Questions & Answers about Jeg vil betale regningen selv.
vil is a modal verb and most often means want to (and sometimes will in the sense of intention). So jeg vil betale is “I want to pay / I’m going to pay (because I want to).”
- jeg betaler (regningen) selv = “I’m paying (the bill) myself” (more factual, present/near-future in context).
- jeg skal betale (regningen) selv = “I’m going to pay (the bill) myself” (often sounds more like a plan/arrangement/decision, sometimes a bit more definite than vil).
After modal verbs like vil, skal, kan, må, bør, Norwegian normally uses the bare infinitive (no å):
- jeg vil betale (not jeg vil å betale)
You do use å when the verb is not governed by a modal: - jeg liker å betale (“I like to pay”)
Most commonly vil means want. In many everyday situations it also implies a future action (“I’m going to…”), but the core idea is willingness/desire.
If you want to be unambiguously future/plan-focused, skal is often chosen: jeg skal betale regningen selv.
regning = “bill/invoice” (common gender: en regning)
The ending -en makes it definite singular (“the bill”):
- en regning = a bill
- regningen = the bill
So betale regningen is literally “pay the bill.”
Usually yes, with slight emphasis differences. Common options:
- Jeg vil betale regningen selv. (neutral; emphasis often falls on selv)
- Jeg vil selv betale regningen. (highlights I personally will do it, maybe contrasting with others)
- Jeg vil betale selv. (possible, but often sounds incomplete unless the object is already understood)
selv here is an intensifier meaning “myself (personally)”—it emphasizes that you will do it, not someone else.
meg selv is used when “myself” is a true object/reflexive pronoun:
- Jeg ser meg selv i speilet. = “I see myself in the mirror.”
But in your sentence, you’re not “paying myself”; you’re paying the bill, and selv just adds emphasis.
Not exactly.
- regning = bill/invoice (what you pay)
- konto can mean “account” or in restaurant contexts “the check/bill,” so kontoen may be used for “the check” in some settings.
In a restaurant, many people simply say regningen for “the bill,” which is very common and widely understood.
A practical approximation (varies by dialect):
- jeg often sounds like yai or jæi (and can be reduced in fast speech)
- vil ≈ “vill”
- betale ≈ “beh-TAH-leh” (stress on -ta-)
- regningen ≈ “RAYG-ning-en” (stress on regn-)
- selv ≈ “sellv” (one syllable)
Yes. gjerne adds politeness/pleasant willingness:
- Jeg vil gjerne betale regningen selv. = “I’d like to pay the bill myself / I’d be happy to pay…”
In a main clause, Norwegian has V2 word order (the finite verb is in position 2). With a modal, the modal is the finite verb:
- Jeg (1) vil (2) betale regningen selv
If you start with something else, the modal still stays second: - I kveld vil jeg betale regningen selv.
- Nå vil jeg betale regningen selv.
Place ikke after the finite verb (vil):
- Jeg vil ikke betale regningen selv. = “I don’t want to pay the bill myself.”
You can still keep selv at the end: - Jeg vil ikke betale regningen selv.
selv can imply “personally,” but for “alone/without help,” you may want alene or selv alene depending on nuance:
- Jeg vil betale regningen alene. = “I want to pay the bill alone (by myself).”
- Jeg vil betale regningen selv. = “I’ll pay it myself (not someone else).”