Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Vi snakker ærlig med hverandre.

Vi snakker ærlig med hverandre.

We speak honestly with each other.

Breakdown of Vi snakker ærlig med hverandre.

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Questions & Answers about Vi snakker ærlig med hverandre.

What is the difference between snakker and snakke?

Snakke is the infinitive form, like to speak / to talk in English.
Snakker is the present tense form, like speak / talk or am speaking / are talking.

So:

Vi vil snakke. = We want to talk. (infinitive)
Vi snakker. = We talk / are talking. (present tense)

Why is it ærlig and not ærlige or ærligt here?

In this sentence, ærlig functions as an adverb (honestly), describing how we talk.

In Norwegian, many adjectives form adverbs by adding -t (for example: god → godt).
But adjectives ending in -lig / -ig / -sk usually keep the same form as adverbs:

vanlig → vanlig (ordinary → ordinarily / usually)
ærlige is the plural/adjective form (e.g., ærlige mennesker = honest people), not used as an adverb.
ærligt is Danish spelling, not Norwegian.

So ærlig is correct as an adverb here: snakker ærlig = speak honestly.

Could I say Vi ærlig snakker med hverandre instead?

No, that sounds ungrammatical in Norwegian.

The neutral word order is:

Subject – Verb – (Adverb) – (Rest)

So:

Vi snakker ærlig med hverandre. ✅
Vi ærlig snakker med hverandre. ❌ (wrong placement of the adverb)

In main clauses, the verb normally comes directly after the subject (the V2 rule), and adverbs like ærlig usually come after the verb.

What is the difference between snakker med and snakker til?

Both can translate to talk to, but they feel different:

snakke med (noen) = talk with someone, more two‑way, like a conversation.
- Vi snakker ærlig med hverandre. = We talk honestly with each other (both speak).
snakke til (noen) = speak to someone, can sound more one‑way, or like addressing/lecturing someone.
- Læreren snakker til elevene. = The teacher speaks to the students.

In your sentence, snakker med hverandre is better, because it clearly suggests mutual conversation.

Do we need the word med? Can we say Vi snakker ærlig hverandre?

You must keep med here. Without med, the sentence is wrong:

Vi snakker ærlig med hverandre. ✅
Vi snakker ærlig hverandre. ❌ (ungrammatical)

The verb snakke usually needs a preposition (med, til, om, etc.) when you add an object like hverandre:

snakke med noen – talk with someone
snakke til noen – speak to someone
snakke om noe – talk about something

What exactly does hverandre mean, and when do we use it?

Hverandre means each other / one another. It’s a reciprocal pronoun, used when two or more people do something mutually:

Vi hjelper hverandre. = We help each other.
De kjenner hverandre godt. = They know each other well.

Important points:

It’s only used for 2+ people, never just one person.
It can’t stand alone without some verb or preposition that connects people:
you need things like med hverandre, for hverandre, til hverandre, etc.

In your sentence, med hverandre = with each other.

Could I say Vi snakker ærlig sammen instead of med hverandre?

Yes, that is natural Norwegian, with a very similar meaning:

Vi snakker ærlig med hverandre.
Vi snakker ærlig sammen.

Both are understood as We talk honestly with each other.

Nuance:

med hverandre emphasizes each other explicitly.
sammen (together) focuses a bit more on the togetherness / shared activity, but in practice they often overlap.

Does snakker here mean “speak” or “talk”?

Snakker covers both English verbs speak and talk, depending on context.

snakke norsk = speak Norwegian
snakke med venner = talk with friends

In your sentence, Vi snakker ærlig med hverandre is best translated as We talk honestly with each other, but We speak honestly with each other is also possible. English makes a bigger distinction between speak and talk than Norwegian does.

Does snakker mean “speak” or “are speaking”? How do you show the difference?

Norwegian snakker covers both English present simple and present continuous:

Vi snakker ærlig med hverandre.
= We speak honestly with each other.
= We are speaking honestly with each other.

Context decides whether you understand it as something habitual or something happening right now. Norwegian normally doesn’t need two different forms like English does.

How do you pronounce ærlig and hverandre?

Approximate pronunciation (Standard Eastern Norwegian):

ærlig: [æːr-li]
- æ like the a in “cat” but longer.
- r usually tapped/flapped.
- lig like “lee” (not like English “lig”).
hverandre: often pronounced more like [ve-ˈran-dre] (the h is usually silent, so it sounds like verandre).
- The hv combination is generally pronounced as v in most modern speech.

Regional accents vary, but this is a good general guide.

Does ærlig here mean “honest” or “frank / blunt”?

Ærlig mainly means honest, but in context it can also carry shades of frank / candid.

In Vi snakker ærlig med hverandre:

The basic idea: We are truthful with each other.
It can also imply we don’t hide things, we’re open, maybe even a bit direct.

Tone and context decide whether it feels warmly honest, brutally honest, etc.—the Norwegian ærlig is flexible in the same way as English honest / honest(ly).