Prepositions of Place: 'i' and 'på' — Norwegian Grammar

English uses "in", "on" and "at" for place. Norwegian mostly uses two prepositions, and , and they divide the work differently. is roughly "in", while covers "on" and also many places where English says "at".

i: Inside Something

is used for being inside an enclosed space, from a box to a room.

Maten er i kjøleskapet.
The food is in the fridge.
De stygge bildene er i en eske.
The ugly pictures are in a box.
Jeg sitter i bilen.
I am sitting in the car.

i: Countries and Cities

Countries, cities and other areas take .

Da jeg var ung, bodde jeg i Kina.
When I was young, I lived in China.
Det er mye gress i byen vår.
There is a lot of grass in our town.
Jeg bor i en landsby.
I live in a village.

på: On a Surface

is used for being on top of or against a surface.

Tallerkenen er på bordet.
The plate is on the table.
Det vakre bildet henger på veggen.
The beautiful picture is hanging on the wall.

på: Places Where Something Goes On

Many places that are named for what happens there take : places of work, study, shopping and entertainment. English mostly uses "at" for these.

Hun er på skolen.
She is at school.
Jeg er kokk på en restaurant.
I am a cook at a restaurant.
Jeg er på markedet.
I am at the market.
Skal vi gå på kino?
Shall we go to the cinema?
La oss gå på stranden.
Let's go to the beach.

The same is used when going to such a place to take part, where English says "to".

Car or Bus

In a car you are it, but on public transport you are it.

Jeg sitter i bilen og kjører.
I am sitting in the car, driving.
Barna går på bussen.
The children get on the bus.

Languages: på

"In Norwegian", "in English" is , .

Hvordan sier man "takk" på portugisisk?
How do you say "thanks" in Portuguese?
Jeg kan snakke noen ord på japansk.
I can say a few words in Japanese.

Going to a Place: til

For movement towards a place, Norwegian usually uses (to). With the places that take , is also common for going there.

Jeg gikk til kjøpesenteret.
I went to the shopping mall.
Jeg vil dra til Kina på ferie.
I want to go to China on holiday.

Learning the Pairs

Many combinations are fixed and are best learned as units.

- at work
- at the office
- at the airport
- in the shop
- in a bank
- on the sixteenth floor

In the course

Sentences from Lingora’s Norwegian course

90 of the course's 500 sentences use this, the first in lesson 20. A few of them, with the words “Prepositions of Place: 'i' and 'på'” is about in bold:

Jeg har ikke sett deg på ni år!
I haven't seen you for nine years!
Lesson 175
Åh, jeg kjenner Frankrike. Jeg har vært i Frankrike før.
Oh, I know France. I have been to France before.
Lesson 208
Hvor er datteren vår? - Hun er på skolen.
Where is our daughter? - She's at school.
Lesson 242

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