spørre
To ask in Norwegian is spørre.
The verb spørre is used when you want to request an answer.
Meaning: request an answer (verb)
How does it change in a sentence?
The present tense of spørre is spør, used for both 'asks' and 'is asking'. For the past tense, use spurte to say 'asked'. The present perfect form is har spurt, meaning 'has asked'. If you want to give a command, such as 'Ask!', you use the imperative form spør.
Did you know?
- To say 'ask for' in the sense of requesting something, Norwegians use the phrase be om, meaning 'pray about'.
- The English word 'speer', meaning to inquire or ask, is a direct linguistic relative of the Norwegian spørre.
- If you want to 'ask someone out' on a date, you do not use spørre, but rather the verb invitere, which means 'to invite'.
Examples in context
- Jeg glemte å spørre.I forgot to ask.This sentence shows how to use spørre when expressing a forgotten action.Tatoeba #10958072 by Mayk, translation #3734272 by CK
- Du bør spørre Tom først.You should ask Tom first.This sentence shows how to use spørre when giving advice to ask a specific person.Tatoeba #8798506 by solsikkeris, translation #6786260 by CK
- Kan jeg spørre deg om noe?May I ask a question?This sentence shows how to use spørre when requesting permission to ask a question.Tatoeba #2881928 by eirik174, translation #1594 by CK
- Jeg vil gjerne spørre deg om noeI would like to ask you something
- Kan jeg være nysgjerrig og høre hva som skjedde?May I be curious and hear what happened?
- Spør meg om alt du lurer påAsk me anything you're wondering about
- Kan jeg spørre deg om hjelp?Can I ask you for help?
- 12 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Ingrid and Magnus are at a cafe.
- IngridJeg må spørre servitøren om menyen.I must ask the waiter about the menu.
- MagnusKan du spørre om de har kaffe?Can you ask if they have coffee?
- IngridJa, jeg skal spørre ham nå.Yes, I will ask him now.
- MagnusTakk, det er snilt av deg.Thanks, that is kind of you.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “ask” translations and entries spørre, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries spørre, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
