Norwegian on the Web (NoW)
A free Norwegian course from NTNU: ten chapters where every text has audio, plus grammar, exercises, pronunciation drills and flashcards. No sign-up needed.
What it is
Norwegian on the Web, usually shortened to NoW, is a free Norwegian course published by NTNU, the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim. The course page is upfront about it: the material was designed for people who study or work at NTNU, but it's open to anyone who wants to learn Norwegian. You don't need an account to read the chapters or play the audio.
The first part, NoW1, has ten beginner chapters covering everyday expressions, vocabulary, inflection and word order. The first six follow a cast of recurring characters — Ken, Anna, Maria, Peter, Desta and Yuhang — as they arrive in Norway "from Oslo by train", "from Bergen by boat" or "from Hamburg by car". They move into the Moholt student village, go shopping, play tourist in Trondheim, visit Nidaros Cathedral, head to a cabin and take a trip to Oppdal. The last chapters cover family, spare time, office life, a trip to Oslo and Christmas in Norway. When you finish, NoW2 picks up where it leaves off.
Why we picked it
Language is one of the quickest ways into a country, and NoW is one of those rare university courses that feels built for actual learners. Every text has audio: you can play the whole thing, listen sentence by sentence, or use it as dictation. Vocabulary entries are clickable, so you hear each word as you read it. Each chapter has sections for grammar, exercises, listening, pronunciation and extras, and the site also has an A–Å word list, detailed inflection tables and flashcard sets.
What we like most is that the storyline is plain everyday life in Norway: the airport coach, a room key, breakfast with a flatmate, a visit to the police station, a conference, Christmas customs. You pick up how things work along with the words — what a hytte is, what student housing looks like, where people go on weekends. And because the texts are tied to real places in Trondheim, the course doubles as a small tour of the city.
Where to start
- Open chapter 1, pick one character — say Ken's "From Oslo by train" — and listen to the full text without reading along.
- Then go through it sentence by sentence and repeat out loud.
- Visit chapter 1's pronunciation page early; Norwegian vowels are worth getting right from day one.
- Do the chapter's exercises before you move on.
- For a reward, read chapter 10's "Christmas in Norway" — it's surprisingly readable even at the start.
Who it's for
Anyone heading to Norway to study or work, fans of Nordic TV who want to catch everyday phrases, and language hobbyists looking for a well-structured free course. Explanations are in English, so it works for English speakers right away. If Scandinavia in general is your thing, Norwegian makes a good first Nordic language — Swedish and Danish get much easier to read afterwards.
Quick answers
Do I need to sign up? No — the chapters, audio and exercises open without logging in; we checked.
What language are the explanations in? English, and the site also has a Norwegian version of its pages.
How much material is there? Ten chapters in NoW1, each with audio texts, grammar, exercises and vocabulary, followed by NoW2.
