snakke
/snɑkːɛ/
The Norwegian verb for "speak" is snakke.
Snakke is the standard verb used when discussing the ability to communicate in a specific language. It can be used to mean both "to speak" and "to talk".
Meaning: to be able to communicate in a language (verb)
Which one should you use?
While snakke covers both "to speak" and "to talk", there are other variants. Prate is a casual and commonly used word for speak, and tale is a more formal variant of speak used in written language or formal speeches.
How does it change in a sentence?
The present tense of snakke is snakker, meaning "speaks" or "is speaking". To form perfect tenses, use the past participle snakket, which means "spoken".
How do you pronounce it?
/snɑkːɛ/
When do people say it?
When parting ways with someone, you may hear the informal phrase Snakkes, which means "let's talk" or "catch you later".
Did you know?
- In English, the word 'snack' refers to light food, but its distant relative in Norwegian, snakke, means 'to speak'.
- Using tale in a casual setting can make you sound strangely old-fashioned or overly dramatic, much like saying 'I shall discourse with thee' in English.
- Norwegian has a concept called småprat, which translates to 'small talk'. It is formed by combining små meaning 'small' and the root of prate, the casual version of snakke.
Examples in context
- Kan du snakke fransk?Can you speak French?This example is useful for asking about someone's ability to communicate in a language using snakke.Tatoeba #2879648 by eirik174, translation #16428 by CK
- Jeg kunne ikke snakke.I couldn't speak.This example shows how to express an inability to speak using snakke.Tatoeba #2932179 by eirik174, translation #2929403 by Hybrid
- Jeg må snakke med Tom.I have to speak to Tom.This example demonstrates using snakke to express the need to talk to someone.Tatoeba #14047522 by Mayk, translation #13751288 by CK
- Jeg snakker norskI speak Norwegian
- Han taler flytende engelskHe speaks fluent English
- Vi kan prate om det senereWe can talk about it later
- Snakkes i morgen!Talk to you tomorrow!
- 97 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two people are discussing language skills at a cafe.
- KristofferSnakker du spansk?Do you speak Spanish?
- IngridJa, jeg snakker litt spansk.Yes, I speak a little Spanish.
- KristofferDet er veldig imponerende.That is very impressive.
- IngridTakk, men jeg er ikke flink.Thanks, but I am not good.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “speak” translations and entries snakke, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries snakke, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
