Hjelpe ("to help") is the single most important verb on this list to learn carefully, because its English cognate sets a trap. English help / helped / helped is a tame regular verb — so learners assume Norwegian hjelpe must be regular too, and produce the non-word *hjelpet. It is not regular. Hjelpe is a strong verb with the ablaut series hjalp / hjulpet. Get that into your bones before anything else on this page.
Conjugation
Hjelpe is strong: it forms the past by changing the stem vowel (ablaut), not by adding a -te or -et ending. The vowel runs e → a → u across the three principal parts, and the supine ends in -et with no dental suffix of its own.
| Form (Norwegian term) | Hjelpe | English |
|---|---|---|
| Infinitiv (infinitive) | (å) hjelpe | (to) help |
| Presens (present) | hjelper | help(s) / am helping |
| Preteritum (past) | hjalp | helped |
| Perfektum (perfect) | har hjulpet | have helped |
| Imperativ (imperative) | hjelp! | help! |
The English cognate even rhymes with the pattern that would mislead you. English help went weak centuries ago; Norwegian kept the old Germanic strong conjugation. So this is a rare case where knowing English actively works against you — recognise the danger and lean into the strong forms.
Kan du hjelpe meg et øyeblikk?
Can you help me for a moment?
Hun hjalp ham med å bære koffertene opp.
She helped him carry the suitcases up.
Naboene har hjulpet oss masse i det siste.
The neighbours have helped us a lot lately.
The silent hj-
In hj-, the h is completely silent. Hjelpe is pronounced as if it began with a y — roughly "YEL-peh". The same silent h appears in hjem ("home"), hjelp ("help", the noun), hjul ("wheel"), and hjerte ("heart"). When you write the word, the h must be there; when you say it, the h is gone.
Hjelp! Jeg har låst meg ute.
Help! I've locked myself out.
hjelpe noen med noe — help someone with something
The standard frame is hjelpe + a person (direct object) + med + the thing. "Help someone with something" uses med, exactly parallel to English "with":
| Pattern | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| hjelpe noen | help someone | hjelpe en venn |
| hjelpe noen med noe | help someone with something | hjelpe meg med leksene |
| hjelpe noen (med) å + inf. | help someone (to) do | hjelpe deg å flytte |
| hjelpe til | help out / lend a hand | alle hjalp til |
Kan du hjelpe meg med matematikken? Jeg skjønner ingenting.
Can you help me with the maths? I don't understand a thing.
Pappa hjalp oss med å sette opp teltet.
Dad helped us set up the tent.
hjelpe (med) å + infinitive — help someone do something
To say "help someone do something", Norwegian allows both hjelpe noen å + infinitive and hjelpe noen med å + infinitive. Both are correct standard Bokmål; med å is a touch more explicit, å alone is lighter and very common in speech. Either way the å before the infinitive is required.
Vil du hjelpe meg å vaske opp?
Will you help me wash up?
De hjalp henne med å finne et nytt sted å bo.
They helped her find a new place to live.
hjelpe til — to help out
Hjelpe til is a particle verb meaning "help out, pitch in, lend a hand" — contributing to a shared effort rather than helping a specific person. The particle til carries the "out / along" sense.
Har du hjulpet til med oppvasken i dag?
Have you helped out with the dishes today?
Alle hjalp til, så vi ble fort ferdige.
Everyone pitched in, so we finished quickly.
Common mistakes
❌ Hun hjelpte meg i går.
Incorrect — invented weak preterite; hjelpe is strong: hjalp.
✅ Hun hjalp meg i går.
She helped me yesterday.
❌ Har du hjelpet til?
Incorrect — wrong supine; the strong supine is hjulpet.
✅ Har du hjulpet til?
Have you helped out?
❌ Kan du hjelpe meg å leksene?
Incorrect — with a noun you need med, not å.
✅ Kan du hjelpe meg med leksene?
Can you help me with the homework?
❌ Han hjalp meg vaske bilen.
Incorrect — å is required before the infinitive (or use med å).
✅ Han hjalp meg å vaske bilen.
He helped me wash the car.
Key takeaways
- hjelpe / hjelper / hjalp / har hjulpet / hjelp! — STRONG, with the ablaut e → a → u. Never *hjelpte or *hjelpet.
- The English cognate help/helped is a trap; Norwegian kept the old strong forms.
- The h in hj- is silent — say "yelpe".
- Frames: hjelpe noen med noe (with a noun), hjelpe noen (med) å
- inf. (with a verb), hjelpe til (help out).
Now practice Norwegian
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Norwegian→Related Topics
- Strong Verbs: Ablaut and the Vowel-Change ClassesA2 — Strong verbs build the past by changing the stem vowel instead of adding an ending (drikke → drakk → drukket) — the main ablaut series, grouped, with full tables and English cognate hooks.
- Silent LettersA2 — Norwegian's systematic silent letters — silent d, the -ig ending, the hv- question words, and the silent -t of det and the neuter definite — with rules of thumb and the errors English speakers make.
- The Present Perfect: har + supineA2 — How to build the Norwegian present perfect with har plus the invariant supine — and why Norwegian uses har for every verb, including come, go and be.
- Please, Thank You and ApologiesA1 — Norwegian courtesy formulas — takk and tusen takk, the ja takk / nei takk pattern, the two faces of vær så snill and vær så god, and unnskyld versus beklager — plus the surprising fact that there is no single word for 'please'.