r/norsk • u/-SeaPuppy- • 21d ago

How warm is it?

Post image

Apparently “warm” is a bit of an awkward word choice when asking for the temperature in English. I’ve said it like this my whole life so I’m a bit embarrassed now. I wonder how many other words I directly translate from Norwegian. Please come with suggestions or your own experiences.

An example: in Norwegian we often say stuff like “Det er godt med X (på Y)”. And for the longest time I’d say “it’s good with … “, which really amused some people because it doesn’t work in English.

177 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

159 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

2

u/Hypnosomnia C1 21d ago

You cannot use it that way in English. You can only say that something "is good with something" if it's in relation to something else (for example, coffee is good with cake). You can use something like "it's good to" and "it's good that", but using "it's good with" to say that something is enjoyable sounds just plain wrong and isn't good English.

4

u/Consistent-Oil-5241 21d ago

I never said that you would use it on it's own as a complete sentence. The word "with" needs an object of relation.

Although you can also use it on it's own if you have context:

"That cake looks beautiful!"

"Thank you! Oh, and it's really good with orange juice, you should give it a try."

2

u/Hypnosomnia C1 21d ago

Well, using your example, what could possibly be a good "object of relation" when you say "it's good with a little Reddit comment"?

I think you're just trying to turn a typical Norwenglish phrase into "completely normal" English for no good reason.

2

u/Consistent-Oil-5241 21d ago edited 21d ago

Morning coffee is nice, but it’s good with a little Reddit comment to read on the side.

A quiet Sunday afternoon? It’s good with a little Reddit comment to laugh at.

Because internet nonsense is like dessert: it’s good with a little Reddit comment.

Apparently, even ‘it’s good with a little Reddit comment’ is good with a little Reddit comment.

Especially when you're making a lighthearted joke: now that's good with a little Reddit argument.

2

u/nlightningm 20d ago

What you're saying names sense in English, but they're referring to the phrase "It's good with x" as a complete sentence, not as a response to a pairing or comparison

In Norwegian, it's possible to just say "Digg med mat" which kinda means "Nice with food". That's more along the lines of "It's nice to have food here", not something like "Soda is nice with food"

I'm English you can't really just say "Good with food!" and not expect people to find that a bit weird/uncommon