begge, både and Expressing 'Both' | Norwegian Grammar

English has one word, both, doing two different grammatical jobs — and Norwegian splits them into two words you must not confuse. When "both" quantifies a known pair ("both cars are red"), Norwegian uses begge. When "both" coordinates two items, linking them with "and" ("both coffee and tea"), Norwegian uses the correlative conjunction både … og. English blurs these because the single word covers both; Norwegian forces a one-to-two choice. Pick the wrong half and you produce a sentence that's not merely awkward but ungrammatical — begge Ola og Kari is simply not Norwegian. This page draws the line cleanly.

begge: the quantifier over a known pair

begge means "both" when you're talking about two specific, already-known things and saying something about the pair. It's a quantifier, the close cousin of alle ("all") but fixed at exactly two. Its defining grammatical feature: it takes the definite plural noun.

Begge bilene er røde.

Both cars are red. begge + definite plural 'bilene'.

Begge guttene bor i Bergen nå.

Both boys live in Bergen now. begge + definite plural 'guttene'.

Jeg har lest begge bøkene du anbefalte.

I've read both books you recommended. begge + definite plural 'bøkene'.

Notice the ending every time: bilene, guttene, bøkene — all definite plural (the -ene suffix). This is the same behaviour you saw with alle barna on the quantifiers page: these quantifiers point at a known set, so the noun stays definite. Using a bare indefinite noun after begge — begge gutter — is a classic English-speaker error, because English says "both boys" with no "the." In Norwegian the definiteness is non-negotiable.

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The grammatical signature of begge is the definite plural noun: begge bilene, not begge biler. English "both cars" has no article, so your instinct will be to drop it — resist that. begge points at a known pair, and known things take the definite.

begge as a standalone pronoun, and begge to

begge can also stand alone as a pronoun — "both of them" — with no noun at all:

Vil du ha kake eller is? — Begge, takk!

Do you want cake or ice cream? — Both, please! begge alone = both of them.

For emphasis, Norwegian adds to ("two") to give begge to — an idiomatic "both of them / the two of them" that stresses there are exactly two:

Vi gikk begge to på kino i går.

We both went to the cinema yesterday. begge to = the two of us, both.

Foreldrene mine er pensjonister begge to.

My parents are both retired. begge to emphasises the pair.

A related idiom is begge deler ("both kinds / both of those things"), used when offering or referring to two options as a set:

Te eller kaffe? — Ja takk, begge deler!

Tea or coffee? — Yes please, both! begge deler = both of those things.

både … og: the correlative conjunction

både … og is a completely different beast — a correlative conjunction that means "both … and." Its job is to link two items in a list, the way "and" does, but with extra emphasis that each of the two holds. It is not a quantifier and never takes a definite noun the way begge does; instead it brackets two coordinated phrases.

Hun snakker både norsk og engelsk flytende.

She speaks both Norwegian and English fluently. både links the two languages.

Vi serverte både kaffe og te til gjestene.

We served both coffee and tea to the guests. både kaffe og te — two coordinated nouns.

Både Ola og Kari kommer i kveld.

Both Ola and Kari are coming tonight. både brackets the two names.

The structure is rigid: både sits before the first item, og before the second. You can link nouns (både kaffe og te), proper names (både Ola og Kari), adjectives (både billig og god — "both cheap and good"), or even whole infinitive phrases:

Jeg liker både å lese og å skrive.

I like both reading and writing. både … og linking two infinitive phrases.

Leiligheten er både lys og rommelig.

The flat is both bright and spacious. både … og linking two adjectives.

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Think of både … og as a single split word: it's always a pair, både in front of item one and og in front of item two. If your sentence has an "and" joining the two things, you want både … og, not begge.

The decision: which one do I need?

The split is clean once you ask the right question. Is there an "and" linking two things?

Question	Answer	Word	Example
"both X" (one phrase, known pair)	quantify a known pair	begge + definite plural	begge bilene
"both X and Y" (two phrases, "and")	coordinate two items	både X og Y	både kaffe og te
"both" alone / emphatic	pronoun	begge / begge to	Begge to kom.

Watch the same idea expressed both ways, so the contrast is unmistakable. "Both my children" — one phrase, a known pair — is begge:

Begge barna mine liker å svømme.

Both my children like to swim. One phrase, known pair → begge + definite.

But "both swimming and skiing" — two activities joined by "and" — is både … og:

Barna mine liker både å svømme og å gå på ski.

My children like both swimming and skiing. Two items joined → både … og.

A note on spelling and word boundaries

Mind the å: it's både, with the å, not bade (which means "to bathe / swim"!) and not bode. The correlative is two separate words, både and og, never written as one. And begge has a double g. These look small, but bade vs både is the difference between "bathe coffee and tea" and "both coffee and tea."

Common Mistakes

Using begge to coordinate two items. Coordination with "and" needs både … og.

❌ Begge Ola og Kari kommer.

Ungrammatical — to link two names with 'and', use 'både Ola og Kari'.

✅ Både Ola og Kari kommer.

Both Ola and Kari are coming.

Putting an indefinite noun after begge. It demands the definite plural.

❌ begge gutter

Incorrect — begge takes the definite plural: 'begge guttene'.

✅ begge guttene

Both boys (a known pair).

Using både … og to quantify a single noun phrase. With no "and," you need begge.

❌ Både bilene er røde.

Incorrect — there's no 'and' here; use 'Begge bilene er røde.'

✅ Begge bilene er røde.

Both cars are red.

Dropping og from både … og. The pair is obligatory.

❌ Hun snakker både norsk, engelsk.

Incomplete — the correlative needs 'og': 'både norsk og engelsk'.

✅ Hun snakker både norsk og engelsk.

She speaks both Norwegian and English.

Misspelling både as bade. The å is meaning-bearing.

❌ bade kaffe og te

Incorrect — 'bade' means 'to bathe'; you want 'både kaffe og te'.

✅ både kaffe og te

Both coffee and tea.

Key Takeaways

English both maps to two Norwegian words — split it by function.
begge = quantifier over a known pair; it takes the definite plural (begge bilene), stands alone as a pronoun, and emphasises as begge to.
både … og = correlative conjunction "both … and"; it links two items (både kaffe og te) and the og is obligatory.
The decision test: is there an "and" joining two things? Yes → både … og. No, just a known pair → begge.
Spelling: både (with å, double nothing), begge (double g) — never bade, which means "to bathe."

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