To tell someone not to do something, Norwegian has two tools. The plain one is ikke + the imperative — ikke gå! ("don't go!"). The idiomatic one, which English has no single-word match for, is la være (å) — literally "let be" — meaning refrain from / don't / leave it alone. La være! on its own is a complete sentence ("stop it / don't"), and la være å mase means "stop nagging." Where English needs a whole verb phrase ("refrain from," "abstain from," "knock it off"), Norwegian has this compact construction built from the verb la ("let"). This page covers both negative-imperative orders and the full range of la være.
The negative imperative: ikke + imperative
The neutral way to forbid an action is ikke placed before the imperative form of the verb. The imperative itself is just the verb stem (gå, snakk, ta), and ikke sits in front of it.
Ikke gå ennå — kaffen er nesten klar!
Don't go yet — the coffee's almost ready! (neutral negative imperative: 'ikke' + imperative)
Ikke rør den, den er varm.
Don't touch that, it's hot. ('ikke' + imperative 'rør')
Ikke vær redd, jeg er her.
Don't be afraid, I'm here. ('ikke' + imperative 'vær')
There is a second, more marked order where ikke follows the imperative: gjør det ikke!, glem det ikke!. This sounds heavier, more emphatic or literary — a stern warning rather than an everyday instruction — and you will meet it in writing and set phrases more than in casual speech.
Gjør det ikke!
Don't do it! (emphatic/literary order — 'imperative + ikke', stronger than 'ikke gjør det')
Glem det ikke.
Don't forget it. (marked order, sounds formal or weighty)
For everyday speech, ikke + imperative is the default; the imperative + ikke order is the dramatic or formal variant. (Negation placement in full is covered on the ikke placement page.)
la være: the idiom for "refrain / don't / cut it out"
Beyond a bare ikke, Norwegian has a dedicated construction for telling someone to stop or abstain: la være, literally "let (it) be." Its meaning runs from a gentle "don't bother" to a sharp "knock it off," and as a bare command — La være! — it stands alone as "stop it / don't / cut it out."
La være!
Stop it! / Don't! (complete utterance — 'cut it out')
La det være.
Leave it alone. / Let it be. (don't touch/meddle with it)
Kan du la være, er du snill?
Can you stop, please? (asking someone to quit doing something)
To say refrain from doing X, add å plus the infinitive: la være å + verb. This is the workhorse pattern for "don't do X / stop doing X / avoid doing X," and it is far more idiomatic than trying to translate "refrain" literally.
Kan du være så snill å la være å røyke her?
Could you please refrain from smoking here? (polite request — 'la være å' + infinitive)
La være å mase på meg!
Stop nagging me! ('la være å' + infinitive 'mase')
Jeg klarte ikke å la være å le.
I couldn't help laughing. (literally 'couldn't manage to refrain from laughing' — the standard way to say 'couldn't help')
That last pattern is worth memorising: ikke klare å la være å + verb = "can't help (doing)." English buries this in the idiom can't help; Norwegian builds it transparently out of la være.
Conjugating la: la / lot / latt
La være is built on the irregular verb la ("to let"), so when you put the construction in the past or perfect, it is la that changes — være stays put. The forms are la (present/imperative), lot (preterite), latt (past participle).
| Tense | Form of la | Example |
|---|---|---|
| imperative | la | La være å rope. |
| present | lar | Jeg lar være å svare. |
| preterite | lot | Jeg lot være å si noe. |
| perfect | har latt | Jeg har latt være å ringe. |
Jeg lot være å si noe, selv om jeg var uenig.
I refrained from saying anything, even though I disagreed. (preterite 'lot være å')
Han har latt være å svare på meldingene mine.
He's been refraining from / has avoided replying to my messages. (perfect 'har latt være')
So you say jeg lar være (I refrain), jeg lot være (I refrained), jeg har latt være (I have refrained) — the være is frozen, and la carries the tense. (The verb la in all its uses is covered on the la reference page.)
Register
Ikke + imperative and la være are both fully neutral — usable in any everyday situation. A bare La være! is informal and direct, the kind of thing you'd snap at a sibling or a misbehaving child. The polite framing Kan du være så snill å la være å … is the courteous register for asking a stranger to stop. The imperative + ikke order (gjør det ikke) leans formal/literary.
Common Mistakes
Building the negative imperative with a "do" helper. English inserts do not before the verb; Norwegian has no such auxiliary — just ikke before the bare imperative.
❌ Gjør ikke gå.
Incorrect — Norwegian has no 'do' helper; just 'ikke' + imperative: 'Ikke gå'.
✅ Ikke gå.
Don't go.
Translating "refrain from" word for word instead of using la være. Learners reach for an abstract verb; the natural Norwegian is la være å.
❌ Vær så snill å avstå fra å røyke her.
Stilted/unidiomatic — the everyday phrase is 'la være å': 'Vær så snill å la være å røyke her'.
✅ Vær så snill å la være å røyke her.
Please refrain from smoking here.
Forgetting the å before the infinitive. La være needs å to attach a verb: la være å mase, not *la være mase.
❌ La være mase på meg!
Incorrect — needs 'å' before the infinitive: 'La være å mase på meg!'.
✅ La være å mase på meg!
Stop nagging me!
Inflecting være instead of la in the past. It is la that changes tense (lot, latt); være stays as is.
❌ Jeg lot vart å si noe.
Incorrect — only 'la' inflects: 'Jeg lot være å si noe'.
✅ Jeg lot være å si noe.
I refrained from saying anything.
Spelling være without the æ. It is være (with æ), and the idiom is two words: la være.
❌ La vere!
Misspelling — it's 'være' with æ: 'La være!'.
✅ La være!
Stop it! / Don't!
Key Takeaways
- The neutral negative imperative is ikke + imperative (Ikke gå!); the heavier imperative + ikke (Gå ikke!) is emphatic or literary.
- la være (literally "let be") = "refrain / leave alone / cut it out"; bare La være! means "stop it / don't."
- For "refrain from doing X," use la være å
- infinitive (la være å røyke) — don't translate "refrain" literally.
- ikke klare å la være å
- verb = "can't help (doing)."
- La is irregular: la / lot / latt; være stays frozen. Mind the spelling: være with æ, two words.
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Start learning Norwegian→Related Topics
- The ImperativeA1 — How to form Norwegian commands and requests by stripping the infinitive ending, where to put ikke, and how vær så snill softens an order that would otherwise sound blunt.
- la (to let / allow)B1 — Full conjugation of the strong verb la (la / lar / lot / har latt), the bare-infinitive complement, the causative/permissive use, and the idiom la være (å), with the lot/latt overlap against late.
- Placing ikkeA2 — Everything about where ikke sits: after the finite verb in main clauses, before it in subordinate clauses, before a non-finite verb, and the object-shift rule — a pronoun jumps in front of ikke, but a full noun stays behind it.
- Negation: OverviewA1 — How Norwegian says 'not' — the single adverb ikke and where it sits, the negative words ingen, ingenting and aldri, and why there is no 'do not' helper.