Hvor mye koster det?
To say "how much is it?" in Norwegian, you use Hvor mye koster det?
This phrase is used to ask for the price of an item. You may also hear the common alternative Hva koster det? to mean "What does it cost?"
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of Hvor mye (how much), koster (costs) and det (it).
Which one should you use?
In casual spoken Norwegian, people often replace the verb koster with er to say Hvor mye er det?
How does it change in a sentence?
If you are asking about multiple items, you must change the pronoun det to de to form Hvor mye koster de? (How much do they cost?). The verb koster remains the same.
Did you know?
- In some traditional Norwegian markets, a customer might use Hva skal du ha for denne? which literally asks 'What do you want for this?' instead of asking what it costs.
- The word mye actually traces its roots back to the Old Norse word for 'big' or 'great', rather than just a word for 'amount'.
- When shopping at a 'loppis' or flea market, asking Hvor mye koster det? is often seen as a signal that you are open to negotiating the price.
Example conversation
Magnus is buying a souvenir at a market from Sofie.
- MagnusHei Sofie, hvor mye koster det?Hi Sofie, how much is it?
- SofieDet koster femti kroner, Magnus.It costs fifty kroner, Magnus.
- MagnusDet er en god pris.That is a good price.
- SofieTakk, her er varen din.Thank you, here is your item.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries det, hvor, mye, CC BY-SA 4.0.
