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Questions & Answers about De bare tuller.
Does De mean they here, or could it mean formal you?
It can be ambiguous without context.
- In modern Norwegian, de usually means they.
- In very formal or old-fashioned writing, De can mean you.
However, in this sentence the word is at the beginning, so it would be capitalized anyway. That means the capital D does not by itself prove that it is the formal you.
So unless the wider context is clearly very formal, most learners would naturally understand De bare tuller as They’re just kidding / They’re just fooling around.
What does bare mean here?
Here bare means just or only.
It softens or limits the statement:
- De bare tuller = they are only joking
- It suggests that what they are saying or doing is not serious
In everyday English, just is usually the most natural translation here.
What verb is tuller?
Tuller is the present tense of å tulle.
Common meanings of å tulle include:
- to joke
- to kid
- to fool around
- to mess about
- to talk nonsense / be silly
So tuller does not only mean telling a joke in the strict sense. It often has a more casual feeling of not being serious, being playful, or talking nonsense.