ha bein i nesa
Literally to have bone in the nose
Means to have backbone, to be tough and determined
Example Hun har bein i nesa og gir seg aldri.
An idiom is a phrase you cannot translate word for word. Here are 15 of the most common Norwegian idioms, each with its literal translation, real meaning, and an example sentence, so you know what natives actually mean.
Common Norwegian idioms are everyday expressions whose meaning cannot be guessed from the individual words. For example, ha bein i nesa literally means "to have bone in the nose" but is used to mean to have backbone, to be tough and determined. This free tool lists 15 real Norwegian idioms, each with its literal translation, meaning, and an example sentence.
All 15 Norwegian idioms, with meanings and examples.
Guess the meaning, then tap a card to check.
Idiom list verified as of July 2026.
ha bein i nesa
Literally to have bone in the nose
Means to have backbone, to be tough and determined
Example Hun har bein i nesa og gir seg aldri.
ta beina på nakken
Literally to take the legs on the neck
Means to run away as fast as possible, to flee in a hurry
Example Da hunden begynte å bjeffe, tok han beina på nakken.
være på bærtur
Literally to be on a berry trip
Means to be completely mistaken or talking nonsense
Example Nei, nå tror jeg du er på bærtur.
slå to fluer i en smekk
Literally to hit two flies in one smack
Means to kill two birds with one stone
Example Ved å sykle til jobben slår jeg to fluer i en smekk.
gå som katta rundt den varme grøten
Literally to walk like the cat around the hot porridge
Means to beat around the bush instead of getting to the point
Example Bare si det rett ut, ikke gå som katta rundt den varme grøten.
ha is i magen
Literally to have ice in the stomach
Means to stay calm and composed under pressure
Example Han hadde is i magen og scoret på straffesparket.
kaste blår i øynene på noen
Literally to throw flax tow in someone's eyes
Means to deceive or mislead someone, to pull the wool over their eyes
Example Politikeren prøvde å kaste blår i øynene på velgerne.
ha en finger med i spillet
Literally to have a finger along in the game
Means to be secretly involved in or influencing something
Example Jeg tror han har en finger med i spillet.
snakke rett fra leveren
Literally to speak straight from the liver
Means to speak frankly and bluntly, to say exactly what one thinks
Example Sjefen snakker alltid rett fra leveren.
ta seg vann over hodet
Literally to take water over one's head
Means to take on more than one can handle, to bite off more than one can chew
Example Jeg tror jeg har tatt meg vann over hodet med dette prosjektet.
gå i baklås
Literally to go into back lock
Means to get stuck or jam up, to freeze mentally so the mind goes blank
Example Jeg gikk helt i baklås under eksamen.
være ute og sykle
Literally to be out cycling
Means to be mistaken or completely on the wrong track
Example Nå tror jeg du er ute og sykler.
koke bort i kålen
Literally to boil away in the cabbage
Means for a plan or idea to fizzle out and come to nothing
Example Hele planen kokte bort i kålen.
ha rent mel i posen
Literally to have clean flour in the bag
Means to have honest intentions, nothing to hide
Example Du kan stole på ham, han har rent mel i posen.
svelge noen kameler
Literally to swallow some camels
Means to reluctantly accept things one dislikes for the sake of a compromise
Example I forhandlingene måtte vi svelge noen kameler.
Idioms stick when you see them in context, not on a list. Lingo7 lets you read real Norwegian books with sentence-aligned translation and native-narrated audio, so you meet idioms in the wild and tap any line you do not get. Save them and review later. Free to start.
An idiom is a phrase whose meaning is fixed by convention, not built from its words. That is why a word-for-word translation fails: Ha bein i nesa comes out as "to have bone in the nose", which makes no sense until you know it means to have backbone, to be tough and determined.
Learn a few at a time, not a whole list. Pick the ones you keep running into, say them out loud in a real sentence, and you will remember them far longer than by drilling flashcards.
The most reliable way to absorb idioms is to meet them in context, again and again, in things you actually read. Parallel text and audio let you catch an idiom in a real Norwegian sentence and check what it means without breaking your reading. That is what reading in Lingo7 is built for.
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Some of the most common Norwegian idioms are ha bein i nesa, ta beina på nakken, være på bærtur, slå to fluer i en smekk. Each one means something you could not guess from the words alone, which is exactly why learners have to meet them in context. This tool lists 15 of them with their meaning and an example sentence.
In Norwegian, "ha bein i nesa" translates literally as "to have bone in the nose", but it actually means to have backbone, to be tough and determined. You would use it like this: Hun har bein i nesa og gir seg aldri.
Idioms are non-compositional: their meaning is fixed by convention, not built from the individual words. Ha bein i nesa translates literally as "to have bone in the nose", yet it means to have backbone, to be tough and determined. Translate word for word and you get nonsense, so idioms have to be learned as whole units.
The fastest way is to meet them in context and reuse them, not to memorize a list. Learn a handful at a time, notice them while reading and listening, and try them in your own sentences. Reading real Norwegian with tap-to-translate, the way Lingo7 works, turns every page into idiom practice.