Pronunciation(no)

As a general rule, words are spelled as they're pronounced in Norwegian. One exception is words beginning with hv, such as hva, meaning what. In this word, the h is silent.

In addition, there are several letters and letter combinations that are pronounced differently from English.

Norweg.	IPA, Notes
A	[ɑ], very open
B	[b]
C	[s] or [k] depending on word, very rare
D	[d], silent in consonant clusters
E	[e] or [ɛ], [æ] in her and der, [i] in de
F	[f]
G	[g], [j] before an i; silent before a j; silent after an i and sometimes an a or o
H	[h], silent before v
I	[i] like the e in email or ebook, [ɪ] before two consonants
J	[j], like the y in yes or yellow
K	[k]
kj, ki, ky	[ç], like the sharp h in human
L	[l]
M	[m]
N	[n]
O	[u] like the oo in soon, but longer, [ʊ] before two consonants
P	[p]
R	[ɾ], tap, like the tt in North American butter; some in Norway use [ʁ], the so-called French R
rs	[ʃ], r + s combinations produce sh sound, even between words
S	[s]
skj, ski, sky, sl	[ʃ], like the sh in ship or shell
T	[t], silent after an e sometimes, ex. det
U	[ʉ], like the ew in new, but more closed
V	[v]
Y	[y] or [ʏ], like the e in email, but more closed

Norwegian vowels

Norwegian also has three special Norwegian vowels, Æ, Ø and Å.

-	Similar To	IPA
Æ	the a in add or apple	[æ]
Ø	no real equivalent, but not far from the vowel sounds in bird or earth	[ø] or [œ]
Å	the o in open or old	[o] or [ɔ]

When you have no other option, you can use these replacement characters, but don't get into the habit of relying on them, as it will be a hard one to break.

Character	Replacement
Æ	AE
Ø	OE
Å	AA

Special Notes on Common Words

Norweg.	Meaning	Pronunciation
jeg	I	yai, rhymes with English guy
er	am, is, are	ær, similar to English are but with tapped r
det	it, that	deh, silent t
de	they	dee