Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Ingen ringer meg i kveld.

These two are close in meaning, but ingen is shorter and more natural here. Ikke noen can sound a bit heavier or more emphatic, like “absolutely no one” in some contexts.

Why is it “Ingen ringer meg” and not something like “Ingen meg ringer”?

Norwegian main clauses are V2 languages: the finite verb (here ringer) almost always comes in second position in the sentence.

In Ingen ringer meg i kveld:

Ingen = first element
ringer = second element (finite verb)
meg = object
i kveld = time expression

So the pattern is:

(1) [Some element] + (2) [finite verb] + [other stuff]

Ingen meg ringer i kveld breaks this rule, because the verb would no longer be in second position. It sounds ungrammatical to a native speaker.

Correct patterns include:

Ingen ringer meg i kveld.
I kveld ringer ingen meg.
Vanligvis ringer de meg, men i kveld ringer ingen meg.

In all of these, the finite verb (ringer) is in the second slot only.

Why is ringer in the present tense if the meaning is about tonight (future)?

Norwegian very often uses the present tense to talk about the near future, especially with a time expression:

Ingen ringer meg i kveld.
→ Literally: Nobody calls me tonight.
→ Functionally: Nobody is going to call me tonight.

Other examples:

Vi reiser i morgen. → We’re leaving tomorrow.
Han kommer neste uke. → He’s coming next week.

You can express the future explicitly:

Ingen kommer til å ringe meg i kveld.
Ingen skal ringe meg i kveld.

These are grammatically fine, but for simple, neutral statements about what’s expected to happen later the present tense + time expression is very common and sounds natural.

Does ringer always mean “call on the phone,” or could it also mean “ring the doorbell”?

Ringer is simply the verb “to ring” and can mean:

to call (on the phone)
- Hun ringer meg hver dag. → She calls me every day.
to ring a bell / doorbell
- Noen ringer på døra. → Someone is ringing the door.
to ring (make a ringing sound)
- Klokka ringer. → The bell is ringing.

In Ingen ringer meg i kveld, without any extra context, learners (and often natives) will most naturally interpret it as “No one is going to call me (on the phone) tonight.”
If you want to be explicit about the phone, you can say:

Ingen ringer meg på telefon i kveld. (less common; usually context makes this clear)

Why do we say meg and not jeg after ringer?

Jeg and meg are different cases of the 1st person singular pronoun:

jeg = I (subject form)
meg = me (object form)

Norwegian uses jeg as the subject (the “doer” of the action):

Jeg ringer deg. → I call you.

And meg as the object (the receiver of the action):

Han ringer meg. → He calls me.
Ingen ringer meg i kveld. → Nobody calls me tonight.

So in the sentence Ingen ringer meg i kveld:

Ingen is the subject (the one who doesn’t do the calling),
ringer is the verb,
meg is the object (the one who doesn’t get called).

Could you also say “Ingen ringer til meg i kveld”? Is til needed?

You can say:

Ingen ringer til meg i kveld.

This is not wrong, but til is usually not necessary with ringe when you mention the person:

Han ringer meg. (most common)
Han ringer til meg. (also possible, sometimes sounds a bit more “spelled-out” or dialectal)

In everyday standard Norwegian, the most natural form is usually without til:

Ingen ringer meg i kveld.
De ringer oss senere.
Jeg ringer deg i morgen.

Can I move “i kveld” to another place in the sentence, and does that change the meaning?

Yes, i kveld (tonight) is flexible. All of these are grammatical:

Ingen ringer meg i kveld.
Ingen ringer i kveld meg. (strange; usually avoided)
I kveld ringer ingen meg.
I kveld ringer meg ingen. (poetic, marked, or old-fashioned)

In normal speech/writing, you will mainly hear:

Ingen ringer meg i kveld. (neutral; focus on “no one”)
I kveld ringer ingen meg. (puts extra emphasis on “tonight”)

The basic meaning (no one will call you tonight) stays the same. Changing the position mostly affects emphasis and style, not the core meaning.

What’s the difference between “Ingen ringer meg i kveld” and “Ingen vil ringe meg i kveld”?

Both are understandable, but there is a nuance:

Ingen ringer meg i kveld.
→ Neutral prediction or statement about tonight.
→ Like Nobody is going to call me tonight.
Ingen vil ringe meg i kveld.
→ vil = wants/will.
→ Often sounds more like Nobody *wants to call me tonight or Nobody **will call me tonight (with an emphasis on their *willingness/intention).

So:

To state a neutral expectation about the future → Ingen ringer meg i kveld.
To imply lack of desire/intent or stronger emotional nuance → Ingen vil ringe meg i kveld.

Is ingen singular or plural? Can it also mean “no people” in general?

Ingen can cover both singular and plural “people” in this kind of sentence:

Ingen ringer meg i kveld.
→ Nobody / No one calls me tonight.
(This includes the idea “no people (in general) will call me.”)

As a determiner before nouns:

Ingen person ringer. → No person is calling. (singular noun)
Ingen personer ringer. → No people are calling. (plural noun)

But when ingen stands alone as in your sentence, it naturally means “no one / nobody”, without forcing a strict singular/plural distinction the way English does.

Could I use “ingen” to mean “nothing”, or is that a different word?

To say “nothing”, Norwegian normally uses ingenting, not ingen:

Jeg hører ingenting. → I hear nothing.
Ingenting skjer. → Nothing is happening.

Ingen is used for people (no one) or as “no” before a noun:

Ingen ringer meg. → No one calls me.
Ingen venner ringer meg. → No friends call me.

So:

Ingen → no one / nobody / no + noun
Ingenting → nothing