English packs at least three different ideas into the single verb "call," and Norwegian splits them across three verbs. kalle is the one that means to name or to summon — "they call him Ola," "she called the dog." It is not the verb for phoning (that's ringe) and not the verb for one's own name (that's hete). Sorting out which Norwegian verb does which job is the whole point of this page, and it is exactly the kind of distinction that trips up even confident learners.
Conjugation
Class: weak Class 2 (endings -te / -t). Auxiliary: ha.
| Tense / mood | Norwegian | English |
|---|---|---|
| Infinitiv | å kalle | to call / to name |
| Presens | kaller | call(s) |
| Preteritum | kalte | called |
| Perfektum | har kalt | have/has called |
| Pluskvamperfektum | hadde kalt | had called |
| Futurum | skal/vil kalle | will call |
| Imperativ | kall! | call! |
| Presens partisipp | kallende | calling (adjective) |
| Passiv (s-form) | kalles | is called / are called |
kalle noen noe — calling someone something
The core use is ditransitive: kalle takes two objects, the person and the name. The pattern is kalle noen noe — "call someone something" — with no preposition between them, just like English.
- De kalte ham Ola. — They called him Ola.
- Vi kaller henne Kari. — We call her Kari.
This is the verb for assigning a name or a label, whether it's an affectionate nickname or an insult. The same frame gives you kalle noen en helt ("call someone a hero") or kalle noen en løgner ("call someone a liar").
Vi kaller henne Kari, men hun heter egentlig Karoline.
We call her Kari, but her name is actually Karoline.
Ikke kall broren din dum — det er ikke snilt.
Don't call your brother stupid — that's not nice.
De kalte ham en helt etter redningen.
They called him a hero after the rescue.
kalle opp etter — naming after someone
A common extension is kalle opp etter, "to name after." This is how you say a child was named in honour of a relative.
Han ble kalt opp etter bestefaren sin.
He was named after his grandfather.
De kalte den lille jenta opp etter mormor.
They named the little girl after her grandmother (mum's mother).
kalle på — calling out to / summoning
When you call for someone — calling out so they come — you use kalle på. The på is fixed. This is summoning, not phoning.
Mor kalte på barna da maten var klar.
Mum called the children when the food was ready.
Kall på hunden — den løper for langt unna.
Call the dog — it's running too far away.
kalles — the passive "to be called"
Add -s to get kalles, the everyday passive: "is called / is known as." This is how you ask or state what something is named in general, especially for things rather than people.
Hva kalles dette på norsk?
What is this called in Norwegian?
Denne retten kalles 'fårikål' og er nasjonalretten.
This dish is called 'fårikål' and is the national dish.
The big split: kalle vs ringe vs hete
This is where English speakers must retrain their instinct. English "call" maps onto three Norwegian verbs:
| You mean… | Norwegian verb | Example |
|---|---|---|
| to phone someone | ringe | Jeg ringer deg. (I'll call you.) |
| to name / label someone | kalle | De kaller ham Ola. (They call him Ola.) |
| to be named (your own name) | hete | Jeg heter Ola. (My name is Ola.) |
The trap is the last two. For your own name you say Jeg heter Ola — never *Jeg kaller Ola. hete is intransitive and describes the name you carry; kalle is transitive and describes the name someone gives you. So: Jeg heter Karoline, men alle kaller meg Kari — "My name is Karoline, but everyone calls me Kari." Both verbs in one breath, each doing its own job.
Jeg heter Karoline, men alle kaller meg Kari.
My name is Karoline, but everyone calls me Kari.
Hva heter du? — Jeg heter Anders, men du kan kalle meg Anne.
What's your name? — I'm Anders, but you can call me Anne.
Common Mistakes
❌ Jeg kaller Ola.
Incorrect — for your own name use hete: this would mean 'I am calling Ola' (summoning/naming)
✅ Jeg heter Ola.
My name is Ola.
❌ Kan du kalle meg i morgen tidlig?
Incorrect — to phone someone use ringe, not kalle
✅ Kan du ringe meg i morgen tidlig?
Can you call (phone) me tomorrow morning?
❌ De kallte ham en løgner.
Incorrect — the preterite drops one l: kalte, not kallte
✅ De kalte ham en løgner.
They called him a liar.
❌ Hva kalles dette? — Det heter brød.
Incorrect register mismatch is fine, but watch the verb: people 'heter', things are 'kalles' or also 'heter'; the slip is using kalle for a thing's own name
✅ Hva kalles dette? — Det heter brød.
What's this called? — It's called bread.
Key Takeaways
- kalle / kaller / kalte / har kalt / kall! — weak Class 2; preterite and supine drop one l.
- Ditransitive: kalle noen noe (call someone something); kalle opp etter (name after); kalle på (summon).
- kalles = the s-passive "is called," for general facts.
- The split: ringe = phone, kalle = name/label, hete = be named (your own name). Never use kalle for your own name.
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Start learning Norwegian→Related Topics
- hete (to be called / named)A1 — Conjugation and usage of the irregular verb hete, the everyday way to say what someone or something is named, plus the contrast with kalle and bli kalt.
- ringe (to call / ring)A2 — Full conjugation of the weak Class 2 verb ringe (ringe / ringer / ringte / har ringt), plus ringe (til) noen for phoning and ringe på for the doorbell.
- si vs fortelle vs snakke vs prate: Say/Tell/SpeakB1 — si reports the words said, fortelle conveys content to someone (narrating), snakke is the activity of talking or which language, and prate is casual chatting — a say/tell/speak split with different boundaries from English.
- Deponent s-Verbs: synes, finnes, trivesB1 — The lexical -s verbs that are never passives — synes, finnes, trives, lykkes — and the three-way 'think' split between synes, tror and mener.