småmengde

småmengde is a Norwegian noun that translates literally to “small amount” or “small quantity.” It is most often used to refer to a limited or few units of something, whether material goods, substances, or abstract quantities such as data or time. The word can stand alone or appear in compound forms in everyday speech and written Norwegian.

Grammatically, småmengde behaves like a singular countable noun. It is commonly paired with the definite article “den” when speaking of a particular small amount, e.g. “den småmengde sukkeret” meaning “the small amount of sugar.” In written Norwegian, the word can also appear in the plural form småmengder when several independent small amounts are being referenced, as in “de ulike småmengder av kjemikalier ble testet.”

Typical contexts for its use include culinary instructions (“en småmengde hvetemel”), scientific measurements (“en småmengde av løsningen ble merket”), and everyday shopping (“en småmengde fløte”). In many cases, it is a synonym for words such as mengde (amount) or stykke (piece), although it carries an implication of scarce or limited size. Alternatives like lite (little) or smådelene (the smalls) are contextually different and not interchangeable in all sentences.

The term dates back to Old Norse, where similar forms denoted a small segment or portion. Its modern spelling reflects the standardization of Norwegian orthography in the 20th century.