utrop

Utrop is a term used in Norwegian and Swedish to denote an exclamation or interjection. In linguistic terms, it refers to utterances that express emotion, reaction, or attention, and are typically not used to assert propositions. The word characters reflect a literal act of “calling out” or crying out, with etymology linking ut- meaning out and rop meaning cry or shout in the two languages.

In usage, utrop can stand alone as short utterances, such as greetings, reactions, or emotional responses. Written form is usually marked with an exclamation point, though some interjections may appear without punctuation in informal writing. Common examples include expressions of greeting like Hei! or Oi!, reactions such as Aj! (ouch) or Oj! (oh), and celebratory or emphatic words like Hurra! and Wow. Although these forms convey mood or stance, they do not convey factual content on their own.

Classification-wise, utrop is the grammatical category that covers interjections in Norwegian and Swedish. Interjections function primarily to express affect or to attract attention, rather than to present or substantiate information. They can vary by language and culture in which expressions are common or socially appropriate, and may interact with prosody and context to convey precise meaning. See also interjection, exclamation, and Utropsord as terminology used in Scandinavian grammar to describe this word class.