GMT

(slang) Initialism of "gera mig til" ("making myself ready"), referring to putting on clothes and makeup to make oneself presentable, usually for a night out.


allt í einu

Maður getur ekki gert allt í einu.

everything at once (i.e. simultaneously)

Allt í einu slokknuðu ljósin.


ég heiti

Ég heiti Ríkharður.

Ég heiti Braga, hvað heitir þú?


hvað segir þú

Alternative form of hvað segirðu? (“how are you?”)


hvað er að

Hvað er að? -- Mér líður illa í maganum.

What's wrong? I'm feeling bad in the stomach.


verða að fara núna

Fyrirgefðu, ég verð að fara núna.

to have to go, to need to leave now, to need to go now


gaman að sjá þig

Ég verð að fara núna. Það var gaman að sjá þig.

I have to go now. It was nice to see you.

Nei, Elín? En gaman að sjá þig!


takk fyrir síðast

From takk fyrir (“thanks”) + síðast (“last, last time”). Compare Faroese takk fyri seinast, Danish tak for sidst, Norwegian takk for sist and Swedish tack för senast.


hvað heitir þú

Hvað heitir þú? Ég heiti Páll.


ég er frá...

Hvaðan ert þú? Ég er frá Austurríki.


hve mikið

how much does it cost
how much does it cost

how much, how much is it, how much does it cost


átt þú

átt þú ... (canonical)
áttu (alternative informal)

Afsakið, en átt þú mjólk?


fáðu mér

(rare) hand me; give me... [with accusative]


verði þér að góðu

head

verði þér að góðu (plural verði ykkur að góðu)

you're welcome (a response to a "thank you")


það var lítið

Literally, “that was little” (also, "no big deal"). Similar to Swedish and Norwegian det var så lite, Faroese tað var so lítið and Danish det var så lidt.

Don't mention it. (in response to "thank you" etc.)


til hamingju með afmælið

Literally, “to happiness with the birthday”, or more loosely translated as “congratulations relating to the birthday”.


allt gott

As a response to hvað segirðu (“how are you?”, literally “what do you say?”), signifying [ég segi] allt gott (literally “[I say] everything good”).

Hvað segirðu? – Allt gott.

good!, I'm fine! (positive response to “how are you?”)


gjörðu svo vel

Literally, “do so well”. Gjörðu is the imperative form of the archaic verb gjöra (“to do”). Gjöra is not used in modern Icelandic; instead it uses gera (“to do”).
The phrase gerðu svo vel can also be used but it is not as common, there it is derived from the modern verb gera (“to do”).

Gætirðu rétt mér saltið? - Já, gjörðu svo vel.

Could you pass me the salt? - Sure, here you go.

a polite expression when handing something to someone; here you go; there you go; my pleasure

Næsti, gjörðu svo vel.

Viltu gjöra svo vel að hætta þessu?


afsakið

Plural imperative mood of afsaka (you (plural) excuse).

Afsakið, en gætirðu fært þig?

Excuse me, but could you move (yourself)?


hvað er klukkan

Hvað er klukkan? — Klukkan er eitt.

Afsakið ónæðið, en hvað er klukkan?

Excuse me for bothering you, but what time is it?


farðu í rassgat

Literally, “go into an arsehole/asshole!”.

Farðu í rassgat helvítis tíkin þín!

Farðu í rassgat andskotans auminginn þinn!


fyrr skal ég dauður liggja

Literally, “I shall lie dead sooner (than that happens)”.


Þ.s.s.á.

An initialism from the Icelandic words það (“it, that”) sem (“which”) sanna (“to prove”) átti (“should've”), or that which was supposed to be proven or that which should've been proven.


skaga fram

Tennurnar sköguðu fram úr munninum hans.


standa út

Takkarnir standa út úr lyklaborðinu.


ég elska þig

I'm in love with you
I'm in love with you


æfingin skapar meistarann

practice makes perfect
practice makes perfect


talar þú ensku

do you speak English
do you speak English


hvað segirðu

Hvað (“what”) + segir (“say”) + þú (“you”) (literally "what say you?"), with "þú" being merged with the previous verb.

Hvað segirðu? - Allt gott, takk fyrir.

Hvað segirðu gott?


tíminn flýgur

Literally, “(the) time flies”. Calque of Latin tempus fugit.


nær dauða en lífi

Literally, “closer to death than to life”.

Eftir hlaupið var ég nær dauða en lífi.


klukkan

Ég kem klukkan þrjú.

Klukkan er fimm.

Hvað er klukkan?

Klukkan er kortér yfir þrjú.


ég skil ekki

Ég meina, ég skil bara ekki hvernig þú getur ennþá elskað hana!

I mean I just don't understand how you can still be in love with her!

Fyrirgefðu, ég skil þig ekki.

Ég skil þetta ekki.

Ég skil ekki hvað þú átt við.


til hamingju með daginn

Literally, “to happiness with the day”, or more loosely translated as “congratulations relating to the day”.

Heyrðu, áttir þú ekki afmæli í gær? Til hamingju með daginn!

Hey, wasn't your birthday yesterday? Congratulations.


megi hann lengi lifa

Megi forsetinn lengi lifa!


með lögum skal land byggja

Literally, “with laws shall land be built”, or more loosely translated as “land shall be built by laws”.
The phrase is the opening words of the preamble to Jyske Lov (Law of Jutland) issued 1241 by King Valdemar II in Vordingborg.
Compare Old Danish mæth logh skal land byggiæs, Danish med lov skal land bygges, Faroese við lóg skal land byggjast, Norwegian med Lov skal Landet byggjast, Swedish land skall med lag byggas, med lag skall land byggas.

"a country shall be built by laws", "the land will be built by laws", "with laws shall we build the land", the motto of Shetland Islands Council, Víkingasveitin and the Icelandic Police

Note, ólög can also represent bad laws, or laws that are not in harmony

land shall be built by laws, but desolated without them; with laws shall land be built, but desolated without laws; our land shall be built on laws and not desolated with lawlessness

In Njáls saga the proverb með lögum skal land byggja en með ólögum eyða appears. In the Frostathing Law the passage at lögum skal land várt byggja en eigi at ulögum øyða () appears.


sinn er siður í landi hverju

Literally, “its [own] is the custom in each land”, or more loosely translated as “each country has its own customs”.
Compare Faroese sær er siður á landi.

when in Rome, do as the Romans do
when in Rome, do as the Romans do


þetta er hebreska fyrir mér

Literally meaning "this is Hebrew for me".

it is all Greek to me
it is all Greek to me


á milli steins og sleggju

Literally, “between a stone and a hammer”.

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

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

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


súrt og sætt

Þau hafa gengið í gegnum súrt og sætt.


hver fjandinn

Hver fjandinn gengur hér á?!

Hver fjandinn er þetta?

(idiomatic) what the devil!, what the dickens!, what the fuck!


hvorki fugl né fiskur

neither fish nor fowl
neither fish nor fowl


ekki verður bæði sleppt og haldið

Literally, “it shall not be both let go and held”, or more loosely translated as “it's not possible to both let go and hold on”.

lit

have one's cake and eat it, too
have one's cake and eat it, too


vera ekki við eina fjölina felldur

vera ekki við eina fjöl felldur (alternative)

Það er ekki við eina fjöl fellt.

Pabbi minn er ekki við eina fjöl felldur.

Stelpan er ekki við eina fjölina felld enda spilar hún á gítar, fiðlu og trommur.

The girl has many irons in the fire as she plays the guitar, the violin and drums.

have many irons in the fire
have many irons in the fire

(idiomatic) to have many irons in the fire, to be busy or engaged in too many things at once, to be no plain matter


pomp og prakt

Búðin opnaði með pompi og prakt.

The store opened with pomp and circumstance

pomp and circumstance
pomp and circumstance


láta vaða um súðum

is-verb

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to speak one's mind, to say what comes to mind


ég tala ekki ensku

I don't speak English
I don't speak English


ég er ekki trúaður

head

ég er ekki trúaður m (female ég er ekki trúuð)


ég er ekki trúuð

ég er ekki trúuð f (male ég er ekki trúaður)


allt fínt

fine, just fine (in answer to the question Hvernig hefurðu það? “How are you?”, literally, “How do you have it?”)


betur sjá augu en auga

Literally, “better see eyes than an eye”, or more loosely translated as “many eyes see better than one”.

lit

two heads are better than one
two heads are better than one


fullum stöfum

Að rita orð fullum stöfum.

Að skrifa fullum stöfum.

Að skrifa nafnið sitt fullum stöfum.

(idiomatic) unabbreviated, without abbreviation, in full, an abbreviation written out

(idiomatic) directly, straight to the point


o.m.fl.

og margt fleira
og margt fleira#Icelandic

Initialism of og margt fleira (“and much more”).


ég þarf ...

a doctor — lækni

food

help — hjálp

money — peninga

a map — kort

water — vatn


sem stendur

(idiomatic) at the moment, as it stands, as it is


að vera heitt í hamsi

* "hams" can mean skin or mood, and is related to the word "hamur" (skin). "Að vera heitt í hamsi" refers to the one's skin turning red (warm) when one becomes angry.

to be worked up about something, to be upset, to be furious about something


að vera heitt í hamstri

að vera heitt í hamsi
að vera heitt í hamsi

a mis-identification of the phrase að vera heitt í hamsi (to be angry about something). An example of folk etymology, as the term hamstur (hamster) is a common word while the correct term hams (skin) does not exist in modern speech.


að verða ekki um sel

Selur is a seal (the marine animal). Many people felt uneasy about seals and their often human-like behaviour, they therefore formed a part of various superstitions.


að vera ekki um sel

að verða ekki um sel
að verða ekki um sel#Icelandic


talarðu ensku

Contraction of talar þú ensku (“do you speak English?”).


upp á hár

Literally, “onto the tip of a hair”; compare English spot-on.

Ég kunni þetta upp á hár.

Hann vissi upp á hár hvernig ætti að bregðast við.

(as in "að vita eitthvað upp á hár") to know something perfectly


úllen dúllen doff

The start of a common children's counting-out game. Likely from a Danish rhyme ("ullen dullen dof"). Assumed to be a distortion of the Latin numerals unum (“one”) and duo (“two”).

eeny, meeny, miny, moe
eeny, meeny, miny, moe

eeny, meeny, miny, moe (a rhyme used when selecting things at random)


kominn með upp í kok

Literally, “to have had it up to the throat”; compare English have had it up to here.

have had it up to here
have had it up to here

(idiomatic) to have had it up to here, have had enough


í sjöunda himni

(idiomatic) in seventh heaven, very happy, ecstatic


óalandi og óferjandi

In the law of the old Icelandic Commonwealth (930–1262), óalandi meant people could not feed outlaws, and óferjandi meant people could not offer transportation to outlaws.

(idiomatic, describing a person) not fit for human society (due to either being an extremely unpleasant person or due to being a criminal); obnoxious; disagreeable and unwilling to change


eftir einn ei aki neinn

A slogan used in anti-drunk-driving campaigns by the Icelandic Traffic Council dating back to at least 1984. Later became relatively widely used as an aphorism.
Literally, “after one (alcoholic drink), no one should drive”.

lit

(aphorism) "do not drive after having had even a single alcoholic drink"


ekkert mál fyrir Jón Pál

Jón Páll was an Icelandic strongman and the most prominent athlete of the 1980s. He could easily lift heavy objects, thus: "easy peasy for Jón Páll". The saying gained popularity since it rhymes with the already common expression ekkert mál.

easy peasy, a piece of cake, extremely easy


detti mér nú allar dauðar lýs úr höfði

Literally, “should now all dead lice fall from my head”; the person is so surprised that even the dead lice on their head fall out.

lit

nú detta mér allar dauðar lýs úr höfði (alternative)
detti mér allar dauðar lýs úr höfði (alternative)
detta mér allar dauðar lýs úr höfði (alternative)

"Well, I'll be damned!", a set phrase expressing complete surprise and shock


á dauða mínum átti ég von

Á dauða mínum átti ég von en ekki þessu.

That's the last thing I expected. / I literally never expected this could ever happen.

Á dauða mínum átti ég von frekar en að ég fengi þessi verðlaun.

I never thought there was even a chance I could win this award.

that's the last thing I expected, I am very surprised, I expected anything but this, I can't believe my own eyes


ekki með fulle fem

"Fulle fem" is Danish/Norwegian for "complete five", so "having one's complete five" likely refers to being in possession of all of one's five senses (thus being mentally fit). This phrase is used in modern Norwegian: ved sine fulle fem.

(idiomatic) to be lacking in mental faculties (temporarily or permanently), to be not quite all there, to be delusional


kalla ekki allt ömmu sína

Literally, “doesn't refer to everything as his grandmother”. From the latter half of the 19th century; origins unclear but assumed to have originated as a joke making fun on someone who bragged about his family tree.

lit

Hann kallar ekki allt ömmu sína en hann ætlar að hlaupa maraþon í sumar.

He certainly doesn't flinch away from daunting tasks; he is planning on running a marathon this summer.

(idiomatic) to be unafraid of tackling a difficult task

(idiomatic) not easily shocked; tough and resilient

ráðast ekki á garðinn þar sem hann er lægstur

þar hitti skrattinn ömmu sína

to meet someone equally or more stubborn than oneself


takk fyrir matinn

thank you for the meal (said after finishing a meal)


takk fyrir mig

said to show gratitude after a meal or an event that one is invited to


þau eru súr, sagði refurinn

From Aesop's fable The Fox and the Grapes.


um að gera

Það er um að gera að njóta veðursins.

Going outside to enjoy the weather is a great idea.

Um að gera að nýta tækifærið!

You should definitely use that opportunity!

Maður ætti kannski að skella sér til útlanda. – Já, um að gera!

I was thinking of going on a trip abroad. – Yes, that's a great idea!

I encourage you to do that; by all means (describes an action as being beneficial for the person spoken to)

Það er um að gera að vera meðvitaður um hvað maður setur ofan í sig.

It is important to be aware of what you put into your body.

Það er um að gera að vera þolinmóður.

Það er um að gera fyrir Breta að stöðva portúgölsku herskipin.

For Britain, intercepting the Portuguese warships is of utmost importance.


hægara sagt en gert

easier said than done
easier said than done


bla bla jólakaka

Nonsensical rhyming of bla bla (“blah blah”) (imitating nonsense chatter) with jólakaka.

(informal) “what nonsense!” (shows that the speaker believes some discussion is meaningless or without substance)


sitt lítið af hverju

lítið with sinn hver, literally "each little from each [category]".

Ég keypti bara sitt lítið af hverju.

I bought a wide variety of smaller things.

a variety of (minor) things, a bit from each category


sitt af hverju

sitt lítið af hverju
sitt lítið af hverju#Icelandic


það væsir ekki um mig

Væsa um einhvern is an obsolete phrase meaning "for the cold wind to blow on someone".
It only survives in this phrase, which is an understatement used to say that things are quite good.

I am very comfortable here, I have everything I need here


fara út um þúfur

for a project to fail, to go nowhere, to fall apart


ekki fyrir fimm aura

Literally, “not (even) for five cents”, i.e. it is worthless. Compare Swedish inte för fem öre, Norwegian ikke for fem øre.

Ég treysti þessu ekki fyrir fimm aura.

Þetta virkaði ekki fyrir fimm aura.