**Learn Bokmål, using audio with an Oslo/Eastern Norwegian accent.** That’s the most practical choice for a short trip to Oslo and Hurum.

The key distinction is between **written standards and spoken dialects**:

- **Bokmål** is the most widely used written standard. Most Norwegian courses for foreigners teach it.
- **Nynorsk** is the other official written standard, developed from Norwegian dialects. People who write Nynorsk generally speak their local dialect.
- **Riksmål** is a privately maintained standard very close to moderate Bokmål. You can leave its finer distinctions for later.

[Lingu’s explanation](https://kpa.lingu.no/publicaciones/bokmal-nynorsk-norwegian-dialects) covers the relationship between writing and speech; [Riksmålsforbundet](https://www.riksmalsforbundet.no/hva-er-riksmal/) explains how closely Riksmål and moderate Bokmål overlap.

**Using a different region’s dialect will generally still get you understood.** Norwegians routinely encounter regional speech, and dialects are used in everyday and professional settings. For a beginner, pronunciation and vocabulary will matter more than whether you’ve chosen precisely the local forms. Understanding a fast spoken reply may be the harder part.

For your trip, choose one Bokmål course with audio and practise useful phrases aloud. You don’t need to master a Hurum dialect. One particularly useful phrase is *Kan du snakke litt saktere?* — “Can you speak a little more slowly?”