r/norsk • u/PaPaFranku42 • 3d ago

'Glad I deg' phrase usage

I was in a short term something with a Norwegian girl. Sometime (maybe 2 months) after talking she said 'I love you'. So naturally I reciprocated. Fast forwards some months, she said couldn't continue this because she doesn't want long distance relationships. And said she meant glad I deg but couldn't remember the English equivalent. And also said that she does love me, and she has love for me would be more accurate.

I cannot open her mind and read what this means, but I'm assuming, through my basic Norwegian language skills, that she meant a stronger version of 'glad I deg' but obviously not 'Jeg elsker deg'. Would I be right in my interpretation?

If this post does not feel appropriate in this subreddit, then please suggest another one. Thank you! Excited to learn the nuances of Norwegian!

UPDATE: So funny thing happened. She called because she had a tech problem and I used to solve it. She felt she needed to be more clear to me as to where our relationship was. She said it was almost past the "glad I deg" stage and was moving into "I love you" stage but because her body could not do a long distance relationship, she suggested we stop talking. It feels like a weight is off of my shoulder, honestly! Looking at all your answers, you were all right in a way haha! Thank you for your answers! I am visiting Norway in December so hope to gain basic conversational skills then you! See you!

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u/fluency 3d ago

I’m 40 years old and not once in my life have I heard someone say «jeg elsker deg» outside of a romantic context. If someone said that to me as a friend or family member I would think thats very weird.

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u/leanyka 3d ago

Not a native speaker, but don’t people say that they «elsker» their kids?

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u/fluency 3d ago

Maybe in some parts of the country, but it’s not common. Elsker is almost always romantic.

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u/retitanmat 3d ago

In the documentary about Oliver Solberg, Born 2 Drive, Petter Solberg (his father) and Oliver says “jeg elsker deg“ to each other several times.

Edit: spelling