Tid - gang - time: what are the differences?

Photo by Malvestida on Unsplash (time)

They all have to do with time. But the Norwegian word “time” does not mean time! The two others both mean time, but are used differently. Confused? Go on reading :)

Tid (f/m): the uncountable, omnipresent time

Tid is the word we use for the concept of time that is not countable. We use it for instance when we say:

“jeg har dårlig tid” (I have little time),

“ting tar tid” (things take time) and

“vi har all verdens tid” (we have all the time of the world).

Would you be able to put a number in front of this word? Not in these contexts, it would not make sense. But instead of using “tid”, we could of course specify, and say for instance “10 minutter”, “6 dager”, “8 år” etc.

So “tid” could be all of these: it can be 10 minutes, it can be a lifetime, it can be infinity. All of those periods are “tid”.

Gang (m) = countable times

So we all agree that time can be a lot. It can be a second, but it can also be endless … Sometimes we count number of times. That does not mean that each time (gang) lasted the same amount of time (tid), we rather focus on the number of repetitions of something happening than how long it lasts.

“Jeg har sett den filmen 3 ganger.” - I have seen that movie 3 times.

“Jeg har besøkt mamma 2 ganger denne uka.” - I have visited mum 3 times this week.

“Jeg pleier å trene 2 til 3 ganger i uka.” - I usually work out 2 to 3 times a week.

Do you get the logic? The word “gang” is used to be able to quantify the number of times something (an activity, an action, an event …) has ended. We do not need to mention how long it lasted, the focus is on number (one or more?).

Time

And then we have “time”. Where to start. The first thing you need to know is that it does not mean time! No, no and no!

“Time”’s first meaning is “hour” (60 minutes), but we do also use it for “lesson/class” and “appointment” (the ones you have to book in a system).

For example:

“Jeg må gå om en time.” - I have to leave in one hour.

“Jeg har en time med tannlegen.” - I have an appointment with the dentist.

“Fransktimen varer i 45 minutter.” - The French lesson lastes 45 minutes. *

*Good to know: the classes in the Norwegian school system last 45 minutes (we call them “skoletime”). 60 minutes is what we call “klokketime” if you for some reason have to specify.

There you go! Hope you got a bit wiser today :) Feel free to test your knowledge in the comment field below, I get back to you within 48 hours :)

Takk for denne gangen :)