si (to say) | Norwegian Grammar

This is the conjugation reference for si, "to say." It is short, irregular, and extremely common — the default verb for reporting words and opinions. Two things need watching: the forms are unpredictable (present sier, preterite sa, supine sagt), and Norwegian splits "say / tell / speak" across three verbs — si, fortelle, snakke — whose boundaries don't line up exactly with English.

Principal parts

Si is irregular: the present sier and supine sagt don't follow from the infinitive. Note the silent g in sagt (it sounds like "saht"), and the bare preterite sa (just two letters).

Infinitive	Present	Preterite	Perfect (har + supine)	Imperative
å si	sier	sa	har sagt	si!
to say	say(s)	said	have said	say!

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The g in sagt is silent — it's pronounced "saht," not "sagt." This is the same silent-g-before-t pattern you see in lagt (from legge): the written g survives from older spelling but isn't sounded. (The preterite sa has no g to begin with — just two letters.)

Hva sier du? Jeg hørte deg ikke.

What did you say? I didn't hear you.

Han sa ingenting og gikk.

He said nothing and left.

Jeg har sagt det før, og jeg sier det igjen.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again.

si vs. fortelle vs. snakke: say / tell / speak

English already splits these three verbs, so the concept is familiar — but the boundaries differ, which is where errors creep in. The full treatment is on choosing/si-fortelle-snakke; here is the working distinction:

si = say — report words or an opinion. Focus on what is said. A recipient is optional (added with til).
fortelle = tell — relate or inform. Strongly wants a recipient and often a story/content: fortelle noen noe.
snakke = speak / talk — the activity of talking, and the verb for languages: snakke norsk.

Hun sa at hun var sliten.

She said (that) she was tired.

Hun fortalte meg om turen til Italia.

She told me about the trip to Italy.

Snakker du norsk?

Do you speak Norwegian?

The classic transfer error is using si where Norwegian wants fortelle, because English "tell" sometimes maps to each. A reliable test: if there's a person being informed (a "to"-object), Norwegian usually wants fortelle — fortelle meg, not si meg. To attach a recipient to si, you must use the particle til (next section).

Particles: si til, si fra, si imot

Adding a particle reshapes si into distinct, very common verbs:

si (noe) til (noen) — to say something to someone; with a bare object, "tell (someone to do something)":

Kan du si til Marius at møtet er flyttet?

Can you tell Marius the meeting's been moved?

Mamma sa til meg at jeg måtte rydde rommet.

Mum told me I had to tidy my room.

si fra — to let (someone) know, to speak up, to give a heads-up:

Si fra hvis du trenger hjelp.

Let me know if you need help.

Du må si fra i tide, ellers rekker vi det ikke.

You have to give us notice in time, or we won't make it.

si imot — to contradict, to talk back:

Det er vanskelig å si imot sjefen.

It's hard to contradict the boss.

Note that si til and si fra both cover senses English would handle with "tell" or "let know" — another reason si and fortelle feel slippery. Treat each particle combination as its own vocabulary item.

Reported speech: si at...

To report what someone said, use si at + a clause. The conjunction at ("that") is often dropped in speech, exactly as in English:

Legen sier at jeg må hvile en uke.

The doctor says (that) I have to rest for a week.

Han sa (at) han skulle komme senere.

He said (that) he would come later.

This is the gateway to indirect speech in Norwegian — tense and pronoun shifts, when at is required, and how questions are reported are covered on complex/reported-speech.

The imperative: si

The command is si (the bare stem):

Si det igjen — jeg fikk det ikke med meg.

Say it again — I didn't catch it.

Si fra når du er klar.

Let me know when you're ready.

Common Mistakes

❌ Hun sa meg om turen.

Incorrect — to inform someone of something, use fortelle, not si.

✅ Hun fortalte meg om turen.

She told me about the trip.

❌ Har du sa det?

Incorrect — the supine is sagt; sa is the preterite, not the perfect form.

✅ Har du sagt det?

Have you said it?

❌ Jeg har sagd det før.

Incorrect — it's spelled sagt (with a silent g), not 'sagd'.

✅ Jeg har sagt det før.

I've said it before.

❌ Kan du si Marius at møtet er flyttet?

Incorrect — to say something to someone, you need si TIL.

✅ Kan du si til Marius at møtet er flyttet?

Can you tell Marius the meeting's been moved?

❌ Sier du norsk?

Incorrect — for languages use snakke, not si.

✅ Snakker du norsk?

Do you speak Norwegian?

Key Takeaways

si / sier / sa / sagt, imperative si — irregular present sier, two-letter preterite sa, silent-g supine sagt.
si = say (words/opinion); fortelle = tell (inform a recipient); snakke = speak/talk and the verb for languages.
If there's a person being informed, Norwegian usually wants fortelle — or si til to attach a recipient.
Key particles: si til (tell), si fra (let know / speak up), si imot (contradict). Reported speech uses si at....

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