Hete is the verb at the heart of every introduction in Norwegian. Where English says "my name is" with a noun and the verb "to be," Norwegian says jeg heter… — literally "I am called…" — using a single dedicated verb. It is one of the very first words you learn, and it is irregular, so it pays to fix its forms early.
Conjugation
Hete is an irregular (strong-ish) verb. Its present is heter; its preterite has two accepted forms, het and hette, with het being the more common in standard Bokmål today. The supine is hett.
| Form | Norwegian | English |
|---|---|---|
| Infinitive | å hete | to be called |
| Present | heter | am/is/are called |
| Preterite (past) | het (also hette) | was/were called |
| Supine (perfect) | har hett | have been called |
| Imperative | — (not used) | — |
Two notes on the forms. First, both het and hette are correct preterites; het dominates in writing and most speech, while hette is also fully standard and common regionally. Second, there is effectively no imperative — you cannot command someone "be called!", so the form simply does not occur in practice.
Sense 1: hete = to be named / called (people)
The everyday function: stating or asking a name. The subject is the person; the name follows the verb directly, with no preposition and no article.
Jeg heter Kari. Hva heter du?
My name is Kari. What's your name?
Hun heter Ingrid, men alle kaller henne Inga.
Her name is Ingrid, but everyone calls her Inga.
Bestefaren min het Per — han døde før jeg ble født.
My grandfather's name was Per — he died before I was born.
The literal sense of Hva heter du? is "What are you called?" — there is no possessive and no noun "name" in the everyday question. This is the structural surprise for English speakers, and it is worth internalising as a fixed frame: Hva heter + [person]?
Sense 2: hete with things and places
Hete is not just for people. Towns, books, films, streets, dishes — anything with a name — "is called" something via hete.
Byen heter Bergen, og den ligger på vestkysten.
The city is called Bergen, and it's on the west coast.
Hva heter denne fisken på norsk?
What is this fish called in Norwegian?
Boka heter «Sult» og er skrevet av Knut Hamsun.
The book is called 'Hunger' and was written by Knut Hamsun.
The phrase Hva heter det på norsk? ("What is it called in Norwegian?") is the single most useful question a learner can carry around — it lets you fish for any vocabulary you are missing.
Unnskyld, hva heter det på norsk når man ikke kan sove?
Excuse me, what's it called in Norwegian when you can't sleep?
"My name is" — jeg heter vs mitt navn er
English has only "my name is." Norwegian has two options, and choosing the right register matters.
| Norwegian | Literal | Register |
|---|---|---|
| Jeg heter Anna. | I am called Anna. | everyday, neutral — the default |
| Mitt navn er Anna. | My name is Anna. | formal — phone, officialdom, written |
| Navnet mitt er Anna. | The name of mine is Anna. | formal/slightly stiff |
Hei, jeg heter Anna. Hyggelig å møte deg.
Hi, I'm Anna. Nice to meet you.
God dag. Mitt navn er Anna Berg, og jeg ringer fra Skatteetaten.
Good day. My name is Anna Berg, and I'm calling from the Tax Administration.
The point to absorb: in casual conversation Norwegians say jeg heter with the verb, not a possessive-noun construction. Mitt navn er is correct but sounds formal or official — fine when you answer the phone for work or introduce yourself in a speech, stiff at a party.
hete vs kalle vs bli kalt
These are easy to mix up because all three touch on naming, but they point in different directions.
- hete — intransitive: the subject bears the name. Jeg heter Ola.
- kalle — transitive: someone gives a name to someone/something. De kalte sønnen Ola.
- bli kalt / kalles — passive: someone/something is called (by others, often a nickname). Han blir kalt Ola.
Han heter Johan, men vennene kaller ham Joe.
His name is Johan, but his friends call him Joe.
De kalte opp datteren etter bestemoren.
They named their daughter after the grandmother.
Denne retten kalles «fårikål» og er nasjonalretten vår.
This dish is called 'fårikål' and is our national dish.
The mental model: hete is your name from your own point of view ("I am Ola"); kalle is the act of naming or addressing someone ("they call him Ola"); kalles / bli kalt is the passive of that act ("he is called Ola"). English uses "be called" for both hete and bli kalt, so you must decide whether you mean the name someone bears (hete) or what others call them (kalles).
Common Mistakes
❌ Min navn er Ola.
Incorrect agreement; navn is neuter, so it takes mitt.
✅ Mitt navn er Ola. / Jeg heter Ola.
My name is Ola.
❌ Hva er ditt navn?
Grammatical but stiff/formal; not how you ask casually.
✅ Hva heter du?
What's your name?
❌ Jeg er Ola som navn.
A literal calque of 'I'm Ola' that no one says this way.
✅ Jeg heter Ola.
My name is Ola.
❌ Han hetet Per.
Wrong preterite — it's het (or hette), never hetet.
✅ Han het Per.
His name was Per.
❌ Hva kaller denne byen?
Wrong verb — the city bears the name, so use hete.
✅ Hva heter denne byen?
What is this city called?
Key Takeaways
- hete / heter / het (or hette) / hett — irregular; no imperative.
- The everyday self-introduction is jeg heter…, not a possessive "my name is."
- The fishing question Hva heter det på norsk? is gold for learners.
- Mitt navn er… is correct but formal — for phones, officialdom, and speeches.
- hete = bear a name; kalle = give/use a name (transitive); kalles / bli kalt = be called by others (passive).
Now practice Norwegian
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Start learning Norwegian→Related Topics
- Subject PronounsA1 — The Norwegian subject pronouns — jeg, du, han, hun, den/det, vi, dere, de — including the den/det gender split for 'it' and why du works for almost everyone.
- Question Words: hva, hvem, hvor, hvorfor, hvilkenA1 — The Norwegian hv- question words — what, who, where, why, how, when, which — with the silent h, inversion after fronting, hvor for 'how' before adjectives, and hvilken's agreement.
- Introducing Yourself and OthersA1 — How to say your name, ask someone else's, react with the hyggelig formula, present a third person with dette er, and ask where someone is from — all on a first-name, du-from-the-start basis.
- kalle (to call / name)B1 — Full conjugation of the weak Class 2 verb kalle (kalle / kaller / kalte / har kalt), the ditransitive kalle noen noe, kalle på (summon), the passive kalles, and how it differs from ringe and hete.