Script guide › Latin
Norwegian vs Swedish
Norwegian and Swedish sit in the same corner of the writing-system map — Grafle's Latin group — and players mix them up constantly. Here's the fastest way to tell them apart.
The tell
Swedish uses ä/ö, Norwegian uses æ/ø — that letter swap is the fastest tell.
Side by side
Norwegian
Alle mennesker er født frie og like i verdighet.
Hei, hyggelig å møte deg! Hvordan går det?
Det er typisk norsk å være god.
Norwegian's own tells
- Uses æ, ø, å — if you see ä or ö instead, it's Swedish.
- Near-twin of Danish: Norwegian writes 'av' where Danish writes 'af', so lean on context.
On signs in:
- Norway
Swedish
Alla människor är födda fria och lika i värde.
Hej! Trevligt att träffas — hur mår du?
Borta bra men hemma bäst.
Swedish's own tells
- Uses å, ä, ö. If you see ä and ö but never æ or ø, think Sweden.
- 'och' (and) is a quick Swedish tell.
On signs in:
- Sweden
- Finland