Ways to say it
| Norwegian | IPA |
|---|---|
| gratulerer | |
| til lykke | /tɪl lyke/ (word by word) |
| tillykke |
Norwegian speakers use different forms depending on whether they are celebrating a specific achievement or a major life milestone. Gratulerer is the most common way to express congratulations, while til lykke is often used as a standalone phrase for significant life events. You can also use the phrase Varmeste gratulasjoner to mean warmest congratulations.
Which one should you use?
gratulerer is a verb used to congratulate someone on a specific achievement or event. In contrast, til lykke is an idiom often used for life milestones such as weddings or the birth of a new baby. tillykke is a more informal spelling or contraction of til lykke typically found in casual writing.
How does it change in a sentence?
When you want to specify the occasion you are congratulating someone for, use the preposition med after gratulerer. For example, gratulerer med dagen means congratulations on your birthday/day.
When do people say it?
The phrase gratulerer med dagen is the standard way to wish someone a happy birthday in Norwegian.
Did you know?
- While gratulerer med dagen is used for birthdays, it is also the standard way to congratulate someone on Norway's National Day on May 17th.
- The word lykke in til lykke is a cognate of the English word 'luck', but in Norwegian, it is more commonly used to mean 'happiness'.
- The word til comes from the Old Norse word for 'goal' or 'destination', suggesting that 'til lykke' is a wish for someone to reach a state of happiness.
Examples in context
- Skal ikke noen si gratulerer?Isn't anybody going to say congratulations?This sentence shows how to use gratulerer in a question.Tatoeba #8798521 by solsikkeris, translation #3731608 by CM
- Gratulerer!Congratulations!This sentence shows the use of gratulerer as a standalone exclamation.Tatoeba #3551490 by danieljtah, translation #1437 by CK
- Gratulerer med dagen!Congratulations on your birthday!
- Gratulerer så mye med forfremmelsen!Congratulations on the promotion!
- Varmeste gratulasjoner med bryllupet!Warmest congratulations on your wedding!
- Gratulerer med dagen, Maria!Congratulations on your birthday, Maria!
- Gratulerer med den flotte artikkelen du har skrevet!Congratulations on the great article you wrote!
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Jakob and Nora are talking at a small office gathering.
- JakobGratulerer med dagen, Nora!Congratulations on your birthday, Nora!
- NoraTusen takk, Jakob.Thank you so much, Jakob.
- JakobHar du noen planer for kvelden?Do you have any plans for the evening?
- NoraJeg skal bare feire med familien.I am just going to celebrate with my family.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “congratulations” translations and entries gratulerer, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (til, lykke) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries lykke, til, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
