Free Norwegian pronunciation checker
Free Norwegian Pronunciation Test: check every word you say
Read five short Norwegian sentences aloud or type any word you want to check. You get a score for every word, an overall score with accuracy, fluency and completeness, and a list of words to practise first.
Read this aloud:
Ola bor i et lite hus og har en hytte på fjellet.
Listen for: Norwegian u, y and o (hus, hytte, bor)
Tap to record
Your recording is sent securely for scoring and is not stored by Flalingo.
Scores come from a standard native-speaker model for this language, so regional accents may score a little lower.
How to check your Norwegian pronunciation
Each sentence in this Norwegian pronunciation test is built around something learners find hard: u, y and o, long versus short vowels, the kj and sj sounds, r merging with t and d, and silent letters. Read it aloud and a speech model trained on native Norwegian speakers compares every word you say with the text.
You get an overall score from 0 to 100, plus accuracy, fluency and completeness. Every word gets its own score, so you can see which ones sound off and start there. You can also type your own Norwegian text, up to 160 characters, and check it the same way.
How the test works
Read five sentences aloud
Each sentence is short and built around sounds that learners of this language find hard. You can also type your own text, up to 160 characters, or tap one of the hard words to try.
AI scores every word
A speech-assessment model trained on native speakers compares what you say with the text. It scores accuracy, fluency and completeness from 0 to 100, and gives every word its own score.
Get your report
Each word is coloured by how close it was, and you see a short list of words to practise first. Record a sentence again to check your progress, then share your score with a friend.
The hardest Norwegian sounds for learners
U, y and o
Norwegian o is often said like 'oo' (bok, bor, sko), so the letter u needs a different sound: a vowel with tightly rounded, pushed-out lips, between 'oo' and 'ee' (hus, du, ut). Y is an 'ee' said with rounded lips (by, hytte). Keeping the three apart matters: bo (to live), bu (shed) and by (city).
Long and short vowels
Vowel length changes meaning: tak (roof) has a long a, takk (thanks) a short a and a long k. The same goes for vin (wine) and vinn (win!), and for hat (hate) and hatt (hat). A double consonant after a vowel tells you the vowel is short.
The kj and sj sounds
Kj, tj and k before i, y, ei and øy make a soft sound /ç/, like the h in 'huge' (kjøpe, kjole, tjue, kino). Sj, skj and sk before i, y, ei and øy make a different sound, close to English sh (sjokolade, skjorte, ski). Many young speakers merge the two, but keeping them apart is clearer: kjære (dear) and skjære (to cut).
Rt, rd, rn and rs
In Eastern Norwegian, r merges with a following t, d, n, l or s into one sound made with the tongue tip curled back: kort, gården, barn, ærlig, norsk. Rs sounds close to sh, so norsk sounds like 'nosjk'. In the west and south, where r is said in the throat, these sounds stay separate.
Silent letters and diphthongs
H is silent before v and j (hva, hvem, hjem, hjelp), d is often silent at the end of a word or after l and n (god, land, holde), and t is silent in det and in the ending -et (huset). Norwegian also has three diphthongs: ei (reise, nei), øy (øye, høy) and au (sau, haug).
What your pronunciation score means
| Score | Level | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 90–100 | Excellent | Your words are clear and close to a native speaker. Try longer or harder sentences to keep improving. |
| 75–89 | Good | Easy to understand. A few words still stand out, so practise them one at a time. |
| 60–74 | Fair | Mostly understandable, but people may ask you to repeat some words. Start with the words in your practice list. |
| 0–59 | Needs work | Some words may be misunderstood. Slow down, practise the flagged words on their own, then say them in short phrases. |
Frequently asked questions
How accurate is this Norwegian pronunciation checker?
It uses a speech-assessment model trained on native Norwegian speakers. The model lines up your recording with the text, scores every word for accuracy and rates your fluency and completeness. It is a good guide to which words sound off, but it is not a teacher, so look for words that get flagged again and again rather than worrying about one low score.
Which Norwegian does the test use?
Scores are based on standard Norwegian Bokmål as spoken in Norway, close to the Eastern Norwegian of the Oslo area that most courses teach. Norway has many dialects and no single spoken standard, so if you speak with a western or northern accent, some words may score a little lower even when they are perfectly normal Norwegian.
How can I improve my Norwegian pronunciation?
Start with the vowels: u, y and o, and long versus short vowels, because they run through almost every word. Then practise the kj and sj sounds and the silent letters. Read aloud every day, copy native audio and retake the test to see which words improve.
Is the Norwegian pronunciation test free?
Yes. The test and the word checker are free and you don't need an account. To keep it free for everyone, there is a small daily limit on checks.
Is Norwegian pronunciation hard?
Norwegian is one of the easier Scandinavian languages to pronounce. Spelling is fairly regular and most sounds exist in other European languages. The tricky parts are u and y, the kj and sj sounds, vowel length and the two word melodies that separate words like bønder (farmers) and bønner (beans). The test scores each word as a whole and does not show a separate melody score.
How do I say the Norwegian kj sound?
Say the h in 'huge' or the German ich sound: the middle of your tongue rises close to the hard palate and air hisses through the gap. Practise kjøpe (to buy), kjole (dress) and tjue (twenty). Don't turn it into an English ch or k.