What is the difference between “både,” “begge,” “begge to” og “begge deler”? As you might have noticed, the Norwegian words “både” and “begge” both means “both”! However, these two words are used differently.
1 Både
“Både” always has to be together with “og” (and). It also can refer to more than two things.
Både Håkon og Elise liker kaffe. (Both Håkon and Elise like coffee.)
Håkon liker både kaffe, øl og te. (Håkon likes both coffee, beer and tea.)
2 Begge
“Begge” can be alone or together with a noun.
Hvor var Håkon og Elise? (Where were Håkon and Elise?)
Begge var i Spania. (Both were in Spain.)
The noun after “begge” is in the definite, and here “begge” points to two.
Jeg spiste begge kakestykkene. (I ate both pieces of the cake.)
If there are “three” or more, you should use “alle.”
Jeg spiste alle kakestykkene. (I ate all pieces of the cake.)
3 Begge to
“Begge to” is used about specific objects. It is often used when we talk about persons and animals.
Begge to kommer fra Oslo. (Both come from Oslo).
Q: Hvilken av de to laptopene har lang batteritid? (Which of the two laptops has a long battery time?
A: Begge to har god batteritid. (Both of them have good battery time.)
4 Begge deler
“Begge deler” is used when talking about general objects or verbs. It is used when we point to a type of
something rather than to a concrete, specific thing.
Jeg må kjøpe meg en ny bil og pusse opp huset, men jeg har ikke råd til begge deler nå. (I have to buy a new
car and redecorate my house, but I cannot afford to do both of these activities now.)
