Jeg gjør det feil.

I do it wrong.

Breakdown of Jeg gjør det feil.

• jeg: I
• det: it
• gjøre: to do
• feil: wrong

Questions & Answers about Jeg gjør det feil.

What does each word in Jeg gjør det feil mean, literally?

Word-by-word:

• Jeg – I (subject pronoun)
• gjør – do / am doing (present tense of å gjøre – to do, to make)
• det – it / that (neuter object pronoun)
• feil – wrong / incorrectly (literally wrong, but here it works like in the wrong way)

So a very literal breakdown is: I do it wrong → natural English: I’m doing it wrong.

Why is the word order Jeg gjør det feil and not something like Jeg feil gjør det?

Norwegian has a fairly strict word order:

1. Subject
2. Verb
3. Object(s)
4. Adverbs / manner etc.

So:

• Jeg (subject)
• gjør (verb)
• det (object)
• feil (manner: wrongly / in the wrong way)

You cannot say:

• ✗ Jeg feil gjør det
• ✗ Jeg gjør feil det

Both sound ungrammatical.

You can rephrase with a prepositional phrase if you want to emphasize the way you do it:

• Jeg gjør det på feil måte. – I do it in the wrong way.

Is feil an adjective, an adverb, or a noun here?

In Jeg gjør det feil, feil is originally an adjective/noun (wrong / a mistake), but it’s used adverbially – it tells you how you do it.

• As an adjective:
  
  • Det er feil. – That is wrong.
• As a noun:
  
  • Jeg gjorde en feil. – I made a mistake.
• Used adverbially (like in your sentence):
  
  • Jeg gjør det feil. – I’m doing it wrong / incorrectly.

So grammatically it behaves like an adverb here, even though the basic form feil doesn’t change. Norwegian often uses adjectives adverbially without adding an ending, especially with verbs like gjøre, si, skrive, etc.:

• Du sier det riktig. – You’re saying it correctly.
• De gjorde det lett. – They made it easy / did it easily.

Why doesn’t feil change form (like feilt, feile)? Shouldn’t adjectives agree with gender and number?

Norwegian adjectives normally agree with gender/number:

• en stor bil – a big car (masc.)
• et stort hus – a big house (neut.)
• store biler – big cars (plural)

But feil is special:

1. As a predicate adjective (after verbs like være):

   • Det er feil. – That is wrong.
     There is no feilt form in normal use.

2. As an adverbial (your sentence):

   • Jeg gjør det feil. – I’m doing it wrong.
     Adverbs in Norwegian don’t agree in gender/number, and here feil functions adverbially.

3. As a noun:

   • en feil – a mistake

So you don’t say:

• ✗ Det er feilt
• ✗ Jeg gjør det feilt

You just use feil in all these functions.

Can I drop det and just say Jeg gjør feil? Does it mean the same thing?

No, they are not the same:

• Jeg gjør det feil.
  – I’m doing *it wrong.* (refers to a specific action or thing we know about)

• Jeg gjør feil.
  – I make mistakes / I do wrong things. (general: I’m making mistakes, not necessarily about one specific action)

So:

• Talking about this specific task / action: use Jeg gjør det feil.
• Talking about your general habits or performance: Jeg gjør feil.

Why is it gjør and not something like gjører? How is å gjøre conjugated?

Å gjøre (to do, to make) is irregular in spelling but easy in conjugation:

• Infinitive: å gjøre – to do
• Present: gjør – do / does / am doing / is doing
• Preterite (past): gjorde – did
• Past participle: gjort – done

The present tense form is gjør for all subjects:

• Jeg gjør – I do / am doing
• Du gjør – you do / are doing
• Han/hun gjør – he/she does / is doing
• Vi gjør – we do / are doing
• Dere gjør – you (pl.) do / are doing
• De gjør – they do / are doing

There is no form gjører in standard Norwegian.

Why is det used here? When do I use det versus den?

Det in Jeg gjør det feil works like English it:

• It refers to an action or thing that’s been mentioned or is understood from context.
• For actions, situations, and clauses, Norwegian almost always uses det, regardless of gender.

Basic rules:

• Referring to a specific neuter noun:

  • bordet (the table, neuter) → det
    
    • Jeg vasker bordet. Jeg gjør det feil.
      I’m washing the table. I’m doing it wrong.

• Referring to a specific masculine/feminine noun:

  • stolen (the chair, masc.) → den
    
    • Jeg maler stolen. Jeg gjør den feil.
      This is possible, but in practice people more often rephrase:
      Jeg maler den feil. (with context already clear)

• Referring to an action in general (like “this thing I’m doing”):

  • det is standard:
    
    • Jeg prøver å danse tango. Jeg gjør det feil.
      I’m trying to dance tango. I’m doing it wrong.

So in your sentence, you can think of det as that thing (I’m doing).

What’s the difference between Jeg gjør det feil and Jeg tar feil? Both seem to involve being wrong.

They’re quite different:

• Jeg gjør det feil.
  – I’m doing it wrong (in the wrong way).
  Focus: the manner of an action (how you’re performing something).

• Jeg tar feil.
  – I’m wrong / I’m mistaken.
  Focus: your opinion or assumption is wrong.

Examples:

• If you’re assembling furniture incorrectly:

  • Jeg gjør det feil. – You’re performing the task in the wrong way.

• If you think Oslo is the capital of Sweden:

  • Jeg tar feil. – I’m mistaken.

You wouldn’t normally say Jeg gjør det feil about a wrong belief; you say Jeg tar feil or Jeg tar feil av X og Y (mixing things up).

Could I also say Jeg gjør det på feil måte? Is there any difference?

Yes, that’s correct, and there’s a small nuance difference:

• Jeg gjør det feil.
  – Very direct and common. Everyday, colloquial: I’m doing it wrong.

• Jeg gjør det på feil måte.
  – Literally I do it in the wrong way. Slightly more explicit/“careful”; feels a bit longer and sometimes a bit more formal or explanatory.

In most spoken situations, Jeg gjør det feil is perfectly natural and usually preferred for brevity.

How would I say I’m not doing it wrong in Norwegian?

You add ikke after the verb (and before the object):

• Jeg gjør ikke det feil. – literally: I do not it wrong.

More natural, with det after ikke:

• Jeg gjør det ikke feil.
  – I’m not doing it wrong. (implies: I’m doing it correctly)

Compare:

• Jeg gjør det ikke riktig. – I’m not doing it correctly. (but maybe also not entirely wrong)
• Jeg gjør det aldri feil. – I never do it wrong.

Does gjør here mean do or make? I’m confused about gjøre compared to English.

Norwegian gjøre covers both English do and parts of make, but not all uses of make.

1. Parallel to do:

   • Jeg gjør det feil. – I’m doing it wrong.
   • Hva gjør du? – What are you doing?

2. Sometimes like make (in the sense perform / carry out / cause):

   • Jeg gjør leksene. – I’m doing my homework.
   • Hun gjorde en feil. – She made a mistake.

But for creating or producing something concrete, Norwegians often use lage:

• Jeg lager mat. – I’m making food.
• Han lager en stol. – He’s making a chair.

In Jeg gjør det feil, you must use gjør, because it’s about performing an action, not creating an object.

How is gjør pronounced?

Approximate pronunciation (standard Eastern Norwegian):

• gjør ≈ “yur” in English, with:
  • j like English y in yes
  • ø like the vowel in French deux, German schön, or a rounded version of English “uh”
  • final r often a tapped or rolled r (a quick flip of the tongue)

In IPA: /jøːr/

The whole sentence:

• Jeg gjør det feil ≈ yai yur de fail
  (very rough approximation; feil rhymes with English file, but with a bit shorter/different quality on the vowel)

Does Jeg gjør det feil mean right now (progressive) or a general habit? How do I say I’m doing it vs I do it?

Norwegian present tense covers both English simple present and present continuous:

• Jeg gjør det feil. can mean:
  • I’m doing it wrong (right now).
  • I (always/usually) do it wrong.

Context tells you which is intended. There’s no separate verb form like am doing.

If you want to emphasize habit, you can add adverbs:

• Jeg gjør det alltid feil. – I always do it wrong.
• Jeg pleier å gjøre det feil. – I usually do it wrong.

If you want to emphasize right now:

• Akkurat nå gjør jeg det feil. – Right now, I’m doing it wrong.