It's often said that the best way to make friends with a Norwegian is to become a member of a sports or interest group, but how do you say the word 'member' in Norsk, anyway?
The answer is: medlem.
It probably made it to Norwegian by way of the German mitglied and consists of two words: med, meaning co- or with, and lem, meaning limb.
You can, as in English, not just be a member of something but also have a membership, or in Norwegian et medlemskap. This can be used for all sorts of groups, from Nato to a sports club.
Because Norwegians enjoy compound words, you can be a fagforeningsmedlem (trade union member), familiemedlem (member of the family), besetningsmedlem (crew member), and so on.
You can be a member of The Local, too (now with a discount). We tend to call our paying readers members (medlemmer) rather than subscribers in honour of our close relationship with our audience, but in other contexts you'd usually talk about subscribers as abonnenter rather than medlemmer.
What preposition should you use together with medlem? Either i (in) or av (of) can be grammatically correct, although av tends to be favoured in Norwegian.
Why do I need to know this?
This is a word you’ll hear all the time in Norway. When you pay at the register, whether you’re buying home goods at Clas Ohlson or shopping at a sports store, the cashier will almost certainly ask: Er du medlem? (are you a member?).
Registering as a member is common practice in Norway as many Norwegian stores have customer clubs (kundeklubber), and being a member often means you get instant discounts at the checkout.
Example sentences:
Norge ble medlem av Nato i 1949.
Norway became a member of Nato in 1949.
Jeg er medlem hos SATS og trener to ganger i uken.
I am a member at SATS and work out twice a week.
Jeg fikk rabatt fordi jeg er medlem av IKEA Family.
I got a discount because I am an IKEA Family member.
Fagforeningens viktigste oppgave er å fremme medlemmenes interesser
The primary task of the trade union is to promote the interests of members.