Icelandic Phrases

Welcome to the Aderalingua Icelandic Phrases course. This is a free online course to help you learn some useful words and phrases in the Icelandic language.

This course includes Icelandic phrases for introducing yourself, greeting people, and everyday situations. Icelandic words for common colors, numbers, and adjectives are also included.

Online flashcards are included to help you improve your Icelandic vocabulary.

Let's get started learning Icelandic.

Pronunciation

Like English, the Icelandic alphabet is based on the Latin alphabet. The following table shows the pronunciation of some of the letters in Icelandic that may be a bit tricky for English speakers.

Á	á	Pronounced like ou is house.
Ð	ð	Pronounced like th in father.
É	é	Pronounced like ye in yet.
G	g	Pronounced like the g in good at the beginning of a word. Between vowels like ch in German or Scottish loch. Sometimes silent.
J	j	Pronounced like y in yes.
Ó	ó	Pronounced like oa in boat.
Ú	ú	Pronounced like oo in moon.
Þ	þ	Pronounced like th in three.
Æ	æ	Pronounced like i in ice.
Ö	ö	Pronounced similar to u in fur.

Introduction and Greeting Phrases

This section includes Icelandic phrases used for introducing yourself and greeting others. Listen to each sentence and then practice speaking it. This will help you understand spoken Icelandic as well as improve your pronunciation. Use the flashcards at the end of this section to help you learn these phrases.

Halló.	Hello.
Hæ.	Hi.
Bless.	Goodbye.
Góðan dag.	Good morning.
Gott kvöld.	Good evening.
Góða nótt.	Good night.
Hvað heitir þú?	What is your name?
Ég heiti ___.	My name is ___.
Gleður mig að kynnast þér.	Nice to meet you.
Gaman að kynnast þér.	Pleased to meet you.
Hvernig hefur þú það?	How are you?
Hvernig gengur?	How's it going?
Gott takk. (Og þú?)	(I'm) good, thanks. (And you?)
Talar þú ensku?	Do you speak English?
Ég tala ekki íslensku.	I can't speak Icelandic.
Sjáumst síðar!	See you later!
Sjáumst bráðlega!	See you soon!
Hvar áttu heima?	Where do you live?
Ég bý í ___.	I live in ___.
Hvaðan ertu?	Where are you from?
Ég er frá ___.	I'm from ___.

Here are some flashcards to help you learn these useful Icelandic phrases for greeting people and introducing yourself to others.

Flashcards

Common Phrases

This section includes some useful Icelandic phrases that are used in everyday life. Use the flashcards at the end of this section to help you learn these phrases.

Já.	Yes.
Nei.	No.
Ertu búinn?	Are you finished?
Farðu varlega!	Be careful!
Get ég hjálpað þér?	Can I help you?
Getur þú hjálpað mér?	Can you help me?
Komdu með mér.	Come with me.
Virkaði það?	Did it work?
Ég hef áhyggjur.	I'm worried.
Ekki hafa áhyggjur!	Don't worry!
Allt er í lagi.	Everything is all right.
Afsakið	Excuse me.
Fyrirgefðu.	Pardon me.
Hringdu í mig.	Give me a call.
Gangi þér vel!	Good Luck!
Gettu hvað!	Guess what!
Góða skemmtun!	Have fun!
Hjálp!	Help!
Hversu langt í burtu er það?	How far away is it?
Hvað kostar það?	How much is it?
Ég gerði það.	I did it.
Ég gerði það ekki.	I didn't do it.
Ég veit.	I know.
Ég veit ekki.	I don't know.
Ég skil.	I understand.
Ég skil ekki.	I don't understand.
Ég fann það.	I found it.
Ég elska þig!	I love you!
Þetta líkar mér.	I like that.
Þetta líkar mér ekki.	I don't like that.
Ég myndi vilja ___.	I would like ___.
Ef ég væri þú. (Ef yeg vighri thoo)	If I were you.
Ég hringi í þig seinna.	I'll call you later.
Ég er fullur. (male) Ég er full.(female)	I'm full.
Ég er svangur.(male) Ég er svöng.(female) (Yeg er svangur, Yeg er svöng)	I'm hungry.
Ég er týndur. (male) Ég er týnd.(female)	I'm lost.
Því miður. (Thvee midhur)	I'm sorry.
Ég er þyrstur. (male) Ég er þyrst.(female) (yeg er thirstur, yeg er thirst)	I'm thirsty.
Ég er þreytt.(female) Ég er þreyttur.(male) (Yeg er thrayt(ur))	I'm tired.
Er allt í lagi?	Is everything all right?
Er einhver þarna?	Is someone there?
Það virkar ekki. (Thahdh virkar ekki)	It doesn't work.
Það er mikilvægt.	It's important.
Það er ekki mikilvægt.	It's not important.
Förum.	Let's go.
Við skulum gera það besta úr því.	Let's make the best of it.
Varúð! (Varoodh)	Look out!
Gjörðu svo vel! (gyurdhu svo vell)	Please!
Mér þykir það leitt! (myer thickir thahdh layt)	Sorry!
Slakaðu á.	Take it easy.
Takk fyrir!(tahk firrir)	Thank you!
Þakka þér kærlega fyrir!	Thank you very much!
Takk. (tahk)	Thanks.
Það er í lagi.	That's fine.
Það er frábært!	That's great!
Það er rétt! (Thahdh er ryet)	That's right!
Hvað ertu að gera?	What are you doing?
Hvað sagði hann?	What did he say?
Hvað sagði hún?	What did she say?
Hvað sagðir þú?	What did you say?
Hvað heldur þú?	What do you think?
Hvað þýðir það?	What does that mean?
Hvað gerðist?	What happened?
Hvað er þetta?	What is that?
Hvert er vandamálið?	What's the problem?
Hvað er að? (Kvadh er ahdh)	What's wrong?
Hvað er klukkan?	What time is it?
Hvað viltu að drekka?	What would you like to drink?
Hvað viltu að borða?	What would you like to eat?
Hvar gistir þú?	Where are you staying? (to one person)
Hvar er sjúkrahús?	Where is the hospital?
Hvar er snyrting?	Where is the washroom?
Hvar voru þeir?	Where were they?
Hver er það?	Who is that?
Hver veit? (Kver vait)	Who knows?
Þú veist hvað ég meina. (Thoo vaist kvadh yeg mainah)	You know what I mean.
Ekkert að þakka! (ekkert adh thacka)	You're welcome!

Here are some flashcards to help you learn these useful Icelandic phrases.

Flashcards

Restaurants and Cafés

Here are some useful Icelandic phrases that you can use when you're at a restaurant or café.

Borð fyrir tvo, takk.	A table for two, please.
Get ég fengið að sjá matseðilinn.	Can I see the menu please.
Get ég fengið salt.	May I have some salt.
Get ég fengið smjör.	May I have some butter.
Get ég fengið glas af vatn?	May I have a glass of water?
Get ég fengið bolla af kaffi?	May I have a cup of coffee?
Get ég fengið bolla af te?	May I have a cup of tea?
Get ég fengið bjór?	May I have a beer?
Get ég fengið reikninginn.	The bill, please.

Colors

This section includes some Icelandic words for common colors.

gulur (yellow)

blár (blue)

dökkblár (navy)

hvítur (white)

grár (grey)

brúnn (brown)

svartur (black)

fjólublár (purple)

rauður (red)

dökkrauður (dark red)

bleikur (pink)

grænn (green)

ljós grænn (light green)

magenta (magenta)

cyan (cyan)

appelsínugulur (orange)

Here are some flashcards to help you learn the Icelandic words for colors.

Flashcards

Numbers

In this section you'll learn the Icelandic words for numbers.

0	núll (nul)
1	einn (aydn)
2	tveir (tvayr)
3	þrír (threer)
4	fjórir (fyohrir)
5	fimm (fimm)
6	sex (sex)
7	sjö (syuh)
8	átta (owt-tah)
9	níu (neeuh)
10	tíu (teeuh)
11	ellefu (ellevuh)
12	tólf (toalf)

13	þrettán
14	fjórtán
15	fimmtán
16	sextán
17	sautján
18	átján
19	nítján
20	tuttugu
21	tuttugu og einn
30	þrjátíu
100	hundrað
101	hundrað og einn
1,000	þúsund

People

In this section you'll learn some Icelandic words for people.

manneskja	person
fólk	people
móðir	mother
faðir	father
dóttir	daughter
sonur	son
barn	child
drengur, strákur	boy
stelpa	girl
Bróðir	brother
systir	sister
eiginmaður	husband
eiginkona	wife

Adjectives

This section lists some common Icelandic adjectives. Using adjectives in Icelandic is more complicated than in English, since they have different grammatical endings depending on the gender of the noun they modify, if the noun is singular or plural, and whether the noun is a subject or object of a sentence. Wikipedia has an article on the grammar of Icelandic adjectives.

Here are some useful sentence templates to use with Icelandic adjectives.

I am [adjective].	Ég er [adjective].
I am not [adjective].	Ég er ekki [adjective].
Are you [adjective]?	Ert þú [adjective]? (to one person) Eruð þið [adjective]? (plural)
She is [adjective].	Hún er [adjective].
He is too [adjective].	Hann er of [adjective].
It is very [adjective].	Það er mjög [adjective].
It is so [adjective].	Það er svo [adjective].

Here is a list of common Icelandic adjectives. Try creating sentences with with these adjectives using the templates shown above.

áhugaverður	interesting
bjartur	bright
blautur	wet
breiður	wide
dapur	sad
dökk	dark
einfaldur	simple
erfitt	hard (difficult)
fallegur	beautiful
gamall	old
góður	good, nice
hamingjusamur	happy
hár	high
hávær	loud, noisy
hægur	slow
hár	high, tall
harður	hard
heitur	hot
hraður	fast
hrjúfur	rough
kaldur	cold
langur	long
lágur	low
léttur	light (not heavy)
lítill	small
ljós	light (not dark)
mjúkur	soft
nýr	new
rangur	wrong
reiður	angry
réttur	right (correct)
rólegur	quiet
slæmur	bad
sléttur	smooth
stór	big
stuttur	short (not long)
þurr	dry
þröngur	narrow
þunnur	thin
þykkur	thick
ungur	young

Here are some flashcards to help you learn these icelandic adjectives.

Flashcards

More Learning Resources

This section contains a list of resources to help you learn to speak the Icelandic language.

Wikipedia has an overview of Icelandic grammar. Icelandic grammar is a bit complicated and will take a bit of time to learn. Concentrate on mastering the common phrases and work on understanding the grammar at a pace you're comfortable with.

Google Translate provides Icelandic to English and English to Icelandic translations.

Project Gutenberg has some free Icelandic ebooks.

Iceland has a few online newspapers.

Listen to online radio to help improve your listening skills. Útvarp Saga