Some verbs simply demand a particular preposition before their object, and there is no rule that predicts which one. Wait takes på, look (for) takes etter, ask (for) takes om — and crucially, the Norwegian preposition almost never matches the English one. This is the single most pervasive preposition error English speakers make, because the instinct to translate wait FOR as vente FOR is overwhelming and wrong. The fix is not a rule but a habit: store the verb and its preposition together as one vocabulary item. Learn vente på as a single word, the way you learned get up or look after in English without analysing the particle. This page gives you the highest-yield list and groups it by preposition so the patterns stick.
Why you can't translate the preposition
Prepositions are the least logical part of any language. The relationship between vente and its object isn't really "spatial" or "directional" in any way that på (on) or etter (after) would predict — the pairing is just frozen by convention, exactly as English froze wait with for. Both languages made an arbitrary choice; they just made different arbitrary choices.
So the only winning move is to stop translating word by word. When you learn to look for something, don't learn lete + "the word for for." Learn the chunk lete etter and treat it as indivisible.
The high-yield list
These are the verb+preposition pairs you will use constantly. The third column is the trap: notice how rarely the Norwegian preposition lines up with the English one.
| Norwegian | English | The mismatch |
|---|---|---|
| vente på | wait for | for → på |
| tenke på | think about / of | about → på |
| se på | look at / watch | at → på |
| høre på | listen to | to → på |
| passe på | take care of / watch out | of → på |
| lete etter | look for / search for | for → etter |
| be om | ask for | for → om |
| spørre om | ask about | about → om |
| glede seg til | look forward to | to → til |
| bestemme seg for | decide on | on → for |
| være glad i | love / be fond of | (no English prep) → i |
| interessere seg for | be interested in | in → for |
A few more worth banking now: ta hensyn til (take into account / consider), slutte med (stop / quit doing), begynne med / på (start with / on), lytte til (listen to, more formal than høre på), stole på (rely on / trust), klage på (complain about).
The på cluster
By far the biggest group takes på. English scatters these across for, about, at, to, of — Norwegian funnels them all into på. If you're unsure and the verb is about attending to something with your senses or mind, på is the safe bet.
Vi har ventet på bussen i tjue minutter — den kommer aldri.
We've been waiting for the bus for twenty minutes — it's never coming. (vente på = wait for)
Jeg tenker ofte på sommeren vi var i Lofoten.
I often think about the summer we spent in Lofoten. (tenke på = think about)
Kan du passe på barna mens jeg går i butikken?
Can you watch the kids while I pop to the shop? (passe på = look after)
Vi satt og så på en gammel film hele kvelden.
We sat watching an old film all evening. (se på = watch)
The etter and om cluster
Two verbs about seeking and asking break the på habit, and they're easy to mix up with each other.
lete etter is looking for — physically searching. be om is asking for — requesting that someone give you something. And spørre om is asking about — requesting information.
Jeg har lett etter nøklene mine overalt — har du sett dem?
I've looked for my keys everywhere — have you seen them? (lete etter = look for)
Hun ba om en kvittering før hun forlot kassa.
She asked for a receipt before she left the till. (be om = ask for — a request)
Han spurte om veien til togstasjonen.
He asked about the way to the train station. (spørre om = ask about — information)
Keep be om (request a thing) and spørre om (request information) separate: you ber om a glass of water, but you spør om whether the shop is open.
The reflexive-verb cluster: seg + preposition
Several of these verbs are reflexive — they carry seg ("oneself") and then the fixed preposition. The structure is verb + seg + prep + object, and the chunk to memorise includes all three pieces.
Jeg gleder meg til ferien — bare to dager igjen!
I'm looking forward to the holiday — only two days left! (glede seg til; 'meg' agrees with 'jeg')
Vi har bestemt oss for å flytte til Bergen.
We've decided to move to Bergen. (bestemme seg for; 'oss' agrees with 'vi')
Hun interesserer seg veldig for gammel arkitektur.
She's very interested in old architecture. (interessere seg for)
Notice that the reflexive pronoun changes with the subject (meg, deg, seg, oss, dere, seg) but the preposition is fixed: til for glede seg, for for bestemme seg and interessere seg. That preposition is the part to nail down.
være glad i — the one with no English preposition
være glad i means to love / be very fond of — used for people, pets, food, places. English uses a bare verb ("I love my grandma") with no preposition at all, so there's nothing to transfer; you simply have to learn that Norwegian inserts i. (Reserve elske for romantic or intense love; være glad i is the warm everyday word.)
Jeg er så glad i bestemoren min.
I love my grandmother so much. (være glad i — no preposition in English to translate)
Han er veldig glad i kaffe og sjokolade.
He's really fond of coffee and chocolate. (være glad i for things too)
The til and med cluster
A final group governs til or med, and they round out the everyday repertoire. ta hensyn til (take into account / consider), høre til (belong to), and the more formal lytte til (listen to) all take til. With med you get slutte med (quit / stop doing) and begynne med (start with / take up) — though begynne can also take på when you start on a concrete task (begynne på leksene, start on the homework).
Du må ta hensyn til naboene og ikke spille musikk så seint.
You have to be considerate of the neighbours and not play music so late. (ta hensyn til = take into account)
Han sluttet med å røyke for et halvt år siden.
He quit smoking six months ago. (slutte med = stop/quit doing)
Skal vi begynne med forretten eller hovedretten?
Shall we start with the starter or the main course? (begynne med = start with)
The same warning applies as everywhere on this page: slutte med is "quit," but the English "stop" tempts you toward a bare verb or the wrong particle. Store slutte med whole.
Common Mistakes
Transferring the English preposition. The classic, and the reason this page exists. Wait for is vente på, not vente for.
❌ Vi venter for toget.
Incorrect — 'wait for' is 'vente på': 'Vi venter på toget'.
✅ Vi venter på toget.
We're waiting for the train.
Using for with lete. Look for is lete etter, never lete for.
❌ Jeg leter for en jobb.
Incorrect — 'look for' is 'lete etter': 'Jeg leter etter en jobb'.
✅ Jeg leter etter en jobb.
I'm looking for a job.
Confusing be om and spørre om. Asking for a thing is be om; asking about something is spørre om.
❌ Jeg spurte om hjelp med oppgaven.
Incorrect if you mean 'requested help' — use 'be om': 'Jeg ba om hjelp med oppgaven'.
✅ Jeg ba om hjelp med oppgaven.
I asked for help with the task.
Dropping the i in være glad i. Because English has no preposition here, learners leave it out.
❌ Jeg er glad familien min.
Incorrect — needs 'i': 'Jeg er glad i familien min'.
✅ Jeg er glad i familien min.
I love my family.
Forgetting the reflexive seg in glede seg til. "Look forward to" needs both the reflexive and til.
❌ Jeg gleder til helga.
Incorrect — needs the reflexive: 'Jeg gleder meg til helga'.
✅ Jeg gleder meg til helga.
I'm looking forward to the weekend.
Key Takeaways
- These pairings are arbitrary — store each as one chunk (vente på, lete etter, be om), never as "verb + translated preposition."
- The biggest group takes på (vente, tenke, se, høre, passe, stole, klage), where English uses for / about / at / to / of.
- Seeking and asking break the pattern: lete etter (look for), be om (ask for a thing), spørre om (ask about info).
- Reflexive verbs carry seg plus a fixed preposition: glede seg til, bestemme seg for, interessere seg for.
- være glad i ("love / be fond of") has no English preposition to copy — you must add the i.
Now practice Norwegian
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Start learning Norwegian→Related Topics
- Particle (Phrasal) VerbsB1 — Verb + stressed particle (partikkelverb) — gi opp, finne ut, slå på — how the particle carries the stress and the meaning, how the object slots in, and how this differs from joined, unstressed prefix verbs.
- Adjectives with Fixed PrepositionsB1 — The fixed adjective + preposition pairings Norwegian forces you to memorise as units — glad i, redd for, flink til, stolt av, interessert i — where the Norwegian preposition almost never matches the English one.
- i vs på: In vs On/AtA2 — Use i for enclosed spaces, countries and towns, and på for surfaces, institutions-as-activity and islands — but accept that much of the i/på choice is fixed collocation you must memorise.