Norwegian dialects (dialekter) are commonly divided into four main groups, 'Northern Norwegian' (), 'Central Norwegian' (trøndersk), 'Western Norwegian' (vestlandsk), and 'Eastern Norwegian' (). Sometimes 'Midland Norwegian' () and/or 'South Norwegian' () are considered fifth or sixth groups.
The dialects are generally mutually intelligible, but differ significantly with regard to accent, grammar, syntax, and vocabulary. If not accustomed to a particular dialect, even a native Norwegian speaker may have difficulty understanding it. Dialects can be as local as farm clusters, but many linguists note an ongoing regionalization, diminishing, or even elimination of local variations.
Normalized speech, following the written languages Bokmål and Nynorsk or the more conservative Riksmål and Høgnorsk, is not in common use, except in parts of Finnmark (where the original Sami population learned Norwegian as a second language), in much of , certain social groups in major urban areas elsewhere (e.g. Trondheim), in national broadcasting, and in courts and official decrees.
Dialect groups
West and South Norwegian
South Norwegian (Aust-Agder, most of Vest-Agder and Fyresdal, Nissedal, Drangedal and Kragerø in Telemark) South-West Norwegian (inner parts of Sogn og Fjordane, Hordaland (except the city of Bergen), Rogaland, and western parts of Vest-Agder) Bergen Norwegian or Bergensk (Bergen) North-West Norwegian (Romsdal, Sunnmøre, Nordfjord, Sunnfjord and outer parts of Sogn) North Norwegian Helgeland Norwegian (Nordland county south of Saltfjellet, except for Bindal) Nordland Norwegian (Nordland county north of Saltfjellet) Troms Norwegian (Troms county, except for Bardu and Målselv) Finnmark Norwegian Finnmark county, except for Northern Kautokeino, Northern Karasjok, Tana and Nesseby. East Norwegian Vikvær Norwegian (Vestfold, Østfold, Bohuslän in Sweden, and adjacent lowland parts of Telemark, Buskerud and Akershus) Middle East Norwegian (Ringerike, Modum, Oslo and Romerike) Oppland Norwegian (southern Hedmark and south-eastern Oppland) Østerdal Norwegian (northern Hedmark and Bardu in northern Norway) Midland Norwegian Gudbrandsdal Norwegian (northern Oppland) Valdres and Hallingdal Norwegian (south-west Oppland and western Buskerud) Western Telemark Norwegian (Vinje, Tokke and Kviteseid) Eastern Telemark Norwegian (Tinn, Hjartdal, Midt-Telemark, Notodden and upper Numedal) Trøndelag Norwegian Outer Trøndelag Norwegian (Nordmøre, outer Sør-Trøndelag, and Fosen) Inner Trøndelag Norwegian (inner Sør-Trøndelag, Innherad, Lierne, and Snåsa) Trondheim Norwegian (Trondheim) Namdal Norwegian (Namdalen and surrounding coastal areas) South-eastern Trøndersk (Røros, Selbu, Tydal, Holtålen, Oppdal) Jämtlandic (Jämtland in Sweden) American Norwegian
Dialect branches
National Norwegian
(Northern Norway) (Bodø) Brønnøy dialect (Brønnøy) (Helgeland) other dialects Trøndersk (Trøndelag) Trondheim dialect (Trondheim) (Fosen) (Härjedalen) Jämtland dialects (Jämtland province) Meldal dialect (Meldal) (Tydal) other dialects Vestlandsk (Western and Southern Norway) West (Vestlandet) Bergen dialect (Bergen) (Haugesund) (Jæren district) (Karmøy) (Nordmøre)
(Sunndalsøra) (Romsdal) Sandnes dialect (Sandnes) Sogn dialect (Sogn district) (Sunnmøre) Stavanger dialect (Stavanger) (Midhordland district) South (Sørlandet) Arendal dialect (Arendal region) (Upper Setesdal, Valle) other dialects (Eastern Norway) (Lowland districts) Vikværsk dialects (Viken district) Drammen dialect (Drammen region) Follo dialect (Follo) (Vestfold) Tønsberg dialect (Tønsberg and Færder) (Andebu) (Re) Østfold dialects (Østfold) Fredrikstad dialect (Fredrikstad region) Inner Østfold dialect (Inner Østfold) (Bohuslän province) (Grenland district) (Mid-east districts) Urban East Norwegian () Oslo dialect (Oslo) Asker and Bærum dialect, this is the dialect that is closest to the standard Norwegian language. (Asker and Bærum) Romerike dialect (Romerike) (Ringerike district) (Hønefoss) (Ådal) (Modum) (Opplandene district) Hedmark dialects (Hedmark) (Solør) (Hadeland district) (Viken district) Särna-Idre dialect (Särna and Idre) (Midland districts) Gudbrandsdal dialect (Gudbrandsdalen, Oppland and Upper Folldal, Hedmark) Hallingdal-Valdres dialects (Hallingdal, Valdres)
Valdris dialect (Valdres district) Telemark-Numedal dialects (Telemark and Numedal)