Understanding the difference between bli and være is essential for speaking Norwegian correctly.

These two verbs are often confused by beginners because they can both translate to “to be” in certain contexts.

However, they serve entirely different grammatical functions.

Være describes a static condition or a permanent state of being.

Bli describes a change, a transition, or an action happening to someone.

Let’s look at exactly how to use each verb correctly.

Conjugating være and bli

Before looking at examples, you’ll need to know how to conjugate these verbs.

Both verbs are irregular in Norwegian.

Here’s the conjugation table for both verbs in the present, past, and present perfect tenses.

In many spoken dialects, you’ll hear people say blei instead of ble for the past tense of bli.

When to use være

The verb være translates directly to “to be” in English.

You use it to describe a current state, identity, location, or condition.

It’s completely static.

This means no active change or transition is taking place.

Here are a few examples of være in action.

When to use bli

The verb bli primarily translates to “to become” or “to get” in English.

You use it to describe a change in state or a transition.

If a condition is changing from one thing to another, you must use bli.

You also use it when talking about a future profession or a future state.

Here are some examples of bli used to show a change.

Using bli for the passive voice

Norwegian frequently uses bli to form the passive voice.

The passive voice emphasizes the action happening to the subject, rather than who is doing the action.

To form this, you combine bli with the past participle of another verb.

This is very similar to how English uses “to be” or “to get” for passive sentences.

Look at these examples of the passive voice.

Using bli to mean staying

There’s one specific context where bli doesn’t mean a change in state.

In Norwegian, bli is often used to mean “to stay” or “to remain” in a location.

This happens when you decide to continue being in a specific place for a period of time.

Here’s how you use it in everyday conversation.