……
Questions & Answers about Hvor mye tid har vi?
Why is it hvor mye and not hvor mange?
Use mye with uncountable/mass nouns, and mange with countable plural nouns.
- mye
- uncountable: Hvor mye tid har vi? (time as a mass/quantity)
- mange
- countable plural: Hvor mange timer/minutter har vi? (hours/minutes you can count)
Can I say Hvor lang tid har vi? Is there a difference?
Yes, it’s also natural. Both mean roughly the same in this context. Nuance:
- Hvor lang tid har vi? is very idiomatic when asking about the length of a period.
- Hvor mye tid har vi? frames time as a quantity of a resource you possess. In everyday speech, many Norwegians would prefer Hvor lang tid in similar questions, but your original sentence is perfectly fine.
Can I say Hvor lenge har vi?
On its own, it sounds incomplete. Use one of these:
- Hvor lenge har vi igjen? (How long do we have left?)
- Hvor lenge har vi rommet? (How long do we have the room?)
- Hvor lenge har vi på oss? (How long are we allowed/have to finish?) Without an object or igjen, Hvor lenge har vi? is uncommon.
What word order rule puts har before vi here?
Norwegian main clauses follow the V2 rule: the finite verb is in second position. In wh‑questions:
- [Wh‑phrase] + [verb] + [subject] + [rest] So Hvor mye tid (one constituent) + har (verb) + vi (subject). Examples: Når drar vi?, Hvilken buss tar du?
Do I need an article with tid?
No, not in this meaning. Tid is uncountable when it means time in general, so no article: mye tid, lite tid. With a different meaning (a period/era), you can use an article: en/ei tid, denne tiden/tida.
Is tid countable at all? What about its plural?
Yes, but with a different sense. The plural tider means “times/eras/occasions”:
- i gamle tider (in olden times)
- i disse tider (in these times) To count duration, use units like timer (hours), minutter (minutes): to timer, tre minutter.
How do I ask the yes/no version “Do we have time?”
Har vi tid? Possible answers: Ja, vi har tid / Nei, vi har ikke tid. Add purpose with til: Har vi tid til et møte?
How do I say “How much time do we have left?”
Use igjen:
- Hvor mye tid har vi igjen?
- Also common: Hvor lang tid har vi igjen?
How do I add a purpose or task to the question?
Two common options:
- til å + infinitive (for doing something): Hvor mye tid har vi til å gjøre dette?
- Idiomatic på oss (time allowed to finish): Hvor mye tid har vi på oss?
What’s the pronunciation? Any silent letters?
Approximate Standard East Norwegian:
- hvor: [vʊr] or [vuːr] (the h in hv is silent)
- mye: [ˈmʏːe] (roughly “MY-eh”)
- tid: [tiː] or [tiːd] (final d often weak/silent depending on dialect)
- har: [hɑːr] (h pronounced; r trilled or tapped)
- vi: [viː] Natural intonation typically stresses mye and vi.
Can I drop the pronoun vi?
No. Norwegian isn’t a pro‑drop language; you need the subject: har vi. Omitting vi would be ungrammatical in standard Norwegian.
Is har only possession? Why “have time”?
Like English, ha covers possession and availability:
- ha tid = have time available Related verbs/phrases:
- få tid (til) = get/find time (to)
- ta seg tid (til) = take the time (to)
- bruke tid (på) = spend time (on)
- får vi tid …? can imply “will we get the chance/have enough time?”
Is Hvor meget tid har vi? acceptable?
It’s very formal/old‑fashioned in Norwegian Bokmål and sounds Danish‑like. Prefer Hvor mye tid har vi?
How do I ask “How long will it take?” Is it the same pattern?
Use tar (takes), not har (have):
- Hvor lang tid tar det?
- Hvor lang tid tar det å gjøre dette? Saying Hvor mye tid tar det? is less idiomatic; Hvor lang tid is standard here.
How do I express “We don’t have much time” or “We have plenty of time”?
- Vi har ikke mye tid / Vi har lite tid (we don’t have much/little time)
- Vi har mye tid (we have a lot of time)
- Idioms: Vi har god tid (plenty of time), Vi har dårlig tid (we’re short on time)
What are the Nynorsk equivalents?
In Nynorsk you’d typically say: Kor mykje tid har vi? (also har me?).
Other words change too: mykje (Nynorsk) vs mye (Bokmål), kor vs hvor.
More from this lesson
AI Language TutorTry it ↗
“What's the best way to learn Norwegian grammar?”
Norwegian grammar becomes intuitive with practice. Focus on understanding the core patterns first — how sentences are structured, how verbs change form, and how words relate to each other. Our course breaks these concepts into small lessons so you can build understanding step by step.
Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor
Start learning NorwegianMaster Norwegian — from Hvor mye tid har vi to fluency
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods.
- ✓ Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
- ✓ Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
- ✓ Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
- ✓ AI tutor to answer your grammar questions