Vi mislyktes i går.

Mislyktes is the past tense of the verb å mislykkes, which means to fail.

So:

• å mislykkes = to fail
• mislyktes = failed

This verb is often used when something did not succeed, rather than when someone actively fails something in the English sense.

Because å mislykkes is its own verb in Norwegian. It is built from:

• lykkes = to succeed
• mislykkes = to fail / to not succeed

So mislyktes is not just succeeded not. It is a separate verb meaning failed.

Compare:

• Vi lyktes. = We succeeded.
• Vi mislyktes. = We failed.

It is in the simple past tense.

• Vi = we
• mislyktes = failed
• i går = yesterday

So the whole sentence means We failed yesterday.

The past tense is shown by the verb form mislyktes.

Norwegian often uses the simple past directly, just like English can:

• Vi mislyktes i går. = We failed yesterday.

You could also use a perfect construction in some contexts:

• Vi har mislyktes. = We have failed.

But with a clear past-time expression like i går (yesterday), the simple past is the most natural choice:

• Vi mislyktes i går.

That is very similar to English, where We have failed yesterday is not natural, but We failed yesterday is.

I går means yesterday.

It is a fixed expression:

• i = in
• går = historically related to an older time word, but in modern Norwegian you should simply learn i går as the set phrase meaning yesterday

So don’t try to translate it word-for-word. Just remember:

• i går = yesterday

Because in Norwegian, i går is normally written as two separate words.

This is just the standard spelling of the expression meaning yesterday.

Other common time expressions also use more than one word, for example:

• i dag = today
• i morgen = tomorrow

So it is best to learn these as fixed phrases.

Yes. You can say:

• I går mislyktes vi.

This also means We failed yesterday.

But when a time expression comes first in a Norwegian main clause, the finite verb usually comes second. That is why it is:

• I går mislyktes vi
• not I går vi mislyktes

This is an example of the common Norwegian V2 word order rule.

Because in a normal Norwegian main clause, the usual order is:

subject + verb + other information

So:

• Vi = subject
• mislyktes = verb
• i går = time expression

That gives:

• Vi mislyktes i går.

Putting i går between the subject and verb is generally not the normal word order in a simple statement.

No, it is not normally reflexive.

You say:

• Vi mislyktes. = We failed.

You do not need a reflexive pronoun like oss here.

That can be helpful for English speakers, because some Norwegian verbs do require reflexive forms, but å mislykkes does not.

A rough learner-friendly pronunciation is:

MIS-lyk-tes

A few helpful points:

• The stress is usually on the first syllable: MIS
• The y sound in Norwegian is not the same as English y. It is a rounded vowel that many English speakers find tricky.
• The kt cluster in -lyktes should both be pronounced.

A rough approximation for English speakers might be:

MEES-lyuk-tes or MISS-lük-tes

But the Norwegian y does not have a perfect English equivalent.

Yes, depending on context.

Vi mislyktes is a very natural way to say we failed, especially when a plan, attempt, or effort did not succeed.

But Norwegian can express similar ideas in other ways, for example:

• Det gikk ikke. = It didn’t work.
• Vi klarte det ikke. = We didn’t manage it.
• Vi feilet. = We failed.

Of these, Vi mislyktes often sounds a bit more formal or neutral than Det gikk ikke, which is very common in everyday speech.

You would usually put ikke after the verb:

• Vi mislyktes ikke i går.

That means:

• We didn’t fail yesterday.

This follows the normal pattern in a main clause:

subject + verb + ikke + other information

So:

• Vi = subject
• mislyktes = verb
• ikke = not
• i går = yesterday

Yes, vi is the Norwegian subject pronoun meaning we.

In this sentence:

• Vi mislyktes i går. = We failed yesterday.

It is the subject of the sentence, just like we in English.

Yes, that is a possible interpretation in terms of overall meaning.

Vi mislyktes i går most directly means We failed yesterday, but depending on context, a more natural English translation could be:

• We were unsuccessful yesterday
• Our attempt failed yesterday
• We didn’t succeed yesterday

The exact English wording depends on what kind of failure is being described.