Norwegian Place Adverbs: Hjem vs. Hjemme

Do you get confused about when to use "hjem" or "hjemme"? How about "her" or "hit"? Place adverbs, such as "here", "there", "up, "down", etc. change forms in Norwegian. This often confuses Norwegian learners, so if you find it difficult to know when to use "hjem" and when to use "hjemme", you are not alone!

An easy trick is to ask yourself whether the verb/action word is traveling or in place.

When a verb is in place, you would use the longer version of these place adverbs, or the ones with the extra "e". If you want to say "I am at home"... if you are at home, you are in place, therefore you would say "Jeg er hjemme". How about: "I sleep downstairs"? When you're sleeping, you're also in place, so you would say "Jeg sover nede".

Now, if your verb is traveling, or going from one place to another, you use the shorter version of the adverb. "I am going outside"... The word "going" is in movement, therefore you would say "Jeg går ut". How about: "Do you want to come in"? Which form of "in" would you choose to use? If you chose "inn", you are correct! You would say "Vil du komme inn?" because "å komme" is moving from one place to another.