Norwegian: ansikt / fjes

[Kabouterke]

Hi there,

I did not know there was a synonym for 'ansikt' until I read the following sentence:

'Dere skal også kunne fungere i hverdagen sammen, så dere bør ha noe til felles utenom en fascinasjon for hverandres fjes."

Is fjes a pure synonym of ansikt? Is it used only in some contexts, dialects (author is from Stavanger)?

Thanks!

 

[Svenke]

I think fjes is used all over the country. It is a little bit informal, but in no way a bad word.

Other words:
(et) andlet-- traditional Nynorsk word and in some dialects
(et) åsyn -- also mostly Nynorsk, now perhaps mostly jocular, but traditionally religious, Guds åsyn
(en) fleis -- very informal, but not really taboo
(et) tryne -- very informal and derogatory, fairly taboo, properly used about the snout of a pig

 

[Svenke]

This is the first stanza of the song lyrics Tulla, written sometime in the early 20th century by the well-known Margrethe Munthe:

Vi har en tulle med øyne blå,
med silkehår og med ører små,
og midt i fjeset
en liten nese,
så stor som så.
(The last så is supposed to be accompanied be a gesture showing the size of the tiny nose.)

It was famously recorded by (then) Crown Princess Sonja, Wenche Myhre and the puppet Titten Tei (Birgit Strøm) in 1976.