North Americans are familiar with a 5-star rating system for movies, restaurants, hotels, tv shows, music and even books.
Norwegians on the other hand, have a unique rating system that sets them apart from the rest of the world- it’s called terningkast or dice roll. This term was first used in the newspaper Verdens Gang (VG) in 1952 by writer Arne Skouen. Later, use of the same scale became widespread in other genres such as radio, TV, books, theater and online.
Interestingly, the object which in gambling represents total neutrality or randomized luck denotes the exact opposite in this case: an opinionated critique.
In popular culture, the term is also used as commentary about anything — from a meal you just ate, to a celebrity’s red carpet outfit. You can say “I’d give that dish a Dice 6,” or simply “Dice 4,” the way you’d remark “Five stars!” in English. #Terningkast6 is far and away the most common hashtag of the six, similar to when people enthusiastically express, “10/10, would do again.”
Watch in this video clip as passersby taste test popsicles and give their terningkast – one person even gives it terningkast sju– en syver – a seven! His friend teases, “That’s not even on the die!”
Video Vocab:
Terningkast fem – “Dice five” [Cultural translation: I’d give it a five out of six]Fire kanskje? – Four, maybe?
Jeg gir min fem – I’d give it a five
Jeg gir fire – I give it a four
I hvert fall en femmer – A five, in any case.
Sterk firer eller svak femmer – A strong four or a weak five.
Kanskje en sekser i sommervær – Maybe a six in summer weather.
Jeg likte den veldig godt, jeg gir den en syver, jeg – I liked it very much, I give it a seven
Syver? Det er ikke på terningen, en gang – Seven? That’s not even on a die.
Here is the rating for each number on the dice scale:
Terningkast 1 – usedvanlig dårlig – exceptionally bad
Terningkast 2 – dårlig – bad
Terningkast 3 – skuffende – disappointing
Terningkast 4 – god – good
Terningkast 5 – meget god – very good
Terningkast 6 – usedvanlig vellykket – exceptionally successful
