død
/døːd/masculine
The English phrase 'death' is translated into Norwegian as død. Wiktionary also lists dødsfall and ende.
Meaning: cessation of life (noun)
Ways to say it
| Norwegian | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| død | /døːd/ | masculine |
| dødsfall | neuter | |
| ende | /ˈɛndə/ /ˈɛnːə/ |
masculine |
| daude | /²dæʉə/ | masculine |
The word død refers to the cessation of life. It functions as both the noun 'death' and the adjective 'dead'.
Which one should you use?
While død refers to the state of being dead, dødsfall is the preferred term in formal or clinical contexts to refer to the event of a death or a passing. In many cases, the stem død changes to døds- when used as a prefix in compound words, such as in dødsstraff (death penalty).
How does it change in a sentence?
The definite form of død is døden, which is used when referring to death as a specific concept or the personification of death. The form ende is a masculine noun, and daude is a masculine form of the word.
How do you pronounce it?
/døːd/
Did you know?
- The Norwegian word ende is a cognate of the English word 'end' and shares a common ancestor in the Proto-Indo-European word for 'forehead' or 'face'.
- The term dødsfall literally translates to a 'death fall', combining the stem for 'death' and the word for 'fall'.
Examples in context
- Retten dømte ham til døden.The court sentenced him to death.This example shows how to use død in the context of a legal sentence.Tatoeba #5340377 by pergpau, translation #321039 by Dejo
- Tom burde definitivt ha fått dødsstraff.Tom definitely should have gotten the death sentence.This example illustrates the use of the stem in the context of a death penalty.Tatoeba #6588533 by Meggie, translation #1094905 by CK
- Ordet "Entbindung" "fødsel" er tvetydig, det kan også bety "død".The word "Entbindung", meaning "birth", is ambiguous, it can also mean "death".This example demonstrates how the word can be used to describe an ambiguous term.Tatoeba #2925586 by eirik174, translation #2912922 by patgfisher
- Vi sørger over hans død.We mourn his death.
- Hun er enke etter sin avdøde mann.She is a widow after her late husband.
- Jeg hørte at noen døde i nabolaget.I heard someone died in the neighborhood.
- 10 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Nora and Jakob are talking about a movie they just watched.
- NoraFilmen handlet om liv og død.The movie was about life and death.
- JakobJa, den var veldig trist.Yes, it was very sad.
- NoraJeg likte hvordan de beskrev død.I liked how they described death.
- JakobJeg er enig med deg, Nora.I agree with you, Nora.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “death” translations and entries død, dødsfall, ende, daude, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries daude, død, dødsfall, ende, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
