Tellelige

Tellelige is a Norwegian adjective used to describe quantity in two related ways. In its primary sense, it designates something that can be counted or represented by a number, as in et tellelig antall, meaning a countable number. In a broader, more emphatic sense, tellelige conveys that the quantity involved is considerable or large, especially in formal or written language, where the exact number is not specified. Common phrases include tellelige tilfeller (a number of cases) and tellelige mennesker (a sizeable number of people).

The word is formed from the verb telle, “to count,” combined with the suffix -lig, a common way to create adjectives in Norwegian. The form tellelige is the typical plural-inflected modifier used before plural nouns, while its singular or other inflected forms appear in different syntactic contexts. The distinction between the countable sense and the emphatic, numerical sense is often a matter of nuance and tone rather than a strict grammatical rule.

Usage and register-wise, tellelige is predominantly found in written Norwegian, including formal prose, legal language, and academic writing. In everyday speech, speakers more often use synonyms such as mange, flere, or adskillige to convey quantity. Nonetheless, tellelige remains a useful term when a precise or formal quantification is intended, or when a speaker wants to emphasize that a quantity is not merely singular but can be enumerated or is notably large.