Hvor er toalettet?
To say "where is the bathroom?" in Norwegian, use Hvor er toalettet?
The phrase is used to ask for the location of a toilet.
What does it mean word for word?
Hvor means "where", er means "is" and toalettet means "the toilet".
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
Hvor er toalettet? is a standard, polite way to ask for the location of a restroom in most settings. For a more formal and polite approach, you can say Hvor er toalettet, vær så snill? (Where is the bathroom, please?). On the other hand, Hvor er doen? is a more colloquial and informal way to refer to the toilet.
How does it change in a sentence?
The word toalettet is the definite form of toalett, which is why it ends in the suffix -et to mean "the toilet".
Did you know?
- Norwegians typically use the word toalett for the fixture itself, but bad only refers to a room with a bathtub or shower.
- While toalettet is common, you might encounter the word utedo, which literally means 'outside toilet', referring to the traditional outhouses still found in many rural Norwegian cottages.
- The word hvor is a direct descendant of the Old Norse hvar, a language spoken by the Vikings.
Examples in context
- Unnskyld, kan du vise meg hvor toalettet er?Excuse me, can you show me where the bathroom is?
- Unnskyld, hvor er toalettet?Excuse me, where is the bathroom?
Example conversation
At a small cafe, Kristoffer is looking for the restroom.
- KristofferUnnskyld, Emma, hvor er toalettet?Excuse me, Emma, where is the bathroom?
- EmmaDet er rett bort der.It is straight over there.
- KristofferTakk skal du ha.Thank you.
- EmmaBare hyggelig.You're welcome.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries hvor, CC BY-SA 4.0.
