nyte ("to enjoy, to savour") is the verb for actively relishing something in the moment — a meal, a view, a day off, your retirement. It belongs to a small but high-value class of strong verbs with the i–ø–y ablaut, and its forms hide two orthographic traps worth flagging up front: the preterite nøt has an ø, and the supine nytt is spelled exactly like the adjective nytt ("new"). Getting these right is what separates a confident learner from a guessing one.
Conjugation
Class: strong, ablaut i–ø–y. Auxiliary: ha.
| Tense / mood | Norwegian | English |
|---|---|---|
| Infinitiv | å nyte | to enjoy / to savour |
| Presens | nyter | enjoy(s) |
| Preteritum | nøt | enjoyed |
| Perfektum | har nytt | have/has enjoyed |
| Pluskvamperfektum | hadde nytt | had enjoyed |
| Futurum | skal/vil nyte | will enjoy |
| Imperativ | nyt! | enjoy! |
| Presens partisipp | nytende | enjoying (rare) |
The i–ø–y ablaut
nyte runs the three vowels i (y) → ø → y:
- present/infinitive stem vowel y: nyte, nyter, nyt!
- preterite ø: n*ø*t
- supine y: nytt
This is the same pattern as a handful of other strong verbs such as bryte ("to break": bryte / brøt / brutt) and fryse ("to freeze": fryse / frøs / frosset) — though each has its own supine vowel, so the preterite ø is the reliable shared signal. Note that nyte has no close English cognate the way finne/find does; the old English relative "to neet" died out, so you cannot lean on a familiar pattern here — the ø in nøt simply has to be memorised.
Vi nyter en kald øl på terrassen hver fredag.
We enjoy a cold beer on the terrace every Friday.
Hun nøt utsikten i stillhet før de andre våknet.
She savoured the view in silence before the others woke up.
Jeg har aldri nytt en ferie så mye som denne.
I've never enjoyed a holiday as much as this one.
Idioms: nyte livet, nyte godt av
Two fixed expressions are worth learning whole:
- nyte livet — "to enjoy life," to live it up. Nå skal vi bare nyte livet. ("Now we're just going to enjoy life.")
- nyte godt av — "to benefit from, reap the benefits of." Here nyte loses its "savour" flavour and means profiting from something: nyte godt av rabatten ("benefit from the discount").
- nyte stor tillit / respekt — (formal) "to enjoy great trust / respect," a set collocation in news and reports.
Etter pensjonen reiser de jorda rundt og nyter livet.
After retirement they're travelling the world and enjoying life.
Studentene nyter godt av billigere billetter.
Students benefit from cheaper tickets.
Direktøren nyter stor respekt blant de ansatte.
The director enjoys great respect among the employees.
nyte vs like vs kose seg
English "enjoy" covers a lot of ground that Norwegian splits across three words:
- nyte — to actively savour something concrete in the moment (food, a view, a moment). Takes a direct object. Jeg nyter kaffen.
- like — to like something in general, including activities: Jeg liker å løpe ("I like running"). This is the default for "enjoy doing": Norwegian rarely says nyte å løpe; it says like å løpe.
- kose seg (reflexive) — to have a nice time, the cozy "good time" feeling, with no object: Vi koser oss ("We're having a lovely time").
So "Did you enjoy the party?" is Koste du deg på festen? — not Nøt du festen? The big takeaway: use nyte when there is a concrete thing you're relishing; reach for like for "enjoy doing," and kose seg for the general good-time feeling.
Likte du filmen, eller var den kjedelig?
Did you enjoy the film, or was it boring?
Vi koste oss skikkelig på hytta i helga.
We had a really lovely time at the cabin this weekend.
Common Mistakes
❌ Jeg nytte måltidet.
Incorrect — nyte is strong; the preterite is nøt (with ø), not a weak *nytte
✅ Jeg nøt måltidet.
I enjoyed the meal.
❌ Har du nøt ferien?
Incorrect — after har use the supine nytt, not the preterite nøt
✅ Har du nytt ferien?
Have you enjoyed your holiday?
❌ Nøt du festen i går?
Incorrect — for 'have a good time at' use kose seg, not nyte
✅ Koste du deg på festen i går?
Did you enjoy the party yesterday?
❌ Jeg nyter å løpe om morgenen.
Marginal — for 'enjoy doing', Norwegian normally uses like, not nyte
✅ Jeg liker å løpe om morgenen.
I enjoy running in the morning.
Key Takeaways
- nyte / nyter / nøt / har nytt / nyt! — strong, ablaut i–ø–y.
- Orthography traps: preterite nøt (with ø); supine nytt, a homograph of nytt ("new").
- Idioms: nyte livet, nyte godt av ("benefit from"), nyte stor respekt (formal).
- Use nyte for savouring a concrete thing; like for "enjoy doing"; kose seg for "have a nice time."
Now practice Norwegian
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Start learning Norwegian→Related Topics
- The Strong Verb Ablaut ClassesB1 — The ablaut (vowel-change) classes of Norwegian strong verbs grouped by pattern — i–a–u, i–e–e, y/ju–ø–ø, a–o–å, e–a–e — each mapped onto its English cognate class so you can often guess the forms.
- 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.
- 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).
- kose seg (to enjoy oneself)A2 — Full conjugation of the weak Class 2 verb kose (kose / koser / koste / har kost), the reflexive kose seg 'to have a cosy, nice time', the homograph trap with koste 'to cost', and the koselig / kos culture behind it.