Nordic-specific termNew⏱ ~2 min

Beredskapsvenn

Someone you have agreed with in advance to help in a crisis. Named word of the year 2024 by the Norwegian Language Council, and used by Norway's civil protection agency about household preparedness.

The word joins two things that rarely sit next to each other: 'beredskap', meaning preparedness, formality and planning, and 'venn', meaning friend. That pairing is what makes it useful. A beredskapsvenn is neither a supplier nor a contractual counterparty, but someone you have spoken to beforehand about what you can offer each other.

The Norwegian Language Council named beredskapsvenn word of the year for 2024, on the criteria that such a word should be current, viable and of high linguistic quality. It grew out of the Directorate for Civil Protection and Emergency Management's work to make people able to cope on their own in a crisis, and that is where it belongs: the neighbour with room for a shared emergency store, or the one with a wood stove when the power is out.

The advice from the directorate is simpler than it sounds. Work out who you can help in a crisis, and that person can probably help you with something else. The reciprocity is not a trade to be settled; it is an expectation that it runs both ways over time.

The word is established for people and households, not for organisations. The mechanism is the same either way, and that connection is what makes the term interesting outside its home ground.

PreparednessNordicCulture