kvelden

Kvelden is the definite form of the Norwegian noun kveld, meaning the evening—the period after the late afternoon and before night. It is used when referring to a specific evening, rather than the general idea of evening. In ordinary speech, phrases like i kveld express “tonight,” while the definite form kvelden marks a particular evening being singled out in a sentence or narrative.

Etymology and cognates indicate that kveld stems from Old Norse kvǫld and is related to the Swedish kväll. The form reflects typical North Germanic development, with the definite suffix -en giving the explicit sense of “the evening.”

Usage and compounds include common terms such as kveldsmat, the evening meal, and kveldsskole, meaning an evening school. The word appears in time-marking contexts, in journalism, literature, and everyday conversation when describing events or routines that occur after work hours. In Norwegian culture, the evening often centers on family time, meals, and social activities, and the word kvelden appears in descriptions of such occasions as well as in expressions that contrast the evening with other parts of the day.

Notes on dialect and variation: while kvelden is widely understood in Bokmål and Nynorsk, speakers may vary in how they refer to evenings in casual speech, sometimes using shorter forms or regional preferences. Nonetheless, the definite form kvelden remains the standard way to denote “the evening” as a specific time.