Vanlige

Vanlige is a Norwegian adjective meaning common, ordinary, or usual. It is used to describe things that are typical or frequently encountered. In Bokmål, vanlige is the plural form of the adjective vanlig and is used before plural nouns, as in vanlige spørsmål or vanlige folk. The definite plural is formed by adding the definite marker to the noun: de vanlige spørsmålene or de vanlige reglene. In singular usage, the base form vanlig is used before masculine and feminine nouns (for example, en vanlig bil); for neuter nouns the form may vary by dialect, but vanlig is commonly used in many contexts.

In Nynorsk, the corresponding plural form is vanlege, as in vanlege spørsmål. The adverbial form vanlegvis means usually or generally.

Vanlige is often used to describe everyday phenomena, common practices, or typical characteristics, such as “the ordinary rules” or “the usual questions.” It is common in academic, journalistic, and everyday language. The term is cognate with related forms in other Germanic languages; for example, Swedish uses vanliga, while Danish uses almindelig/almindelige.

Related terms include vanleg (the base adjective in nynorsk) and vanlighet (the notion of commonness). The word functions as a descriptive descriptor and can appear in a wide range of contexts, from formal writing to casual conversation, to convey that something is typical or expected within a given setting.