Hedging & Politeness
Høflighet og dempere
Norwegian politeness uses hedging words: 'kanskje' (maybe), 'gjerne' (gladly/please), 'litt' (a bit), 'vel' (well/I suppose). These soften requests and statements. 'Kan du gjerne...' is politer than 'Kan du...'.
Rule
Request + gjerne/kanskje/vel for softening
Examples
Kan jeg gjerne få en kaffe?
Could I please have a coffee?
Det er kanskje litt vanskelig.
It is perhaps a bit difficult.
Du burde vel snakke med sjefen.
You should probably talk to the boss.
Common Mistake
Gi meg en kaffe!
Kan jeg få en kaffe?
Norwegian directness is softer than it seems. Using imperative without hedging sounds rude. Adding 'gjerne', 'kanskje', or question forms is expected even in casual settings.
English vs Norwegian
| English | Norsk |
|---|---|
| Could I please have a coffee? | Kan jeg gjerne få en kaffe? |
| It is perhaps a bit difficult. | Det er kanskje litt vanskelig. |
| You should probably talk to the boss. | Du burde vel snakke med sjefen. |
English
Could I please have a coffee?
Norsk
Kan jeg gjerne få en kaffe?
English
It is perhaps a bit difficult.
Norsk
Det er kanskje litt vanskelig.
English
You should probably talk to the boss.
Norsk
Du burde vel snakke med sjefen.