Norwegian typing practice
Touch type Norwegian for free in the browser: Smart Lessons from common Bokmål words, Norwegian books to type, and the keys for æ, ø and å on whatever keyboard you have.
What you can practise
Smart Lessons in Norwegian
Real Norwegian words, built around your slowest key. You start on six keys, and é, ô, æ, ø and å join as the others come up to speed.
The Norwegian alphabet
Every letter in order against the clock, with how to type each Norwegian letter on your keyboard.
Typing games in Norwegian
Pilot and Spaceship: steer through the gaps or shoot down enemy ships by typing Norwegian words.
6 Norwegian books
Classic Norwegian books, out of copyright, typed a passage at a time.
Norwegian letters
Norwegian has the same three extra letters as Danish, æ, ø and å, and they are just as common: "på" (on), "være" (to be), "også" (also), "først" (first). A few words carry an accent: é in "kafé" and "idé", ô in "fôr" (animal feed). Smart Lessons bring each letter in once the ones before it are up to speed.
A Norwegian keyboard puts Ø straight after L, then Æ, the other way round from Danish, with Å after P. É is a dead key, AltGr+\ on Windows and Linux or ´ on a Mac, then E. On a US or UK keyboard with US-International, æ is AltGr+Z, ø AltGr+L and å AltGr+W; a Mac with ABC – Extended uses Option+' for æ and Option+O for ø.
On a Norwegian keyboard
Windows: Norwegian · macOS: Norwegian · Linux: Norwegian
Add it in Windows under Settings > Time & language > Language & region, in macOS under System Settings > Keyboard > Input Sources, in Linux under Settings > Keyboard > Input Sources.
| Letter | Windows | macOS | Linux |
|---|---|---|---|
| é | AltGr \then E | ´then E | AltGr \then E |
| ô | Shift ¨then O | Shift ¨then O | Shift ¨then O |
| æ | Æ | Æ | Æ |
| ø | Ø | Ø | Ø |
| å | Å | Å | Å |
On a US or UK keyboard
Windows: United States-International · macOS: ABC – Extended · Linux: English (US, intl., with dead keys)
Add it the same way. On US-International ' and " become dead keys: type a space after one for the mark itself.
| Letter | Windows | macOS | Linux |
|---|---|---|---|
| é | 'then E | Option Ethen E | 'then E |
| ô | Shift 6then O | Option 6then O | Shift 6then O |
| æ | AltGr Z | Option ' | AltGr Z |
| ø | AltGr L | Option O | AltGr L |
| å | AltGr W | Option Kthen A | Shift AltGr 0then A |
Tips for typing Norwegian
Ø comes before Æ
On a Norwegian keyboard Ø is right of L and Æ right of that, both for the right little finger. If you have used a Danish or Swedish keyboard, drill "være" and "først" until the finger knows which key is which.
É hides on the backslash key
On Windows and Linux the acute accent is AltGr and the \ key, top right next to Backspace, then E. Only a handful of words need it, so practise "kafé" and "idé" a few times rather than hunting for it mid-sentence.
Ô is Shift and ¨
Shift and the ¨ key right of Å give a circumflex; then O gives ô. "Fôr" is the word you will meet, and it is not "for" or "før", so the extra keys matter.
Keep to one method on a US keyboard
With US-International, hold AltGr with the right thumb and press Z, L or W for æ, ø or å. Practise the three chords on their own, then in words such as "på" and "være".