Norwegian word of the day: Muffens
If someone in Norway offers you a cupcake, make sure there's nothing fishy about it before you accept. Here's why.
Why do I need to know muffens?
Because you really don't want to confuse it with muffins, which means 'cupcakes'.
What does it mean?
Muffens is Norwegian for 'fishy', meaning something is not quite right.
Her er det noe muffens literally translates to 'there are some muffens here', but it really means 'I smell a rat', 'something is off' or 'this is fishy'.
In Norway 'something is moldy' means something is strange, 'her er det noe muffens' from mugg=mold.
But muffins is def cake @Scanditwitchen pic.twitter.com/QW6hp2pdbZ
— Ellen Hagen ? (@northbird_ellen) October 10, 2017
Many Norwegians don't know the difference between muffens and muffins, so some will say her er det noe muffins, which means 'there are some cupcakes here'.
If what they actually mean is muffens, that something looks suspicious, that's something of a bummer.
Bare jeg som syns det er noe muffins her? pic.twitter.com/oQMoWnp4
— Mats (@Mats_Kol) November 7, 2012
If someone offers you muffins in Norway, they should ask, har du lyst på muffins? - do you fancy a cupcake?
If, however, they offer you muffens, you'd do well to politely decline.
Origins
Muffens likely came from the German word muff, which means 'mold' or 'bad smell', according to according to Norwegian dictionary NAOB.
Use it like this
Jeg lukter muffens! - I smell a rat!
Her er det noe muffens, er sikkert og visst. - There is something fishy going on here, that's for sure.
Politiet sa de syntes det var noe muffens ved innbruddet. - The police said they thought there was something suspicious about the break-in.
Synonyms
Ugler i mosen - owls in the moss (meaning something is fishy)
Comments
See Also
Why do I need to know muffens?
Because you really don't want to confuse it with muffins, which means 'cupcakes'.
What does it mean?
Muffens is Norwegian for 'fishy', meaning something is not quite right.
Her er det noe muffens literally translates to 'there are some muffens here', but it really means 'I smell a rat', 'something is off' or 'this is fishy'.
In Norway 'something is moldy' means something is strange, 'her er det noe muffens' from mugg=mold.
— Ellen Hagen ? (@northbird_ellen) October 10, 2017
But muffins is def cake @Scanditwitchen pic.twitter.com/QW6hp2pdbZ
Many Norwegians don't know the difference between muffens and muffins, so some will say her er det noe muffins, which means 'there are some cupcakes here'.
If what they actually mean is muffens, that something looks suspicious, that's something of a bummer.
Bare jeg som syns det er noe muffins her? pic.twitter.com/oQMoWnp4
— Mats (@Mats_Kol) November 7, 2012
If someone offers you muffins in Norway, they should ask, har du lyst på muffins? - do you fancy a cupcake?
If, however, they offer you muffens, you'd do well to politely decline.
Origins
Muffens likely came from the German word muff, which means 'mold' or 'bad smell', according to according to Norwegian dictionary NAOB.
Use it like this
Jeg lukter muffens! - I smell a rat!
Her er det noe muffens, er sikkert og visst. - There is something fishy going on here, that's for sure.
Politiet sa de syntes det var noe muffens ved innbruddet. - The police said they thought there was something suspicious about the break-in.
Synonyms
Ugler i mosen - owls in the moss (meaning something is fishy)
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