Vi ringer politiet.

We call the police.

Breakdown of Vi ringer politiet.

• vi: we
• ringe: to call
• politiet: the police

Questions & Answers about Vi ringer politiet.

Why is it ringer and not something like ringer til?

In Norwegian, å ringe can take a direct object when you mean to call someone/somewhere.

• Vi ringer politiet. = We’re calling the police.
• Jeg ringer moren min. = I’m calling my mother.

In English, we often say call someone too, so this matches fairly well.

You may also see ringe til, especially in some contexts or varieties, but for a basic sentence like this, ringe + direct object is very common and natural.

Why is politiet in the definite form?

Politiet is the definite form of politi.

• politi = police
• politiet = the police

In Norwegian, you usually say the police when talking about the institution you are contacting, so Vi ringer politiet is the normal form.

This is different from English in one important way: English police does not change form, but Norwegian often marks definiteness directly on the noun.

Is politiet singular or plural?