en

From Old Norse en. The comparative superior conjunction and the hesitational conjunction have developed separately into the same form. The comparative conjunction is -an in the old language; -þan on runestone probably is related to -then, while the other form (hesitational) has formed from the augmentive.

Nei, Elín? En gaman að sjá þig!


um

Inherited from Old Norse um, inherited from Proto-Germanic *umbi (“around, about”).

inh+

Það er um að gera að sofa vel.

The important thing to do is to sleep well.

Hvað er um að vera?

Eins og um var talað.


of

From Old Norse of-, from Proto-Germanic *uber. The original full form is seen in the prefixed form ofur- (“overly, super, very”). Related to yfir (“above”) and ofan (“from above”).

Ég er of falleg.

I am too beautiful. (referring to a woman)

Ég er of fallegur.

I am too beautiful. (referring to a man)


ver

(nonstandard) comparative degree of illa


sama

Mér er sama.


vel

head

vel (comparative betur, superlative best)

From Old Norse vel, from Proto-Germanic *wela.


fast

fast (comparative fastar, superlative fastast)

fastar (comparative)
fastast (superlative)

að slá einhvern fast


ei

From Old Norse ei. A clipping of eigi, from Proto-Germanic *ni aiw-gin (“never”), from *ne, *ni (“not”) + *aiw (“always, for ever”) + *-gin. Not related to Finnish ei (“no”).

Örvæntið ei!

Ég veit ei hvað skal segja.


sí

From Old Norse sí-, from Proto-Germanic *sin-.


amen

at the end of creed or in Biblical translations: truly, verily


milli

From Old Norse *miðli, from a formation related to Proto-Germanic *midlą (“middle”).


ein

Hún er ein.


inn

Hvenær komumst við inn?


oft

oft (comparative oftar, superlative oftast)

oftar (comparative)
oftast (superlative)

From Old Norse oft (“often”) and opt (“oft, often”).

Ég fer oft í ræktina.

Ég er oftast í tölvunni.

I spend most of my time on the computer.

Ég hef sigrað oftar en þú!


illa

illa (comparative verr, superlative verst)

Mér gekk illa.

Að ganga illa.

Henni gengur illa að finna góðan kærasta.

She has bad luck (does poorly) with finding a good boyfriend.


sko

A conflation of two senses: one meaning "look", from Danish skue (“to look”), another meaning "truly", from Danish sgu (“intensifier word”).

Sko, ég verð upptekinn næstu daga en verð laus um helgina.

Here's the situation: I'll be busy the next few days but I'm free during the weekend.

Ég verð sko upptekinn á morgun.

used when giving an explanation, you see, see here, so, now

Mér finnst þetta sko ekkert sérstaklega skemmtilegt.

filler word, often used for hesitation, you know, like


enn

From Old Norse enn, from Proto-Germanic *andi, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂entí.


já

From Old Norse já (“yes”), Proto-Germanic *ja (“yes”).


afar

From Old Norse afar, from Proto-Germanic *abraz.

Ég yrði þér afar þakklátur ef þú gerðir þetta fyrir mig.

I would be most grateful to you if you did this for me.


gg

Þetta er gg gott lag.

(informal, youth slang) Abbreviation of geggjað (“extremely, super”).


heim

From Old Norse heim (“home, homewards”), the accusative form of heimr (“abode, world, land”), from Proto-Germanic *haimaz.

Förum heim!


aftur

aftur (comparative aftar, superlative aftast)

aftar (comparative)
aftast (superlative)

From Old Norse aptr, from Proto-Germanic *aftrą.


aldrei

aldri (alternative archaic)
aldregi (alternative archaic poetic)

Ég mun aldrei fyrirgefa þér.

Hún sagðist að hún myndi koma til klukkan 8 en hún kemur aldrei á réttum tíma.

She said she'd show up at 8, but she never shows up on time.


allstaðar

A contraction of alls staðar (“of all place”), from alls (“of all”) the genitive of allur (“all”) and staðar (“of a place”) the genitive of staður (“a place”). Compare dialectal Norwegian Nynorsk aillstan and Swedish allestädes.


alltaf

allt (“everything, all”) + af (“from, by”).


áður

head

áður (comparative only, no positive or superlative)

áður fyrr


á morgun

Eigum við að hittast á morgun?

Á morgun þá verður hún mín.

1995, “Á morgun [Tomorrow]”, in Guffagrín [The Goofy Movie], performed by Ólafur Egilsson:


ár

Inherited from Old Norse ár, from Proto-Germanic *airi. Cognates include: Gothic 𐌰𐌹𐍂 (air, “early”), Old English ār and ærlice (English early).

Þess vegna var ákveðið að beita fullkomnustu mælitæki sem völ er á til að skera úr um hversu ár Hvannadalshnjúkur er í raun.

2005 May 27, Hvannadalshnjúkur mældur, RÚV:

Therefore it was decided to use the most advanced measuring equipment available to determine how old Hvannadalshnjúkur really is.

(rare, except in the phrase ár og síð) early


austur

austur (comparative austar, superlative austast)

austar (comparative)
austast (superlative)

From Old Norse austr, from Proto-Germanic *austrą.

east, eastward (designating movement to the east)

in the east (only used together with a prepositional phrase indicating a more precise location, except when used comparatively)


bara

Borrowed from Danish bare (“barely, only”). First attested in the 18th c.. Compare Swedish bara.

bor+

Ég á bara 200 krónur.

Bara að hann hringi í mig...

Þegiðu bara!

Gerðu þetta bara og þegiðu!


ekki

From Old Norse ekki (“nothing”), from eitt (neuter of einn (“one”)) + negative suffix -gi, -ki.

Ég er ekki Alda!

Ég fer ekki í dag því ég fann ekki vegabréfið mitt.

I'm not leaving today because I didn't find my passport.

Ekki fara!


ennþá

Ég kann ennþá ekki á tölvur.

I still don't know how to operate computers.

Ég bý ennþá í Danmörku.

Ég er ennþá veikur.


fótgangandi

From fótur (“foot”) + gangandi (“walking”).

Að fara fótgangandi.


frá

From Old Norse frá, from Proto-Germanic *fram.

adverbial form of preposition, used in compounds


fyrir

From Old Norse fyrir (“before, for”), from Proto-Germanic *furi (“before, for”).


gjarnan

head

gjarnan (comparative heldur, superlative helst)

heldur (comparative)
helst (superlative)
gjarna (alternative)

Compare gjarn (“willing”). Cognate with the Swedish gärna.


hér

From Old Norse hér (“here”), from Proto-Germanic *hē₂r.

Á Sprengisandi (“On Sprengisandur”) by Grímur Thomsen
Ríðum, ríðum og rekum yfir sandinn,
rennur sól á bak við Arnarfell,
hér á reiki er margur óhreinn andinn,
úr því fer að skyggja á jökulsvell;
Drottinn leiði drösulinn minn,
drjúgur verður síðasti áfanginn.
Ride, ride, ride hard across the sands,
the sun is settling behind Arnarfell.
Here many spirits of the dark
threaten in the gloom over the glacier's ice.
The Lord leads my horse,
it is still a long, long way home.


hérna

hér (“here”) + -na (“accusative suffix”).

af

Hvar ertu? — Ég er hérna.


í gær

From Old Norse í gær. Compare Faroese í gjár and Danish i går.

Hver stal kökunni úr krúsinni í gær?

Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar yesterday?


kannski

Probably borrowed from Danish kanske (“perhaps”), though related to it regardless. Other cognates include Faroese kanska, Norwegian Nynorsk kanskje, Norwegian Bokmål kanskje, Swedish kanske.


langt

head

langt (comparative lengra, superlative lengst)

lengra (comparative)
lengst (superlative)

Við gengum ekki mjög langt sko.

Svo langt sem það nær.

Gunnar gekk langt, en Hildur gekk lengst.

Gunnar walked far but Hildur walked farthest.

Ertu að fara langt?

Við horfðum á sjónvarp langt fram á nótt.

We watched television late into the night.

Sófinn er langt of stór!


líka

Luke 6:29 (English, Icelandic)

If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic as well.

Slái þig einhver á kinnina, skaltu og bjóða hina, og taki einhver yfirhöfn þína, skaltu ekki varna honum að taka kyrtilinn líka.

Konan mín kom, og börnin mín líka.

Ég vona að við hittumst aftur. - Ég líka.


meira

From Old Norse meiri, from Proto-Germanic *maizô.


mikið

mikið (comparative meira or meir, superlative mest)

meira (comparative)
meir (comparative)
mest (superlative)

Veistu hvað ég elska þig mikið?


niðri

niðri (comparative neðar, superlative neðst)


norður

From Old Norse norðr, from Proto-Germanic *nurþrą.

Hann fór norður.


nokkuð

Þetta er nokkuð gott.

Er þetta nokkuð slæmt?

Ertu nokkuð með bókina?


nóg

From Old Norse nóg, gnóg; derived from the adjective nógur (Old Norse nógr, gnógr).

Barnið sefur ekki nóg.

Gott er að ganga og hreyfa sig nóg.

It's good to walk and get plenty of exercise (lit. to move plenty).


núna

From Old Norse nú (“now”), from Proto-Germanic *nu.


sjaldan

sjaldan (comparative sjaldnar, superlative sjaldnast)

sjaldnar (comparative)
sjaldnast (superlative)
skjaldan (alternative regional)


snemma

snemma (comparative fyrr, superlative fyrst)

From Old Norse snemma, snimma, from Proto-Germanic *sneumô. Cognate with Faroese snimma.

Það sást snemma að hún var sérstök.


strax

Borrowed from Middle Low German, cognate with Swedish strax, Danish straks and dated German stracks.

Komdu hingað strax!


suður

suður (comparative sunnar, superlative syðst)

sunnar (comparative)
syðst (superlative)

From Old Norse suðr, from Proto-Germanic *sunþrą.


svolítið

svoldið (alternative)
soldið (alternative)


svona

From Old Norse svána. Composed of svo (“so, thus”) + -na (proximal suffix).

affix

Til þess að hitta í körfuna verðurðu að kasta boltanum svona.

To hit the basket you have to throw the ball like this.

Ég vissi ekki að þú værir svona góður!

Ég fór síðast í bíó fyrir svona mánuði.

The last time I went to the movies was like a month ago.


uppi

head

uppi (comparative ofar, superlative efst)


vestur

From Old Norse vestr, from Proto-Germanic *westrą.


þar

From Old Norse þar, from Proto-Germanic *þar.


hvað

From Old Norse hvat, originally the neuter form of *hver (from Proto-Germanic *hwaz), but conflated with hverr (whence Modern Icelandic hver). Corresponds to Proto-Germanic *hwat, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷód, *kʷod. See hver.

Hvað er dóttir þín gömul?

Þeir vissu ekki hvað þeir yrðu lengi í burtu.

They didn't know how long they would be away.

how (with reference to an adjective or an adverb)


hvar

From Old Norse hvar, from Proto-Germanic *hwar.

Hvar áttu heima?

Hvar er hann niðurkominn?

Hvar í ósköpunum varstu, Óskar?


hvenær

Hvenær er von á þér?

Hvenær áttu afmæli?


því

From Old Norse því, possibly from the instrumental interrogative Proto-Germanic *hwī (“how, with what”), with the initial h- replaced by the þ- from the forms of *sa.

en því meira sem hann blés, því þéttara vafði ferðamaðurinn kápunni að sér

but the more he blew, the tighter the traveller wrapped his coat around himself


hvernig

Hvernig segir maður „X“ á íslensku?

Ég veit ekki hvernig hann hefur tíma fyrir það.

Hvernig bíl áttu?


hvert

Inherited from Old Norse hvart, from hvar (“where”) (whence hvar) + at (“to”) (whence að). The vowel change is probably due to influence from hver (neuter hvert).


af hverju

Literally, “of what”, or more loosely translated as “due to what”, from af (“of”) and hverju the dative of hvað (“what”).

lit

afhverju (alternative nonstandard)
akkuru (alternative slang)

Mamma, af hverju er himininn blár?

Af hverju viltu fara til Spánar? — Af hverju ekki?

Why do you want to go to Spain? — Why not?

Af hverju mætirðu ekki í veisluna?


svo

Svo... Hvenær eigum við að koma til ykkar?

Ég er svo glaður en ég veit ekkert af hverju.

Þau litu hvort á annað og svo aftur á mig.

They looked at each other and then back at me.


fyrst

Við kaupum fyrst inn.


þangað

From Old Norse þangat, þengat, þagat, þegat, þingat, from *þann veg at, *þenna veg at.


þarna

From Old Norse þarna. By surface analysis, þar (“there”, anaphoric adverb) + -na (demonstrative suffix). Compare svo and svona.

surf

(location, demonstrative) over there, there (the place being pointed at)


þá

From Proto-Germanic *þawō. The conclusive -n has fallen away in the Scandinavian dialects already in the oldest texts.

Þá var ég ungur maður.

Genesis 5:3 (Icelandic, English)
Adam lifði hundrað og þrjátíu ár. Þá gat hann son í líking sinni, eftir sinni mynd, og nefndi hann Set.
When Adam had lived 130 years, then he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth.

Þá fer ég bara!

Hvað gerirðu þá?


þegar

From Old Norse þegar, cognate with Old Swedish þaghar, Old Gutnish þegar.


gjarna

heldur (comparative)
helst (superlative)
gjarnan (alternative)

Compare gjarn (“willing”). Cognate with the Swedish gärna, as well as Danish and German gerne.


að minnsta kosti

Ég læri að minnsta kosti þrjá tíma á dag.


aðeins

aðeins meira

Færðu þig aðeins.


aldeilis

Borrowed from Danish aldeles, partly from al- + -deles, derived from del (compare Danish særdeles, Icelandic sérdeilis), and partly from Medieval Danish alleledis, derived from led (“way”) (compare Icelandic leið and svoleiðis), which became conflated with the former, perhaps by metathesis.

Þú varst aldeilis lengi!

an intensifier used as a sentence adverb to indicate an abundance or great degree


alltof

Univerbation of allt of, literally “all too”.


alveg

First attested in the 1900s, formed from á allan veg (“in every way”) or similar. Compare English always, Norwegian Nynorsk allveg, Low German allwege, although they are apparently independent formations.

ekki alveg

Ég kem alveg!

Hættu nú alveg


annars

Ef ég hef einhvern pening þá getum við farið út að borða, annars borðum við bara heima.

If I have any cash we can eat out, otherwise we'll just eat at home.

Hey, veistu annars hvað hún heitir?


ansi

Minced oath, a clipping of andskoti (“devil; damn”)

(intensifier) pretty, pretty darn, rather, quite


ger

head

ger (comparative form; superlative gerst)

Inherited from Old Norse gerr, gjǫrr, gørr, from Proto-Germanic *garwiz, comparative of the adverb corresponding to ger (3).


mjög

From Old Norse mjǫk, from Proto-Germanic *mekō, from Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂s; related to mikill (< *mikilaz, derived from a suffixed form of the same Indo-European word).

mjög mikið

mjög margt

Það var mjög gaman.

Ég á mjög erfitt með það.


því miður

From the adverb því (“for that reason”) and miður (“worse”).

Það er því miður ekkert pláss í bílnum.

Unfortunately there's no space left in the car.


helst

Þetta vildi ég helst ekki.

superlative degree of gjarna (“willingly”)


burt

Mamma fór burt.


hingað

From Old Norse hingat, from *hinn veg at.

Komdu hingað strax!

Hvernig komstu hingað?

Ég kom hingað með strætó.

here (movement), into here, to here, hither


út

From Old Norse út, from Proto-Germanic *ūt.


úti

From Old Norse úti, from Proto-Germanic *ūtai.

verða sér úti um

to get a hold of something, to procure something

„Ég fann höfuð af hrúti
hrygg og gæruskinn.“
Komdu nú og kroppaðu með mér,

1928, Krummavísa (“Raven Song”, on the Icelandic Wikisource) by Jón Ásgeirsson Krummi krunkar úti, kallar á nafna sinn

“Krummi croaks outside,
calling his namesake:
‘I found the head of a ram,
backbone and sheepskin.’
Come now and peck with me,
Krummi, my namesake.”

Er einhver þarna úti?

Eigum við ekki að borða úti?

Skipin eru úti.

Hann býr úti núna.


inni

inni (comparative innar, superlative innst)

vera inni í

to be familiar with something, to be well-versed in something

Hann er inni í svefnherbergi.

He's in the bedroom (which is located further away from the exit of the house than the room I am currently in).


utan

relating to movement from the outside to the inside


sjálfsagt

sjálf (“self”) + sagt (“supine form of segja (“to say”)”), literally “self-said”.

af

supine form of <i class="Latn mention" lang="is">segja</i> (“to say”)

það er sjálfsagt


það

From Old Norse þat (“it, that”), from Proto-Germanic *þat, from Proto-Indo-European *tód (neuter of *só). Cognates include Swedish det, Faroese tað and English that.

Ég vissi ekki að hann væri það veikur.


fram

head

fram (comparative framar, superlative framast)

framar (comparative)
framast (superlative)

From Old Norse fram, from Proto-Germanic *fram.

fram og aftur

fram og til baka

fram í/á

Farðu fram í stofu.

Go to the living room (which is closer to the exit than the room we are currently in).

in a direction that is closer to the exit of the house


nær

From Old Norse nær, comparative form of ná (“near”).

Hann er nær þér en mér.


innan

From Old Norse innan, from Proto-Norse ᛁᚾᚨᚾᚨ (inana), from Proto-Germanic *innanē.


gegn

From Old Norse gegn, from Proto-Germanic *gagin. Compare German gegen; Old High German gagan.

Ég komst í gegn!


sundur

From Old Norse sundr, from Proto-Germanic *sundraz.


þó

Anna þó! Það er harðbannað að slá fólk!

Anna! Hitting people is strictly forbidden!

used when scolding a person (usually in particular children), preceded by that person's name


upp

From Old Norse upp, from Proto-Germanic *upp.


miður

From Old Norse miðr, from earlier minnr, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *mey- (“little, small”), cognate with Gothic 𐌼𐌹𐌽𐍃 (mins), Latin minus.

der

Það var miður heppilegt.


lengi

head

lengi (comparative lengur, superlative lengst)

lengur (comparative)
lengst (superlative)


niður

From Old Norse niðr, from Proto-Germanic *niþer, from Proto-Indo-European *niter. Cognates include Danish and Swedish ned, English nether, Dutch neder, German nieder.

Hlauptu upp og niður stigann hundrað sinnum!

Run up and down the stair a hundred times!


út af

Ég get ekki sofnað út af hávaðanum.

I can't fall asleep because of the noise.


einnig

ekki einasta … heldur einnig


jú

Ert þú ekki frændi Elísu? - Jú, það er ég.

Aren't you Elísa's uncle? - Yes, that's me.

Ætlarðu ekki að fara í skólann? - Jú.. auðvitað.

Aren't you going to school? - Yes.. of course I am.

Þér þótti aldrei vænt um hann var það nokkuð? - Jú, ég elskaði hann.

You never really cared about him now did you? - I did, I loved him.

(in response to a negative sentence) yes, certainly


nú

From Old Norse nú, from Proto-Germanic *nu (“now”), from Proto-Indo-European *nū (“now”).

Gunnar Gunnarsson, Fjallkirkjan p. 174

„Ég fann höfud af hrúti
hrygg og gæruskinn.“
Komdu nú og kroppaðu með mér,


ella

From Old Norse ella, shortened from earlier elligar. Compare ellegar. Ultimately from Proto-Germanic *aljaz.


heima

From Old Norse heima. Cognate with Swedish hemma (“at home”).

Hæ pabbi, ertu heima? Ég gleymdi lyklunum mínum.

Hey dad, are you at home? I forgot my keys.

Hvar áttu heima?

Hvar ertu? - Heima hjá mér.


hví

From Old Norse hví, dative of hvat. Cognate with Faroese hví, Norwegian Nynorsk kvi, Swedish vi (pre-1906 spelling hvi).


t.d.

Abbreviation of til dæmis (“for example”).


m.a.

among other things, amongst others, inter alia


alls

virði alls


heldur

Ég á mjólk og gos, hvort viltu heldur?

I have milk and soda, which would you prefer?

Hvort viltu heldur pizzu eða hamborgara?

Which would you rather like, a pizza or a hamburger?

comparative degree of gjarna; rather, preferably, specifies a choice or preference

gjarna

Mér líst ekkert á þennan stól, hann er heldur óálitlegur.

I don't fancy this chair at all, it looks fairly unimpressive.

comparative degree of gjarna; rather, somewhat, fairly


fyrr

Hún mætti fyrr í vinnuna en venjulega.

She showed up to work earlier than usual.

comparative degree of snemma; earlier, before


brátt

From neuter singular of bráður. Compare Swedish brått.


hegat

Sturlunga saga I, page 119

En um várit eftir fýstist Ari út hegat ok gaf jarl honum knörr með rá ok reiði. Hann varð vel reiðfari, ok kom skipi sínu at Gásum.

But during next spring Ari wanted from hither and the earl giveth him knaar with a ship's yard and ride. His trip went well, and he brought his ship to Gásar.


ansvíti

A contraction of andskoti (“devil”) and helvíti (“hell”).

Þetta kaffi er ansvíti gott.


þannig

From þann (“that”) + veg (“way”), literally “that way”. See also the alternates þanneginn and þanninn, from þann veginn (with definite article).

af

þanneginn (alternative)
þanninn (alternative)


meðal

From Old Norse meðal, from Proto-Germanic *midlą (“middle”). Compare Danish middel (“means, something used to cure”), which was instead probably borrowed through Low German.


í símanum

Ég er í símanum, mamma!

Ég hef ekki tíma til að vera í símanum.


eigi

eigi síðar en


af hverju ekki

afhverju ekki (alternative)
akkuru ekki (alternative)
akkuriggi (alternative)


endur

From Old Norse endr, from Proto-Germanic *andiz.

Það gerðist endur fyrir löngu.


endrum og sinnum

Þá heyrði ég sögur um skrímsli í vatninu, sem hefur sést endrum og sinnum síðar.

[back] then I heard stories of a monster in the lake, which has been seen occasionally since.


sífellt

From the adjective sífelldur (“constant, continual, incessant”).


akkuru

afhverju (alternative)
af hverju (alternative)


skyndilega

head

skyndilega (comparative skyndilegar, superlative skyndilegast)

skyndilegar (comparative)
skyndilegast (superlative)

suddenly (happening quickly and with little or no warning)


til dæmis

Mig langar til dæmis ekki að læra ensku.

I for example don't want to learn English.

for example, exempli gratia (abbreviation t.d.)


til hamingju

Til hamingju karlinn. Þetta var flott hjá þér.

Congratulations dude. That was well done.


ekki lengur

Ég er ekki lengur í buxum.

Ég er ekki lengur nemandi.


óvenjulega

From ó- (“un-”) + venjulega (“normally, usually”).

affix

Hann var óvenjulega fljótur.

exceptionally, extra, unusually, uncommonly


í sundur

Hann reif bókina í sundur.


í morgun

this morning (during the morning of today)


skref fyrir skref

Tökum þetta bara skref fyrir skref.


á eftir

Ég geri þetta á eftir.

Við erum á eftir þeim í náminu.


aðallega

/ˈaːðalˌlɛːɣa/


akkuru ekki

af hverju ekki (alternative)
afhverju ekki (alternative)
akkurekki (alternative)


í nafni

Ég gerði þetta í hans nafni.

Morðtilraun í nafni guðs.

An attempted murder in the name of the lord.


vel á minnst

Literally, “well mentioned”. Compare Icelandic minnast á.

Vel á minnst, kemurðu í matarboðið á eftir?

By the way, are you going to come to the dinner party afterwards?

Og já vel á minnst, ég heiti Jón.


með kurt og pí

Og ég kvaddi hann með kurt og pí.


ógeðslega

head

ógeðslega (comparative ógeðslegar, superlative ógeðslegast)

ógeðslegar (comparative)
ógeðslegast (superlative)

From the adjective ógeðslegur (“disgusting”).

(slang, not comparable) super-duper, so; very, extremely (if pronounced with stress)


síður

From Old Norse síðr, comparative of síð.


ár og síð

(rare) constantly, morning and night, early and late


hægt og bítandi

Þrek hennar dvínar hægt og bítandi.

slowly but effectively, by inches, inch by inch


hægt

hægt (comparative hægar or hægara, superlative hægast)

hægar (comparative)
hægara (comparative)
hægast (superlative)


út af fyrir sig

Hann vill vera út af fyrir sig.

Ég vil vera út af fyrir mig.


fremst

Hann stóð fremst.

fremst í dalnum

farthest up the valley (in North and West Iceland); at the mouth of the valley (in South Iceland)


stutt

stutt (comparative styttra, superlative styst)

styttra (comparative)
styst (superlative)


eins og alþjóð veit

Literally, “like the whole country knows”.

lit

En þú ert, eins og alþjóð veit, feitur og heimskur.

But you are as everybody knows, fat and stupid.

Eins og alþjóð veit er ég alltaf svangur um hádegi, enda borða ég aldrei morgunmat.

It's common knowledge that I'm always hungry around noon since I never eat breakfast.

Icelandic Web of Science: Er mjólk holl? (“Is milk good for you?”)

Many dairy products also include added sugar but as everybody knows, that tasty source of energy is undesirable.

Einnig innihalda margar mjólkurvörur viðbættan sykur, en eins og alþjóð veit er sá bragðgóði orkugjafi óæskilegur.

(simile) as everybody knows, as is common knowledge, a hyperbolic statement insinuating the prominence or obviousness of a specific fact


eins og nærri má geta

(simile) as was to be expected, as can be imagined


nærri

nærri. comparative degree of næst (canonical)


eins og kunnugt er

Icelandic Web of Science: Vísindavefurinn: Hvað er karrí? (“What is curry?”)
Eins og kunnugt er einkennist indversk matargerðarlist af bragðmiklum mat sem velt hefur verið upp úr ríkulegri kryddblöndu.
Indian cuisine is characterized as everybody knows by food with a strong taste, rolled in an ample mixture of spices.

(simile) as everybody knows, as is common knowledge


eins og skot

Ég kem eins og skot.


viljandi

Hún tapaði viljandi.


vísvitandi

gera vísvitandi

to do something on purpose, to do something deliberately


akkúrat

Borrowed from Danish akkurat, from Latin accūrātus, past participle of accūrō.


undir fjögur augu

Literally, “under four eyes”. Cognate or calque of Danish under fire øjne, a cognate of German unter vier Augen.

Mætti ég ræða við þig undir fjögur augu?

(idiomatic) discussing in private; for two people to discuss without others present


í trúnaði

Ég sagði þér þetta í trúnaði!


títt

head

títt (comparative tíðar or tíðara, superlative tíðast)

tíðar (comparative)
tíðara (comparative)
tíðast (superlative)


engu að síður

Myndin var löng, en góð engu að síður.

The movie was long but good nevertheless.

nevertheless, in spite of, still, even though


inn við beinið

Hann er góður strákur inn við beinið.


á næstu grösum

Ég held að það séu sannkölluð stakkaskipti á næstu grösum.

I think there are going to be some real changes soon.


um og ó

Mér er um og ó.

Manni verður um og ó þegar maður heyrir þetta!


milli tveggja elda

Ungverjaland var milli tveggja elda í síðari heimsstyrjöldinni.

Hungary was between the devil and the deep sea in WWII.

between the devil and the deep blue sea
between the devil and the deep blue sea

between a rock and a hard place
between a rock and a hard place

between the devil and the deep blue sea, between a rock and a hard place


ofan

From Old Norse ofan, from Proto-Germanic *ubanē.


heilu og höldnu

Ég var smá skelkaður við það að klífa fjallið, en ég komst upp heilu og höldnu.

I was a little scared of climbing the mountain, but I made it to the top safe and sound.


samt

Ég mun samt giftast henni.


dauðans

Hann er karlremba dauðans

Þetta var próf dauðans maður!


frammi

frammi (comparative framar, superlative fremst)

framar (comparative)
fremst (superlative)

Nennirðu að bíða frammi á meðan ég tala við mömmu?

Could you wait outside of the room while I talk to mom?

Ég heyrði eitthvað frammi á gangi.

out front; in a location closer to the exit of the house


e.Kr.

AD (indicating years after Christ); Abbreviation of eftir Krist.


neðan

From Old Norse neðan (“below, beneath”), from Proto-Germanic *niþanē (“below, beneath”).

der

Hann kom neðan frá.

Miðinn er fastur neðan á fernunni.

The ticket is stuck on the bottom of the carton.

Séð að neðan.

Þetta virtist vera stærra séð að neðan.

It seemed to be larger when seen from below.


samt sem áður

nevertheless, nonetheless, in spite of, still, even though


sisona

Hvernig geturðu bara skipt um skoðun sisona?

How can you just change your mind like that?


í bráð

Ég gleymi fyrsta kossinum mínum ekki í bráð.

I won't forget my first kiss in the short run.

in the short run, for the time being, at the moment


í húð og hár

Ég er Íslendingur í húð og hár.

Ég er Reykvíkingur í húð og hár, enda hef ég búið í Reykjavík allt mitt líf.

I'm a Reykjavíker through and through as I've lived there all my life.


senn

From Old Norse senn, from the older form seðr (which appears e.g. in the skaldic poem Haustlǫng).
Cognate with Old Frisian sōn, Old Saxon sāno, Old English sōna (English soon), Old High German sān.

Sundlaugin opnar senn.

The swimming pool will open after a while.

Jesús kemur senn.


býsna

From Old Norse býsna- (“pretty, tolerably”). Compare German ziemlich.

Ég er býsna þreyttur.


immit

pronunciation spelling
pronunciation spelling

(nonstandard, humorous) pronunciation spelling of einmitt


líklega

head

líklega (comparative líklegar, superlative líklegast)

líklegar (comparative)
líklegast (superlative)


megin

From Old Norse megin, from Proto-Germanic *maginą.

Risaeðlurnar voru hinum megin í Vetrarbrautinni.

The dinosaurs were on the other side of the Milky Way.

Ég segi honum að setjast í framsætið og hann reynir undir eins að fara inn bílstjóramegin.

I tell him to sit in the front, and he immediately tries to get in on the driver's side.

used after qualifiers to mean "on X side"; often followed by a prepositional phrase


einhliða

From ein- (“uni, one-”) + hliða (“of sides”), literally “of one side”.


nýlega

head

nýlega (comparative nýlegar, superlative nýlegast)

nýlegar (comparative)
nýlegast (superlative)


ekki baun

Literally, “not a bean”. The phrase is quite old; it is related to an older analogy of saying that something is less of a bellyful than a single bean, as a bean is quite small and insignificant.
Ekki baun í bala is a more recent saying.

Ég skil ekki baun.

Hann er ekki búinn að gera baun í allan dag.

Það var ekki baun vont að fara í endajaxlatöku.

Getting my wisdom teeth out didn't hurt one bit.

It wasn't a bean bad to go to the wisdom tooth removal.

(colloquial) not at all, absolutely not, absolutely nothing


þ.á.m

Abbreviation of þar á meðal (“for example”).


að venju

Literally, “of/towards a habit”, or more loosely translated as “as is habitual”.


efalaust

From efalaus (“indubitable, doubtless”).

without a doubt, indubitably, doubtlessly


eflaust

Contraction of efalaust (“without a doubt, doubtless”). Compare án efa (“without a doubt”).


svakalega

Er þetta litla stelpan þín? Hún er svakalega sæt.

Is that your little girl? She's awfully cute.


þaðan

Ég og samfangar mínir komumst þaðan óséðir á meðan vörðurinn svaf.

I and my fellow prisoners managed to escape from there without being seen while the guard was sleeping.

Hljóðið kom þaðan!


til fullnustu

Hann hefur aldrei skilið þetta til fullnustu.

He has never understood this completely.


tiltölulega

Prófið reyndist tiltölulega auðvelt.


tiltörulega

misspelling of tiltölulega (“relatively”)


almennt

From almennur (“common, for everybody, universal”).

Íslendingar eru almennt dónalegir.


lítt

head

lítt (comparative miður, superlative minnst)

miður (comparative)
minnst (superlative)

Móðir hans var lítt hrifin.


hve

Inherited from Old Norse hvé, inherited from Proto-Germanic *hwē.

Hve gömul er dóttir þín?


frekar

Mamma sagðist frekar vilja ódýra gjöf.

Mom said she'd rather want a cheap present.

rather, preferably, specifies a choice or preference

Þetta var frekar leiðinleg mynd.

Öspin er orðin frekar stór.


ágætlega

Mér líður samt ágætlega.


einkar

Hún var einkar vingjarnleg.


um leið

Matthew 26:74 (Icelandic, English 1 and 2)

Then he began to call down curses on himself and he swore to them, "I don't know the man!" Immediately a rooster crowed.

En hann sór og sárt við lagði, að hann þekkti ekki manninn. Um leið gól hani.


harla

Genesis 1:31 (Icelandic Bible, New International Version)

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.

Og Guð leit allt, sem hann hafði gjört, og sjá, það var harla gott. Það varð kveld og það varð morgunn, hinn sjötti dagur.


f.Kr.

BC (indicating years before Christ); Abbreviation of fyrir Krist.


hlið við hlið

From the nominative of hlið (“a side”) and við (“by, next to, alongside”) and the accusative of hlið (“a side”).


konar

From Old Norse -konar, genitive singular of Old Norse konr (“kind”), from Proto-Germanic *kuniz. Cognate with Old English cyne- (prefix).

alls konar ...

annars konar ...

einhvers konar ...

eins konar ...

kind, type (only used in the genitive, with an attributive adjective, determiner, etc., modifying a noun phrase)


fyllilega

fyllilega (comparative fyllilegar, superlative fyllilegast)

fyllilegar (comparative)
fyllilegast (superlative)

/ˈfɪtlɪˌlɛːɣa/


forðum

From Old Norse forðum. Cognate with Faroese forðum.


í fyrra

Literally, “in (the) former”. The second element is likely a corruption of Old Norse fjǫrð (“last year”), which gives the second element in Swedish i fjor (“last year”), Danish i fjor (“last year”), Norwegian i fjor (“last year”).


nákvæmlega

nákvæmlega (comparative nákvæmlegar, superlative nákvæmlegast)

nákvæmlegar (comparative)
nákvæmlegast (superlative)


sennilega

sennilega (comparative sennilegar, superlative sennilegast)

sennilegar (comparative)
sennilegast (superlative)

/ˈsɛnːɪˌlɛːɣa/


helvíti

From Old Norse helvíti, from Hel, hel (“the goddess of the realm of the dead”) (itself from Proto-Germanic *haljō, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- (“to cover, hide, conceal”)) + víti (“punishment”). Compare Faroese helviti, Norwegian and Swedish helvete, Danish helvede, also Old English hellewīte.
Hel is the equivalent of Hades in Greek mythology.

der

Þetta er helvíti flott!

darn, damn (curse word used for emphasis, often positive)


greinilega

head

greinilega (comparative greinilegar, superlative greinilegast)

greinilegar (comparative)
greinilegast (superlative)

Ég valdi greinilega vitlausan tíma til að hætta að horfa á hafnabolta.

I clearly picked the wrong time [lit. "a wrong time"] to stop watching baseball.


alvarlega

alvarlega (comparative alvarlegar, superlative alvarlegast)

alvarlegar (comparative)
alvarlegast (superlative)


öðruvísi

/ˈœðrʏˌviːsɪ/

Derived from annar (“other”) + vís, the latter being an obsolete term meaning "way" (cognate with Swedish vis), literal meaning "in a different way".
Cognate with English otherwise.

öðruvís (alternative obsolete)
öðruvísa (alternative obsolete)
öðruvísu (alternative obsolete)


hræðilega

/ˈr̥aiːðɪˌlɛːɣa/


persónulega

persónulega (comparative persónulegar, superlative persónulegast)

persónulegar (comparative)
persónulegast (superlative)


undarlega

undarlega (comparative undarlegar, superlative undarlegast)

undarlegar (comparative)
undarlegast (superlative)


eðlilega

eðlilega (comparative eðlilegar, superlative eðlilegast)

eðlilegar (comparative)
eðlilegast (superlative)

/ˈɛðlɪˌlɛːɣa/


vanalega

vanalega (comparative vanalegar, superlative vanalegast)

vanalegar (comparative)
vanalegast (superlative)


auðveldlega

auðveldlega (comparative auðveldlegar, superlative auðveldlegast)

auðveldlegar (comparative)
auðveldlegast (superlative)

From auðveldur (“easy”) + -lega (“-ly”).


agalega

/ˈaːɣaˌlɛːɣa/


alúðlega

alúðlega (comparative alúðlegar, superlative alúðlegast)

alúðlegar (comparative)
alúðlegast (superlative)


andfélagslega

andfélagslega (comparative andfélagslegar, superlative andfélagslegast)

andfélagslegar (comparative)
andfélagslegast (superlative)


andstyggilega

andstyggilega (comparative andstyggilegar, superlative andstyggilegast)

andstyggilegar (comparative)
andstyggilegast (superlative)


dónalega

dónalega (comparative dónalegar, superlative dónalegast)

dónalegar (comparative)
dónalegast (superlative)


rólega

rólega (comparative rólegar, superlative rólegast)

rólegar (comparative)
rólegast (superlative)


skiljanlega

skiljanlega (comparative skiljanlegar, superlative skiljanlegast)

skiljanlegar (comparative)
skiljanlegast (superlative)


frábærlega

frábærlega (comparative frábærlegar, superlative frábærlegast)

frábærlegar (comparative)
frábærlegast (superlative)


erlendis

Ég hef aldrei búið erlendis.


fjarri

fjarri (comparative fjær, superlative fjærst)

From Old Norse fjarri, from Proto-Norse *ᚠᛖᚱᛖ (*fere /ferrē/), from Proto-Germanic *ferrai.


rétt

rétt (comparative réttar, superlative réttast)

réttar (comparative)
réttast (superlative)


með köldu blóði

Það var ekki sjálfsmorð; hún var drepin með köldu blóði!

It was not suicide; she was killed in cold blood!


varlega

varlega (comparative varlegar, superlative varlegast)

varlegar (comparative)
varlegast (superlative)


hérmeð

/ˈçɛːrˌmɛːð/


jafnóðum

Ég vaska alltaf upp jafnóðum.

I always clean my dishes as soon as [they become dirty].

Síldin selst jafnóðum.

The herring is sold as soon as [it is produced].

Kosningatölur verða birtar jafnóðum á síðunni.

Election results will be published on our website as they are coming in.

to be continuously or repeatedly done immediately after something else happens; as soon as


héðan

From Old Norse héðan, cognate with Swedish hädan.


hartnær

Lögin voru tekin í gildi fyrir hartnær 30 árum.

The law came into force almost thirty years ago.


óskaplega

ó- (“un-”) + skap (“shape, state, mood”) + -lega (“-ly, adverbial suffix”). Compare English unshapely, though the English cognate maintains a much more literal interpretation.


ítrekað

From the verb ítreka (“to repeat, to reiterate”).


memm

Viltu vera memm?

Do you want to partake in our game? / Do you want to join?

Viltu koma memm?

(informal) (to come) along, (to come) with


á besta aldri

Literally, “at the best age”. Compare Danish i sin bedste alder.

in the prime of life
in the prime of life


jafnt

head

jafnt (comparative jafnar, superlative jafnast)

jafnar (comparative)
jafnast (superlative)


verulega

/ˈvɛːrʏˌlɛːɣa/


ákaflega

Þau dansa saman ákaflega vel.


iðulega

/ˈɪːðʏˌlɛːɣa/


atarna

að tarna (alternative)
tarnana (alternative)
tarna (alternative)
térna (alternative)

(colloquial, dated, with noun with clitic definite article) there


ógn

From Old Norse ógn, from Proto-Germanic *ōgan-, deverbal of *ōgijaną (“to frighten, to scare”). More at ægja.

how (modifier used to express surprise or delight)


ótt

ótt (comparative óðar or óðara, superlative óðast)

óðar (comparative)
óðara (comparative)
óðast (superlative)


einmitt

From an unattested Old Norse *einmið(u)r (“one who is in the middle, exact”), from ein- (“one-”) + miðr (“middle”).


norðurlega

[ˈnɔrðʏrˌlɛːɣa]


suðvestur

/ˈsʏːðˌvɛstʏr/


norðvestur

From norður (“north”) + vestur (“west”).


norðaustur

From norður (“north”) + austur (“east”).


suðaustur

/ˈsʏːðˌøystʏr/


út úr kortinu

(idiomatic) beyond the pale, out of the question


hversu

From Old Norse hversu. Cognate with Faroese hvussu.


nefnilega

Presumably from Danish nemlig, through Middle Low German nemlik. Cognate with Saterland Frisian nämmelk, West Frisian nammentlik, Dutch namelijk, German Low German nämlich, German nämlich, Danish nemlig, Swedish nämligen, English namely.


nánar

more accurately, more closely, more completely


eilíflega

From eilífur (“eternal”) + -lega (“-ly”).


ætíð

From æ (“forever”) + tíð (“time”). Compare (second morpheme “time”) Danish altid, Faroese altíð, Norwegian Bokmål alltid, Norwegian Nynorsk alltid, Swedish alltid, Dutch altijd, German allzeit, allezeit, German Low German alltiet.


hérlendis

in this country (whichever country the speaker is currently in)


utanlands

From utan (“outside of”) + land (“land”).


merkilega

head

merkilega (comparative merkilegar, superlative merkilegast)

merkilegar (comparative)
merkilegast (superlative)


öfugt

the wrong way around, facing the wrong way


í fyrradag

day before yesterday
day before yesterday


örsjaldan

örsjaldan (comparative örsjaldnar, superlative örsjaldnast)

örsjaldnar (comparative)
örsjaldnast (superlative)


að eigin geðþótta

at one's own pleasure, at one's own free will


löglega

löglega (comparative löglegar, superlative löglegast)

löglegar (comparative)
löglegast (superlative)


sömuleiðis

Takk, sömuleiðis.

Á Suðurlandi er hálka og snjóþekja og sömuleiðis á Vesturlandi.

There is ice and snow on Southern Iceland, and the same applies to West Iceland.


hittífyrra

(rare) Alternative spelling of hittiðfyrra


hittiðfyrra

Univerbation of hitt (“the other”) + hið (“the”) + fyrra (“previous”).

univ

hittifyrra (alternative)
hitteðfyrra (alternative)
hitt í fyrra (alternative rare)
hittífyrra (alternative rare)

Ég fór þangað í hittiðfyrra.


innanlands

Ekkert flogið innanlands vegna veðurs.

20 kórónuveirusmit greindust innanlands í gær.

20 people in this country were diagnosed with coronavirus yesterday.


vangefið

Það var vangefið gaman á tónleikunum.

(slang) used for emphasis, for example to emphasize how good something is


svoldið

(informal) pronunciation spelling of svolítið


doldið

(informal) pronunciation spelling of dálítið


þar af leiðandi

(higher register) therefore, consequently, as a result


soddan

Hundurinn þinn er soddan krútt.

Þú getur verið soddan vælukjói.

Þú ert soddan snillingur!

Soddan vil ég síður sjá.

I would rather not see things of that sort.

(archaic) of that sort, things like that


herfilega

Mér líður herfilega.

Við sökum ykkar herfilega.

Það mistókst herfilega.

used for emphasis, very much, to a great extent


enn og aftur

Tónleikunum var seinkað enn og aftur.

Enn og aftur, takk!

I want to reiterate that I am immensely grateful.

to reiterate, I wish to reiterate (usually said to emphasize how thankful one is)


með allt niður um sig

Hann hljóp út af kamrinum með allt niður um sig.

He ran out of the outhouse with his pants still around his ankles.

to have one's pants & underwear around one's ankles (as if one is or has just been at the toilet)

Samtökin eru með allt niður um sig.

The organization is doing a comically bad job these days — they are ineffective and unprepared.

(idiomatic) to be utterly failing, to be doing a horrible job at one's tasks, for everything one is trying to do to be going comically wrong (often due to a lack of preparation)


vestanhafs

From vestan + haf, literally “to the east of the ocean”.

com

Það er mikil verðbólga vestanhafs.

Inflation is very high in the United States.

in the United States (or, less commonly, also Canada)


bévíti

Þetta er bévíti fínt hús.

That's is a darn good house you've got there.


asskoti

A minced oath of the curse word andskoti.

Þetta er asskoti flott!

darn (a mild curse word, most often used positively)


djöfulli

Derived from the curse word djöfull (“devil”) by imitating the endings of the related adverbial curse words andskoti, fjandi, etc. (Djöfulli can not be naturally derived from djöfull by itself).
Appears in the mid-20th century.

Þetta er djöfulli fínt kaffi!

darn, damn (a fairly mild curse word, most often used positively)


andskoti

An Old Norse term meaning "opponent", from and- + skoti, literally “he who shoots against you”.
By extension, everybody's opponent is Satan. This meaning is attested in some old poems, including one claimed to be from 1180.

Þetta er andskoti flott!

damn, bloody (curse word used for emphasis, often positive)


endilega

Já, endilega!

Heyrðu endilega í mér.

by all means!, absolutely! (used to encourage someone and show positivity)

Ekkert endilega.

Þarftu endilega að æfa þig á blokkflautuna núna?

Is it absolutely necessary for you to practice the recorder right now?


fokking

fokkings (alternative)
fokkíng (alternative)

Ái, þetta var fokking vont.

Er þetta eitthvað fokking grín.

(colloquial) fucking (curse word used for emphasis)


langalöngu

fyrir langalöngu


fríhendis

Calque of Danish fri hånd, cognate with English freehand. Composed of frír + -hendis, a suffix derived from hönd (“hand”).


hægri vinstri

Ökumenn voru sektaðir hægri vinstri.

Drivers were being fined left and right.

Hann lofaði upp í ermina á sér hægri vinstri.

He made too many promises he couldn't keep to a large number of people.

(idiomatic) left and right, occurring all over the place with excessive frequency or indiscriminately


ósköp

Það var ósköp gaman í gær.


til eða frá

Laun munu hækka um 5.000 krónur, til eða frá.

Salaries will increase by 5.000ISK, give or take.

Nokkur tonn til eða frá skipta engu máli.

It doesn't matter if that number is off by a few tons.

Ekki vera á ferðinni til eða frá höfuðborgarsvæðinu.

Not on the way to or from the Capital area.


temmilega

Borrowed from Danish temmelig. Cognate with German ziemlich.

(informal) fairly, adequately, sufficiently, rather


hreinlega

Mér datt það hreinlega ekki í hug.

Hann fór hreinlega á kostum í þessari bíómynd.

His performance was absolutely amazing in that film!

simply!; absolutely!; just! (used for emphasis)

(literally) in a manner that looks clean


álíka

From álíkur (“similar”), from á (“on”) + líkur (“similar”).

Bræðurnir eru álíka stórir.


út undan

að skilja eftir út undan

to leave someone behind; to exclude someone

að vera út undan

to be left out; to not be included in a social group

sjá út undan sér

to see something in one's peripheral vision


innvortis

Borrowed from Danish indvortes, from Middle Low German inwordes. Compare English inwards, Icelandic innanverður.

Með hálft kíló af kókaíni innvortis.

He was trying to smuggle half a kilo of cocaine, which he had swallowed and was carrying inside his gastrointestinal tract.

inside of the body (often relating to the body cavities); internally


á hinn

Literally, “the other one”. From ekki á morgun heldur hinn (“not the day which is tomorrow but the other one”).


miður sín

Ég er alveg miður mín.

to be devastated, to be very sad over something


vel að merkja

Vel að merkja er þetta ekki stafsetningarvilla.

It's worth noting, by the way, that this isn't a typo.

Tónleikagestir, sem vel að merkja voru á öllum aldri, skemmtu sér vel.

Concertgoers — who were, by the way, people of all ages — had fun.

note that, nota bene, it's worth mentioning, by the way


þó það nú væri

head

þó það nú væri

is-adv

þó það nú væri


hvaðanæva

Þeir koma hvaðanæva að.

from all around, from a variety of places


örugglega

head

örugglega (comparative örugglegar, superlative örugglegast)

örugglegar (comparative)
örugglegast (superlative)


afturábak

Alternative spelling of aftur á bak (“backwards”)


fljótlega

From fljótur + -lega, analyzable as an adverbial form of fljótlegur (“quick”).

Sjáumst fljótlega.


mannavillt

fara mannavillt
fara mannavillt#Icelandic

Only used in fara mannavillt (“to mistake someone for someone else”)


um daginn

Minn tólf ára spurði mig um daginn, „Pabbi, af hverju eru eiturlyf ólögleg?“

My twelve-year-old asked me the other day, "Dad, why are drugs illegal?"


óvart

Derived from, and identical to, the strong neuter nominative-accusative singular of óvar.


úrskeiðis

fara úrskeiðis


kurteislega

courteously, gracefully; in a courtly manner, nobly