håpe ("to hope") is one of the friendliest verbs in Norwegian: it is a fully regular weak Class 1 verb, and its meaning maps cleanly onto English "hope." The only things you really have to learn are the company it keeps — the preposition på, the conjunction at, and the infinitive marker å — because Norwegian and English don't line these up the same way, and the å in particular is one English speakers love to drop.
Conjugation
Class: weak, Class 1 (-et / -et). Auxiliary: ha.
| Tense / mood | Norwegian | English |
|---|---|---|
| Infinitiv | å håpe | to hope |
| Presens | håper | hope(s), am/is/are hoping |
| Preteritum | håpet | hoped |
| Perfektum | har håpet | have/has hoped |
| Pluskvamperfektum | hadde håpet | had hoped |
| Futurum | skal/vil håpe | will hope |
| Imperativ | håp! | hope! |
| Presens partisipp | håpende | hoping (adjective) |
håpe på — hope for
When the thing you hope for is a noun, Norwegian links it with the preposition på ("on/for"): you håper på good weather, a job, a miracle. English uses "hope for," and the instinct is to translate "for" with Norwegian for — but that is wrong. The governed preposition here is på, full stop.
Vi håper på bedre vær til helgen.
We're hoping for better weather this weekend.
Hun håpet på en ny sjanse, men fikk den aldri.
She hoped for a second chance but never got it.
Jeg har håpet på dette svaret i flere uker.
I've been hoping for this answer for several weeks.
håpe at — hope that
When you hope for a whole situation expressed as a clause, use at ("that"). Unlike English, where "hope that" can drop the "that" in casual speech, Norwegian at is the standard connector and is usually kept in writing.
Jeg håper at du har det bra.
I hope (that) you're doing well.
Vi håper bare at det går bra med dem.
We just hope everything goes well for them.
A neat feature: in everyday speech Norwegians often slot bare ("just/only") between the verb and the at — jeg håper bare at... — to soften the hope into a quiet wish, just as English says "I just hope...".
håpe å — hope to (don't drop the å)
When the hope is about your own future action, use the infinitive with its marker å: håpe å gjøre noe ("hope to do something"). English speakers routinely drop this å, producing jeg håper gå instead of jeg håper å gå — but Norwegian almost never lets a bare infinitive follow håpe. The å is not optional.
Jeg håper å rekke toget hvis jeg løper.
I hope to catch the train if I run.
De håpet å være hjemme før det ble mørkt.
They hoped to be home before it got dark.
håpe det beste — set phrases
A couple of fixed expressions are worth memorising whole. håpe det beste ("hope for the best") takes no preposition — det beste is a direct object, not introduced by på. And the related noun is et håp ("a hope"), neuter, with the definite håpet — handy in phrases like det er fortsatt håp ("there's still hope").
Vi får bare krysse fingrene og håpe det beste.
We'll just have to cross our fingers and hope for the best.
Så lenge det er liv, er det håp.
As long as there's life, there's hope.
Common Mistakes
❌ Jeg håper for godt vær i morgen.
Incorrect — the governed preposition is på, not for
✅ Jeg håper på godt vær i morgen.
I'm hoping for good weather tomorrow.
❌ Hun håper komme på festen.
Incorrect — håpe + infinitive needs the marker å
✅ Hun håper å komme på festen.
She hopes to come to the party.
❌ Vi har håpte på et bedre resultat.
Incorrect — håpe is Class 1; the supine is håpet, not håpte
✅ Vi har håpet på et bedre resultat.
We had hoped for a better result.
❌ Jeg håper på at alt går bra.
Incorrect — before an at-clause you don't add på; use håpe at directly
✅ Jeg håper at alt går bra.
I hope everything goes well.
Key Takeaways
- håpe / håper / håpet / har håpet / håp! — weak Class 1, ending -et in both past forms (never håpte).
- For a noun: håpe på something (not håpe for).
- For a clause: håpe at; for your own action: håpe å
- infinitive — never drop the å.
- Don't double up: use håpe på
- noun or håpe at
- clause, but not håpe på at.
- noun or håpe at
- Set phrase: håpe det beste; the noun is et håp.
Now practice Norwegian
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Start learning Norwegian→Related Topics
- Weak Verbs: The Four ClassesA2 — A map of the four regular Norwegian past-tense classes (-et/-a, -te, -de, -dde) — how to predict a verb's class from its stem and how the supine differs from the preterite.
- Verb Reference: How to Use These TablesA2 — How to read the Norwegian verb-reference pages — the five principal parts, weak vs strong classes, and the supine (the har-form).
- ønske (to wish)B1 — Full conjugation of the weak Class 1 verb ønske (ønske / ønsker / ønsket / har ønsket), with the reflexive ønske seg, the counterfactual skulle ønske, and the register contrast between ønske and ville/vil.
- The Infinitive and the Marker åA1 — The dictionary form of the verb, the infinitive marker å ('to') and when it appears, why modal verbs take a bare infinitive, and how å contrasts with the identical-sounding conjunction og.
- Verbs with Fixed PrepositionsB1 — Verbs that govern a fixed, unpredictable preposition you must memorise as a unit: vente på (wait for), tenke på (think about), lete etter (look for), be om (ask for), glede seg til (look forward to), bestemme seg for (decide on) — where the Norwegian preposition almost never matches English.