Ikke stirr på meg.

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Breakdown of Ikke stirr på meg.

• ikke: not
• meg: me
• stirre: to stare

Questions & Answers about Ikke stirr på meg.

Why does ikke come first in this sentence?

Because this is a negative command. In Norwegian, negative imperatives are commonly formed with ikke + imperative:

• Stirr på meg. = Stare at me.
• Ikke stirr på meg. = Don’t stare at me.

So even though ikke often comes later in other sentence types, in this kind of command it normally comes first.

What form of the verb is stirr?

Stirr is the imperative form of å stirre (to stare).

A very common way to make the imperative in Bokmål is to remove the infinitive ending -e:

• å stirre → stirr
• å snakke → snakk
• å vente → vent

So stirr! means stare!

Why is there no word for you in the sentence?

Because commands in Norwegian usually leave out the subject, just like English often does.

Compare:

• English: Don’t stare at me.
• Norwegian: Ikke stirr på meg.

The you is understood. Depending on context, it could mean you singular or plural.

Why is it på meg and not just meg?