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"Greenland Shark" is Håkjerring in Norwegian. Hå is an old word for shark, while kjerring now means bitch.

• giantg2 6y ago
  Interesting
• mc32 6y ago
  And hå sounds like /ho/. But they are fascinating. Living from 200 to 500 years, it’s speculated.
• unhammer 6y ago
  It doesn't mean 'bitch' (that would be "tispe"), though in many dialects it's only used about women in the same way that word is. The literal meaning is just '(grown-up) woman'. In some dialects, it's still just used to mean 'wife' or '(old) woman' without anything negative, though in modern times the negative connotations have spread so it's used less and less like that. But it shows up in fairy tales and kids stories ( https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kjerringa_som_ble_s%C3%A5_lita_som_ei_teskje https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kjerringa_som_ble_s%C3%A5_lita... ) and songs; you'd never see the word "bitch" used about women in English in material meant for children …
  • reitanqild 6y ago
    On behalf of Norwegian language users, thanks for the clarification. You explanation seems to be extremely precise. (My qualifications: I've lived permanently in Norway since before 2000, I speak a Norwegian dialect and pass as a Norwegian all the time. I'm also married to a Norwegian woman so I kind of know the nuances. For Norwegians here: in my family it stops at "kone" even though by the dialect I speak it should rather be pronounced as "kåne" : ).
  • xyproto 6y ago
    Yes, it depends on where in Norway you are, and the context, but if someone yelled "kjerring" somewhere around Oslo, the best translation would be "bitch". If you disagree, we'll have to duke it out with Holmgang. ;)