånd.

Norwegian (Nynorsk): Alle menneske er fødde til fridom og med same menneskeverd og menneskerettar. Dei har fått fornuft og samvit og skal leve med kvarandre som brør.

Swedish: Alla människor är födda fria och lika i värde och rättigheter. De är utrustade med förnuft och samvete och böra handla gentemot varandra i en anda av broderskap.

So, what is the final verdict?

Norwegian is the middle ground between Danish and Swedish. Although it is not as popular as either of these, if you want to learn more than one Scandinavian language, Norwegian is the best beginning. Its clear pronunciation will be handy for Swedish, and its writing will be useful for Danish. If you are fluent in Norwegian, learning other Nordic languages will be much easier.

For an English native speaker, Nordic languages all relatively easy. But, Norwegian is definitely the easiest Nordic language to learn from the Scandinavian region.

When it comes to Danish vs Norwegian, Norwegian is easier to understand. Their writing is the same, and there is not a lot of difference between vocabulary and grammar either. And for Swedish vs Norwegian, Norwegian wins again. It is a slight bit closer to English in terms of vocabulary and pronunciation.

But, of course, you should begin with the Nordic language that is closest to your heart. You will find more enjoyment in your studies if you are motivated to learn a language. Norwegian may be the easiest Nordic language to learn as an English speaker, but if you love Swedish fika or you love Danish beer, for example, study those instead.