Jeg føler meg annerledes i dag.

I feel different today.

Breakdown of Jeg føler meg annerledes i dag.

• jeg: I
• i dag: today
• føle seg: to feel
• annerledes: different

Questions & Answers about Jeg føler meg annerledes i dag.

Why do we say jeg føler meg and not just jeg føler?

In Norwegian, when feel means “feel (emotionally/physically) in myself”, the verb is normally å føle seg (a reflexive verb).

• jeg føler meg = I feel (myself), i.e. I feel… (emotion/condition).
• jeg føler on its own sounds incomplete and usually expects an object:
  • Jeg føler kulden. = I feel the cold.
  • Jeg føler smerte. = I feel pain.

So in Jeg føler meg annerledes i dag, meg is required because the verb is used reflexively: I feel different (in myself) today.

What exactly is meg doing here? Is it reflexive, and why not meg selv?

Yes, meg here is the reflexive object pronoun matching the subject jeg. The pattern is:

• jeg føler meg
• du føler deg
• han/hun føler seg
• vi føler oss
• dere føler dere
• de føler seg

Meg selv means “myself” in a more emphatic sense, like English “I myself” or “myself (and not someone else)”:

• Jeg føler meg annerledes i dag. = I feel different today. (normal)
• Jeg føler meg selv annerledes i dag. = odd / awkward in this context
  You’d only use meg selv to stress identity, e.g. Jeg kjenner ikke meg selv igjen. (I don’t recognize myself.)

So in your sentence, simple meg is the correct and natural form.

Can I say Jeg føler annerledes i dag without meg?

No, that sounds wrong to native speakers.

• Norwegian doesn’t normally use å føle intransitively (without an object) with the meaning “to feel (a certain way)”.
• To say “I feel different” about yourself, you use å føle seg:
  • ✅ Jeg føler meg annerledes i dag.
• Jeg føler annerledes i dag would be interpreted as “I feel (something) differently today” but with the “something” missing, so it feels incomplete and ungrammatical in practice.

Is the word order fixed, or can I also say I dag føler jeg meg annerledes?

Both are correct, with slightly different emphasis:

• Jeg føler meg annerledes i dag.
  Neutral; normal statement. Slight focus on how you feel.

• I dag føler jeg meg annerledes.
  Also natural. Puts extra emphasis on i dag (today, as opposed to other days).

Both obey Norwegian V2 word order (the finite verb in second position):

• I dag (adverbial) – føler (verb) – jeg (subject) – meg annerledes (rest).

Could I say Jeg føler meg i dag annerledes, like in English “I feel today different”?

That word order is very unnatural in Norwegian.

The typical orders are:

• ✅ Jeg føler meg annerledes i dag.
• ✅ I dag føler jeg meg annerledes.

Putting i dag between meg and annerledes (Jeg føler meg i dag annerledes) sounds clumsy and unidiomatic. Time expressions like i dag usually go:

• At the beginning: I dag føler jeg meg annerledes.
• Or later, after the main verb phrase: Jeg føler meg annerledes i dag.

What kind of word is annerledes? Does it change for gender or plural?

Annerledes is an indeclinable adjective/adverb meaning roughly “different(ly)”.

• It does not change for gender, number, or definiteness:
  • Jeg føler meg annerledes. – I feel different.
  • Situasjonen er annerledes. – The situation is different.
  • Ting er annerledes nå. – Things are different now.

So there is no annerledese, annerledeser, etc. It always stays annerledes.

What is the difference between annerledes and forskjellig?

Both can mean “different”, but they’re used a bit differently.

Annerledes:

• Often about being different in a general or qualitative way.
• Very common with feelings, states, situations:
  • Jeg føler meg annerledes i dag. – I feel different today.
  • Alt er annerledes nå. – Everything is different now.

Forskjellig:

• Frequently used about several things being different from each other:
  • Vi har forskjellige meninger. – We have different opinions.
  • De bor på forskjellige steder. – They live in different places.

You can say jeg føler meg forskjellig, but for how you feel in yourself, annerledes is much more natural.

How would I say “I am feeling different today” in Norwegian? Is there a continuous tense?

Norwegian does not have a special continuous/progressive tense like English “am feeling”. You simply use the present tense:

• Jeg føler meg annerledes i dag.
  = I feel different today / I am feeling different today.

The same Norwegian sentence covers both English nuances. If you really want to stress right now / temporarily, you can add an adverb:

• Akkurat nå føler jeg meg annerledes. – Right now I’m feeling different.

Can I drop the jeg and just say Føler meg annerledes i dag?

In standard Norwegian, you normally must keep the subject pronoun:

• ✅ Jeg føler meg annerledes i dag.
• ❌ Føler meg annerledes i dag. (grammatically incomplete in normal writing/speech)

You might see Føler meg annerledes i dag in very informal texts (e.g. SMS, social media), but it’s not considered correct standard grammar. Norwegian is not a “pro-drop” language like Spanish or Italian; the subject pronoun is usually required.

Can I also say Jeg er annerledes i dag? Is that the same meaning?

They are related but not identical:

• Jeg føler meg annerledes i dag.
  Focus on your subjective feeling. Maybe your mood, energy, or state of mind is different.

• Jeg er annerledes i dag.
  Sounds more like a statement about your identity or behavior being different today. It can sound more objective or like someone else might notice it too.

In most situations about mood or internal state, Jeg føler meg annerledes i dag is the more natural choice.

Why is it i dag and not i dagen? And what about idag?

• i dag (two words) is an adverb meaning “today”. It’s treated like a fixed expression:

  • i dag, i morgen (tomorrow), i går (yesterday).

• i dagen would literally mean “in the day”, usually referring to daytime as a period, not to today:

  • Om dagen er det varmt. – In the daytime it’s warm.

• The officially correct spelling is i dag (two words).
  You might still see idag as one word (older spelling, still common informally), but in standard modern writing you should use i dag.

How do you conjugate å føle (seg)?

The verb å føle (to feel) is a regular -e verb:

• å føle (seg) – to feel (oneself)
• jeg føler meg – I feel (myself)
• jeg følte meg – I felt (myself) [past]
• jeg har følt meg – I have felt (myself) [present perfect]

Examples:

• I går følte jeg meg annerledes. – Yesterday I felt different.
• Jeg har aldri følt meg så bra. – I have never felt so good.