Listen to the song and fill out the missing words in the song.
No. 4 “God jul igjen”
| Norwegian | English |
| God jul, min venn Jeg har kjøpt det samme til deg i år igjen En såpe og litt te For du sa til meg i fjor du ble så glad for det Så hvorfor endre en slik suksess? Refreng: God jul lille dame God jul lille mann God jul lille sirupsnipp Og fattigmann God jul sure nabo God jul gamle venn God jul alle sammen God jul igjen Synes du jula ikke er så grei Kan litt smør og salt og sukker Ordne alt i en fei Og er juletreet ditt for lavt Kjøp en større stjerne med litt pynt, du glemmer det snart Hvis du lar miraklene skje Refreng La det sne, la det falle ned Som bittesmå stjerner på husene Så bak små kaker og pakk inn gaver For nå er det tid for å si Refreng (2X) | Merry Christmas, my friend I bought the same for you this year again Soap and some tea Because you told me last year you were so happe about it So why change such a success? Refrain: Merry Christmas little lady Merry Christmas little man Merry Christmas little “sirupsnipp” And “fattigmann” Merry Christmas grumpy neighbour Merry Christmas old friend Merry Christmas everyone Merry Christmas again Do you think Christmas is not so good A little butter and salt and sugar can fix everything in a sweep And if your Christmas tree is too low Buy a bigger star with some decorations, you’ll soon forget it If you let the miracles happen Refrain Let it snow, let it fall Like tiny stars on the houses Then bake cookies and wrap gifts Because now it’s time to say Refrain (2X) |
| Norwegian | English | |
| God jul! | Merry Christmas! |  |
| sirupsnipper | One of the traditional Christmas cookies in Norway. You can learn how to make them here. |  |
| fattigmann | Literally translated as “poor man”, it is another type of Christmas cookies. You can find out more about “fattigmann” here. |  |
| (et) juletre | Christmas tree |  |
| (en) stjerne | star |  |
| pynt å pynte | decoration to decorate |  |
| (et) mirakel | miracle |  |
| (en) småkake | cookie |  |
| (en) gave | gift |  |
Use of adjectives
Let’s take a look at some grammar we find in the refrain of this song:
God jul lille dame
God jul lille mann
God jul lille sirupsnipp
Og fattigmann
God jul sure nabo
God jul gamle venn
God jul alle sammen
God jul igjen
As you have noticed, we have a lot of adjectives here: lille (little), gamle (old), sure (grumpy). And you know that adjectives change according to the noun. So it should be “liten mann”, “gammel venn” in the indefinite form. So why do we use the definite form “lille” and “gamle” here?
In Norwegian, when we address someone directly, we need to use the definite form of the adjective, even though the noun is in the indefinite form.
So “God jul lille dame” would fully translate as “Merry Christmas to you, little lady”. “God jul gamle venn” – “Merry Christmas to you, old friend”.
So when you address someone direclty and want to use an adjective, remember to put it in the definite form:
Hei, min gamle venn! – Hello, my old friend!
How to make the definite form of adjectives?
We normally make the definite form of adjectives by adding the ending -e:
sur (grumpy) – sure
en sur mann (a grumpy man) – den sure mannen (the grumpy man)
But some adjectives change differently:
gammel (old) – gamle
liten, lita, lite (little) – lille
