Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Jeg vil spise noe godt.

Jeg vil spise noe godt = I want to eat something good.
Norwegian does not use vil as a neutral future tense helper the way English uses will.
To talk about the future, Norwegians more often:
- use the present tense with a time expression: Jeg spiser senere (I’ll eat later),
- or use skal: Jeg skal spise senere (I’m going to eat later).

Here vil expresses desire, not just future time.

Why is it spise and not spiser in this sentence?

Because vil is a modal verb, and in Norwegian modal verbs are followed by the infinitive form of the main verb (without å).

Infinitive: å spise = to eat
After a modal verb: drop å → spise

Examples:

Jeg vil spise. = I want to eat.
Jeg kan spise. = I can eat.
Jeg må spise. = I must eat.

So vil spise is the correct pattern, not vil spiser.

What exactly does noe mean here?

Noe is an indefinite pronoun that usually means something (or anything, depending on context).

In Jeg vil spise noe godt:

noe = something (unspecified thing)
godt describes that something as good/tasty.

So the phrase noe godt is like something good / something tasty, without saying exactly what food.

Why is it godt and not god or gode?

The adjective god (good) changes form depending on gender/number:

god – masculine/feminine singular: en god bok (a good book)
godt – neuter singular or used more adverbially: et godt eple (a good apple)
gode – plural or after den / det / de: gode bøker (good books)

Noe behaves like a neuter, unspecified thing, so the adjective must be in the neuter form:

noe godt (something good)
literally: some (neuter) good (neuter)

So noe god is ungrammatical; it must be noe godt.

Could I say Jeg vil spise noe god instead?

No, Jeg vil spise noe god is incorrect.

Reason:

noe is treated as neuter,
so the adjective has to match and be godt (neuter form).

Correct options:

Jeg vil spise noe godt. (I want to eat something good.)
If you name a specific neuter noun: Jeg vil spise et godt eple. (I want to eat a good apple.)

Is Jeg vil spise noe godt the most natural way to say this, or should I use har lyst?

Both are common, but they differ slightly in tone:

Jeg vil spise noe godt.
- Literally I want to eat something good.
- More direct; can sound a bit stronger or more decisive.
Jeg har lyst til å spise noe godt.
- Literally I have a desire to eat something good.
- Feels a bit softer or more neutral; often used in everyday speech.

In casual conversation, many people prefer Jeg har lyst til å ..., especially if they want to be polite or less demanding. But Jeg vil spise noe godt is still perfectly correct and natural.

Where would ikke go if I want to say I don’t want to eat something good?

With modal verbs like vil, ikke usually comes after the modal:

Jeg vil ikke spise noe godt.
= I do not want to eat something good.

General pattern:

Jeg vil ikke + infinitive
Jeg kan ikke komme. (I cannot come.)
Jeg må ikke gå. (I must not go.)

Can I change the word order, like Jeg vil noe godt spise?

No, that word order is not natural Norwegian.

The normal order here is:

Subject: Jeg
Modal verb: vil
Main verb (infinitive): spise
Object / rest: noe godt

So:

✅ Jeg vil spise noe godt.
❌ Jeg vil noe godt spise.

You can move adverbs and time expressions, but the vil + spise block usually stays together:

I kveld vil jeg spise noe godt. (Tonight I want to eat something good.)
Jeg vil gjerne spise noe godt. (I would like to eat something good.)

Does vil always mean want, or can it also mean will / would like in English?

Its core meaning is want. But:

Want:
- Jeg vil spise. = I want to eat.
Will as in be willing / insist:
- Han vil ikke komme. = He will not come / He refuses to come.
It can sometimes talk about the future, but then it also implies willingness or tendency, not just neutral future time:
- Det vil regne. (It is likely to rain / It will rain.) – more about probability.

In everyday speech, if you just want to express a neutral future, you usually do not use vil the same way English uses will. You use the present or skal instead.

How do I pronounce Jeg vil spise noe godt?

In a fairly standard Eastern Norwegian pronunciation:

Jeg ≈ jai or jæi (often shortened to something like jæ in fast speech)
vil ≈ vil (short i, like vil in village)
spise ≈ SPEE-seh
- spi: long ee sound
- se: seh
noe ≈ NOO-eh or in fast speech often no (one syllable, like English no)
godt ≈ got (short o, and you hear a little t at the end)

The stress pattern is: JEG vil SPI-se NO-e GODT, with the strongest stress on SPI- and GODT.

Is noe godt singular or plural? What if I mean some good things (plural)?

Noe godt is singular/uncountable in feel. It’s like saying:

something good
some good stuff
something tasty

It does not emphasize plural items; it’s more about an unspecified portion or thing.

If you want a clear plural meaning:

Jeg vil spise noen gode ting. = I want to eat some good things.
Jeg vil spise noen gode kaker. = I want to eat some good cakes.

But in many everyday contexts, noe godt is enough and very natural, even if in reality it might be several items (like cookies, snacks, etc.).

Can godt here also mean tasty, not just morally good?

Yes. With food and eating, god/godt almost always means tasty / delicious, not morally good.

noe godt ≈ something tasty / a treat
god mat = good/tasty food
Det var veldig godt! = That was very tasty!

So Jeg vil spise noe godt is naturally understood as I want to eat something tasty.