Vi kjenner hverandre godt.

We know each other well.

Breakdown of Vi kjenner hverandre godt.

• vi: we
• hverandre: each other
• godt: well
• kjenne: to know

Questions & Answers about Vi kjenner hverandre godt.

What exactly does kjenner mean here, and how is it different from vet?

In this sentence, kjenner means “to know (a person), to be familiar with”.

Norwegian has two common verbs that translate to “to know” in English:

• kjenne – to know a person, a place, or something through personal experience

  • Vi kjenner hverandre godt. = We know each other well.
  • Jeg kjenner henne. = I know her (personally).
  • Jeg kjenner byen godt. = I know the city well.

• vite – to know a fact, some information, or the answer to a question

  • Jeg vet det. = I know that.
  • Vet du hva klokka er? = Do you know what time it is?
  • Han vet at jeg kommer. = He knows that I’m coming.

So in Vi kjenner hverandre godt, kjenner is correct because it’s about knowing people, not knowing facts.

Why do we say hverandre and not oss in this sentence?

• hverandre means “each other / one another” and is used when the subject is plural and the action goes back and forth between the people:

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

• oss just means “us” (the object pronoun):

  • De kjenner oss. = They know us.
  • Læreren hjelper oss. = The teacher helps us.

If you said Vi kjenner oss godt, it would mean “We know ourselves well”, which is a different idea (more like self-knowledge, not mutual knowledge). To express mutual “each other”, you specifically use hverandre.

Does hverandre change form for gender or number, like other pronouns do?

No. hverandre is invariable:

• It does not change for gender.
• It does not change for case.
• It does not have a singular form (it’s only used with plural subjects).

Examples:

• Vi kjenner hverandre. = We know each other.
• Dere kjenner hverandre. = You (plural) know each other.
• De kjenner hverandre. = They know each other.

In all cases, the word is simply hverandre.

Why is the word order “Vi kjenner hverandre godt” and not “Vi kjenner godt hverandre”?

The natural word order in Norwegian main clauses is:

Subject – Verb – (Object) – (Adverb)

In this sentence:

• Vi = subject
• kjenner = verb
• hverandre = direct object
• godt = adverb (“well”)

So the normal order is:

Vi (S) – kjenner (V) – hverandre (O) – godt (Adv).

Putting godt before hverandre – Vi kjenner godt hverandre – sounds wrong/unnatural to native speakers.

You can add more words, but they go around this basic structure:

• Vi kjenner hverandre veldig godt. = We know each other very well.
• Vi kjenner hverandre godt nå. = We know each other well now.

What grammatical form is kjenner, and how do I use kjenne in other tenses?

kjenner is the present tense of the verb å kjenne (“to know / be familiar with”).

The main forms are:

• å kjenne – infinitive
• kjenner – present
  
  • Vi kjenner hverandre godt. = We know each other well.
• kjente – past (preterite)
  
  • Vi kjente hverandre godt. = We knew each other well.
• har kjent – present perfect
  
  • Vi har kjent hverandre lenge. = We have known each other for a long time.

The present tense kjenner is used for both general states and current situations, similar to English “know” (Norwegian doesn’t use a separate “are knowing” form).

Is kjenner reflexive here, or connected to a reflexive pronoun?

No. In Vi kjenner hverandre godt, kjenner is not reflexive; it just takes a normal object (hverandre).

However, kjenne can be used with reflexive pronouns in other meanings:

• å kjenne seg
  • adjective = to feel (in terms of health or state)
    
    • Jeg kjenner meg bra. = I feel good.
    • Vi kjenner oss trøtte. = We feel tired.

That is a different structure:

• Vi kjenner hverandre godt. = We know each other well. (mutual knowledge)
• Vi kjenner oss bra. = We feel good. (about ourselves / our condition)

Does godt here mean “good” or “well”, and why is it godt and not god?

In this sentence, godt functions as an adverb and means “well”:

• Vi kjenner hverandre godt. = We know each other well.

The base adjective is god (“good”), but in Norwegian, many adjectives use their neuter singular form as an adverb. For god, the neuter singular is godt, and that form is used adverbially:

• Han synger godt. = He sings well.
• Det gikk godt. = It went well.

As an adjective, you’ll see:

• en god idé = a good idea
• et godt råd = a good piece of advice (neuter, hence godt)
• gode venner = good friends (plural, hence gode)

Can this sentence mean “We feel good” or “We are good with each other”?

No, Vi kjenner hverandre godt specifically means “We know each other well” (we’re familiar with each other as people).

For related but different meanings:

• We feel good (physically/mentally)

  • Vi føler oss bra.
  • Vi kjenner oss bra/godt. (also used, especially for health/condition)

• We get along well / we have a good relationship

  • Vi kommer godt overens.
  • Vi har et godt forhold. = We have a good relationship.
  • Vi trives godt sammen. = We enjoy being together.

So kjenner hverandre godt is about how well you know each other, not directly about health or harmony (though in real life those can be related).

How do you pronounce kjenner and hverandre?

Approximate standard Eastern Norwegian pronunciation:

• kjenner ≈ “SHEN-ner”

  • IPA: [ˈçɛnːər]
  • kj- is a soft sound, similar to the ch in German “ich”, or like a very soft “hy” in front of e/i.
  • The -nn- is lengthened.

• hverandre ≈ “ver-AHN-dre”

  • IPA: [væˈrɑnːdrə] (varies slightly by dialect)
  • The h in hv- is silent; you only hear v.
  • Stress is on the -ran- syllable: hverandre.

So the whole sentence is roughly:

• Vi kjenner hverandre godt. ≈ “Vee SHEN-ner ver-AHN-dre gott.”

Can I say “Vi kjenner til hverandre godt” or use kjenne til here?

No, that would be wrong or at least very unnatural in this context.

• kjenne (without til) = to know someone personally or be familiar with them

  • Vi kjenner hverandre godt. = We know each other well.

• kjenne til = to be aware of something/someone, to have heard of it/them, but not necessarily to know them well

  • Jeg kjenner til henne. = I’ve heard of her / I know who she is.
  • Jeg kjenner til problemet. = I know about the problem.

So:

• Vi kjenner hverandre godt. = We know each other well. (personal familiarity)
• Vi kjenner til hverandre. = We are aware of each other / know of each other (but might not know each other personally), and even that sounds a bit odd unless you’re talking about groups or organizations.

For normal people who actually know each other, use kjenner (hverandre), not kjenner til.

Could I replace vi with other pronouns in the same structure?

Yes, the structure stays the same; only the subject changes:

• Dere kjenner hverandre godt. = You (plural) know each other well.
• De kjenner hverandre godt. = They know each other well.

With a different subject but still reciprocal:

• Brødrene kjenner hverandre godt. = The brothers know each other well.
• Naboene kjenner hverandre godt. = The neighbours know each other well.

As long as the subject is plural and the meaning is “each other”, you keep hverandre and the same word order.