Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Gi beskjed med en gang du ser meldingen. - Let me know as soon as you see the message.

Norwegian often leaves out the indirect object (“to me”) when it’s obvious from context. In a real conversation, it’s normally clear who should be informed (the speaker). So:

Gi beskjed med en gang…
≈ “Let me know right away…”

If you want to be explicit, you can say:

Gi meg beskjed med en gang du ser meldingen.
= “Let me know as soon as you see the message.”

Both versions are natural; the shorter one is very common in speech when the person to be informed is obvious.

Why is it “Gi beskjed” and not “Gi en beskjed”?

In this expression, “gi beskjed” is treated almost like a fixed phrase or idiom, meaning “let (someone) know / inform (someone).” Because of that, the noun is usually used without an article.

Compare:

Gi beskjed hvis du blir forsinket.
“Let me/us know if you’re delayed.”

Using “en beskjed” here would sound odd or too concrete, like you’re talking about one specific, countable “message” as an object you hand over.

You can say “gi en beskjed” in other, more literal contexts (e.g., about leaving a particular written note), but for the common idiom “let me know,” it’s just “gi beskjed.”

What is the difference between “Gi beskjed” and “Si ifra”?

Both are very common and often interchangeable, but they have slightly different flavors:

Gi beskjed
- Literally: “give notice.”
- Neutral, slightly more “standard,” works well both in speech and writing.
- Example: Gi beskjed hvis du ikke kan komme.
Si ifra (also written si fra)
- Literally: “say (from)”—idiomatic.
- Very common and natural in spoken Norwegian, slightly more colloquial.
- Example: Si ifra hvis du trenger hjelp.

In your sentence you could also say:

Si ifra med en gang du ser meldingen.

That’s perfectly natural too. There’s no big difference in meaning here.

What does “med en gang” literally mean, and what’s the nuance?

Literally, “med en gang” is “with one time”, but idiomatically it means:

“Right away / immediately / as soon as.”

Nuance:

It’s fairly strong: you expect the action immediately when the condition is met, not “whenever you get around to it.”
Common equivalents:
- straks = immediately
- så snart (som mulig) = as soon (as possible)

So:

Gi beskjed med en gang du ser meldingen.
≈ “Let me know right away when you see the message.”

Could you say “når du ser meldingen” instead of “med en gang du ser meldingen”?

You can say:

Gi beskjed når du ser meldingen.

This is grammatically correct and natural. The difference:

med en gang du ser… = immediately when you see it (stronger, more urgent)
når du ser… = when you see it (more neutral; timing not emphasized as much)

So the original sentence is slightly more insistent about speed.

Why is it “ser” (present tense) and not a future or perfect form like “vil se” or “har sett”?

Norwegian often uses present tense for future events, especially in time clauses introduced by words like “når” (when), “hvis” (if), “med en gang” (as soon as), etc.

Gi beskjed med en gang du ser meldingen.
Literally: “Give notice as soon as you see the message.”
Meaning: “…as soon as you will see / happen to see the message.”

Using something like “vil se” here would sound wrong; future with vil is much less common than English “will,” especially in these kinds of clauses. Norwegian just keeps the present.

Why is it “meldingen” and not “en melding”?

en melding = “a message” (indefinite, any message)
meldingen = “the message” (definite, a specific one, known to both speaker and listener)

In this sentence, both probably know which message is meant (for example, the one you’re about to send, or the one they are expecting), so Norwegian naturally uses the definite form:

Gi beskjed med en gang du ser meldingen.
= “…as soon as you see the message (we’re talking about).”

Using “en melding” would sound like “any random message,” which is usually not what you mean here.

Can “melding” be replaced by “beskjed” so that it becomes “Gi beskjed med en gang du ser beskjeden”? Is that natural?

Yes, it is grammatical and understandable:

Gi beskjed med en gang du ser beskjeden.
= “Let me know as soon as you see the notice/message.”

Here, beskjeden would often suggest a particular written note, announcement, or instruction, maybe something posted on a board, sent in an app, etc.

However, in modern everyday usage:

melding is the more standard word for a text message, chat message, app notification, etc.
beskjed often means more generally “a notice / an instruction / word from someone.”

So the original with “meldingen” is slightly more natural if we’re talking about, say, a text message on your phone.

Is the word order fixed? Could I say “Gi med en gang beskjed du ser meldingen”?

That alternative word order is not natural Norwegian. You should keep:

The verb in imperative: Gi
The object / fixed phrase: beskjed
The adverbial expression: med en gang
The subordinate clause: du ser meldingen

So:

✅ Gi beskjed med en gang du ser meldingen.
❌ Gi med en gang beskjed du ser meldingen.

“Gi beskjed” works as a unit (“give notice”), and “med en gang” attaches to the whole action (“give notice right away”), so they should not be split in that way.

Why is the verb “gi” in this form and not “gir”?

“Gi” is the imperative form (command / request) of the verb å gi (“to give”).

å gi = to give
gi! = give! (imperative, used to tell someone to do something)
jeg gir = I give / I am giving

In commands or requests, Norwegian uses:

Gi beskjed … = “Give notice / Let me know …”
Kom hit! = “Come here!”
Les meldingen! = “Read the message!”

So “Gi beskjed …” is addressing the listener directly: “(You) let me know …”

Is “Gi beskjed med en gang du ser meldingen” polite, or does it sound too direct?

In Norwegian, this is normal and not impolite in most contexts. Imperatives like this are much more neutral than English “Give notice!” sounds literally.

To soften it, you can add words like:

Kan du gi beskjed med en gang du ser meldingen?
“Can you let me know as soon as you see the message?”
Vennligst gi beskjed med en gang du ser meldingen.
“Please let me know as soon as you see the message.” (very polite/formal)

But among friends, colleagues, or in many informal messages, the bare imperative is completely fine:

Gi beskjed med en gang …

Can I (or should I) say “Gi meg beskjed med en gang du ser meldingen”? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can say:

Gi meg beskjed med en gang du ser meldingen.

This is fully natural and clear, and explicitly says that you (the speaker) are the one to be informed: “Let me know…”

Difference:

Gi beskjed med en gang du ser meldingen.
– Implied recipient of the information (usually the speaker), but context-dependent.
Gi meg beskjed med en gang du ser meldingen.
– Explicit: inform me.

In many real situations, the implied “me” is obvious, so the shorter version is fine. If you think there may be confusion about who should be informed, use “meg” (or another pronoun: oss, ham, henne, etc.).

What is the gender of “melding”, and what are its main forms?

“Melding” is a feminine noun, but in standard Bokmål it’s usually treated as masculine (which is allowed).

Masculine pattern (very common in practice):

en melding = a message
meldingen = the message
meldinger = messages
meldingene = the messages

You might also see the strictly feminine forms in some styles/dialects:

ei melding, meldinga

In your sentence, “meldingen” is the masculine definite singular: “the message.”

Why is the preposition “med” used in “med en gang”? Are there other similar expressions?

In “med en gang”, “med” literally means “with”, but here the whole phrase is an idiom meaning “immediately / right away / as soon as.”

You don’t normally analyze it word by word; you just learn “med en gang” as a chunk.

Other somewhat similar idiomatic phrases with med:

med vilje = on purpose (lit. “with will”)
med en gang = at once / right away
med tiden = over time, in time

In all of these, the meaning of med is not exactly the literal spatial “with,” but it’s part of a fixed expression.