Vi kondolerer med familien.

Kondolerer is the present tense of the verb å kondolere, which means to offer condolences or to express sympathy after a death.

So:

• å kondolere = to offer condolences
• jeg kondolerer = I offer my condolences
• vi kondolerer = we offer our condolences

In this sentence, the verb itself carries the idea of offering condolences, so Norwegian does not need a separate noun like condolences the way English often does.

Because this is a performative use of the verb: by saying it, you are doing the action.

English does the same thing in sentences like:

• I apologize
• We thank you
• I promise

So Vi kondolerer med familien means something like We hereby offer our condolences to/with the family. The present tense is completely natural here.

Vi means we, so the sentence sounds like it is being said:

• by a group of people
• by a family
• by a company or organization
• in a card, letter, or formal message sent from more than one person

If one person is speaking alone, they could say:

• Jeg kondolerer = I offer my condolences

So vi is not required by the grammar of the verb; it just depends on who is speaking.

This is mainly something you have to learn as part of the Norwegian expression. Prepositions often do not match English word-for-word.

Here, med literally means with, but in this kind of sentence it expresses sympathy toward the affected person or group. A useful way to think of it is that Norwegian is using the pattern of condoling with someone rather than English offering condolences to someone.

So the safest approach is:

• learn kondolere med ... as a set pattern
• do not translate the preposition mechanically from English

In Norwegian, the definite article is often attached to the end of the noun.

So:

• familie = family
• familien = the family

The ending -en is the definite article here. That is why Norwegian does not need a separate word like the before the noun.

It means the family as a group.

Even though familien is grammatically singular, it refers to the family collectively. This is very normal in both Norwegian and English.

So here it means the bereaved family as a whole, not just one individual family member.

Yes, it sounds fairly formal and is especially natural in:

• written condolences
• announcements
• cards
• messages from a group or organization

In everyday speech, people might also use shorter or more personal expressions, such as:

• Kondolerer.
• Jeg føler med dere. = I feel for you.
• Vi tenker på dere. = We are thinking of you.

So the sentence is correct and natural, but it has a somewhat formal tone.

Yes. Kondolerer by itself is very common and natural.

It works a bit like English My condolences or Sorry for your loss: the subject is understood from the situation.

So all of these are possible, depending on context:

• Kondolerer.
• Jeg kondolerer.
• Vi kondolerer.
• Vi kondolerer med familien.

The shorter forms are especially common in speech.