Det var feigt å gå.

Here det is a dummy subject, similar to English it in sentences like It was stupid to say that or It is nice to sleep in.

So Det var feigt å gå literally follows the same pattern:

• Det = it
• var = was
• feigt = cowardly
• å gå = to go / to leave

The det does not refer to a specific thing. It is just there because Norwegian sentences normally need a subject.

Var is the past tense of å være (to be).

So:

• Det er feigt å gå = It is cowardly to go
• Det var feigt å gå = It was cowardly to go

The sentence you have is talking about something in the past, or making a judgment about an action that already happened.

This is because feig is an adjective, and here it is being used with det.

In Norwegian, adjectives often change form depending on what they describe:

• en feig mann = a cowardly man
• ei feig handling = a cowardly action
• et feigt valg = a cowardly choice
• Det var feigt = It was cowardly

The -t ending is the form commonly used with et-words and with this kind of det is/was ... to ... structure.

Å is the infinitive marker, like English to in to go.

So:

• gå = go / walk
• å gå = to go / to walk

In this sentence, å gå is an infinitive phrase that functions a bit like the real subject of the sentence:

• Det var feigt å gå = It was cowardly to go

You can think of it as: To go was cowardly, but Norwegian normally uses the det ... å ... structure instead.

That is the normal and natural word order in this kind of sentence.

Norwegian often uses this pattern:

• Det er + adjective + å + infinitive
• Det var + adjective + å + infinitive

Examples:

• Det er hyggelig å hjelpe. = It is nice to help.
• Det er vanskelig å forstå. = It is difficult to understand.
• Det var feigt å gå. = It was cowardly to go.

Putting å gå at the end is completely normal here.

Yes, gå often means walk, but it can also mean go or leave, depending on context.

Common meanings of gå include:

• to walk
• to go
• to leave
• sometimes even to function / run for machines, depending on context

In Det var feigt å gå, the most natural meaning is often to leave or to go away, though the exact meaning depends on the situation.

So a learner should not always translate gå as only walk.

Yes, that is grammatically possible.

• Å gå var feigt = To go was cowardly
• Det var feigt å gå = It was cowardly to go

Both are understandable, but Det var feigt å gå sounds more natural in everyday Norwegian. This is similar to English, where It was cowardly to go usually sounds more natural than To go was cowardly.

Yes, usually it is fairly strong. Feig means cowardly, craven, or sometimes lacking courage. It is a negative judgment.

So Det var feigt å gå does not just describe an action neutrally—it criticizes it.

Depending on context, it might mean something like:

• leaving showed a lack of courage
• going away was the cowardly choice
• the person should have stayed and faced the situation

Not directly. The sentence itself does not name who did the action.

Det var feigt å gå just says that the action of leaving/going was cowardly. Who did it has to come from context.

If you want to name the person, Norwegian often uses a different structure, for example:

• Det var feigt av ham å gå. = It was cowardly of him to leave.
• Det var feigt av henne å gå. = It was cowardly of her to leave.

So your original sentence is more general unless the wider context makes the person clear.

Yes, absolutely.

• Det var feigt å gå = It was cowardly to leave.
• Det var feigt av ham å gå = It was cowardly of him to leave.

The phrase av ham tells you whose action is being judged.

This is a very common pattern in Norwegian:

• Det var snilt av deg å hjelpe. = It was kind of you to help.
• Det var dumt av meg å si det. = It was stupid of me to say that.
• Det var feigt av ham å gå. = It was cowardly of him to leave.

It is actually very similar to English.

Compare:

• Det var feigt å gå
• It was cowardly to leave

Both languages use:

1. a dummy subject (det / it)
2. a form of to be (var / was)
3. an adjective (feigt / cowardly)
4. an infinitive phrase (å gå / to leave)

So for an English speaker, this sentence structure is one of the easier ones to understand.

Yes, very easily. This is a productive and common pattern in Norwegian.

For example:

• Det var dumt å gå. = It was stupid to leave.
• Det var smart å gå. = It was smart to leave.
• Det var riktig å gå. = It was right to leave.
• Det var vanskelig å gå. = It was difficult to leave.

So once you understand Det var feigt å gå, you can use the same structure with many other adjectives.