Icelandic

Icelandic is the national language and is believed to have changed very little from the original tongue spoken by the Norse settlers, but English and Danish are widely spoken.

Pronunciation

Page of detailed help with Icelandic pronunciation The pronunciations are partly mine (Elenor’s) based on the pronounciation of individual letters. If I find a better source (an aural one!), I’ll adjust as needed.

Icelandic has many English sounds due the languages both coming from the same language tree. Unless mentioned, assume English pronunciation.

Vowels

These are clear, unadultered vowel sounds. English tends to glide everything, so try to ensure that you pronounce the vowel and the vowel only. With vowels, what you see is usually what you get. The only circumstance under which a vowel might change quality is during elision. English pronunciations are American unless otherwise noted.

The stress of an Icelandic word almost always falls on the first syllable.

A a – father, hot (American), bar (British)
Á á – said as “ow” as in cow, wow, house
Ý ý – same as Í í as “ee” in we, feed, plead
Au – is said as “öj“ Not present in English, a blending of 'ö' and 'u'. Try saying 'bay' with your lips rounded.
Ð ð – said as “th” in the
E e – feather, bed
É é – said as yes, yellow
Ei and ey – said as the “a” sound in case, reign (this is the one time when its OK to say the English long ‘a’ like it’s usually pronounced).
EY ey – Same as EI ei
F f – at the start of words it is said as the English f. Between vowels as English. Before l or n as a b. Fnd is said as English m and fnt is said as hm
G g – At the beginning of words it is said as a hard English g. In between vowels and at the end of a word a very soft throaty g resembling a toned down German “ch” at the back of the throat.
It is not pronounced between accented vowels. It is said as an Icelandic j between a vowel and j. After a vowel and before a t or s it is a hard German “ch”
Hv – as “kf” in thankful
I i – said as “I” in win
Í í – said as “ee” in we, feed, plead
J j – said as a “y” at the beginning of words. Elsewhere it is aspirated before the “y” sound
ll – as “tl”
nn – as tn after accented vowel or diphthong. This also happens between rl, rn, sl and sn
O o – said as “o” in song, coffee, law
Ó ó – said as oh, note, loan (depending on your dialect, it’s a blending of the long ‘o’ sound and the long 𔄀u.’ Think of the drawled way in which a Southerner pronounces a long ‘o’ and you'll have it)
Ö ö – said as “ ur ” as in murder, sir, furl
R r – is always rolled
S s – always an “s”, never said as a z
Þ þ – said as the “th” sound in thing
U u – Not present in English, the short ü of German, as in Mütter. The u of French, as in tu, “eux”. Make a short i sound as in win and round your lips as much as possible.
Ú ú – soon, choose, yew
X x – said as a hard German “ch”
Y y – same as I i as “I” in win
Æ æ – said as “eye”
pp, tt, kk are all aspirated

Prepositions

The following prepositions govern the accusative case:
Um – about
Gegnum – through
Kringum – around
Við – at, against

The following prepositions govern the dative case:
ð – towards
Frá – from
Af – off
Úr – out of
Nálægt – near

Icelandic Small Talk

English	Icelandic	Pronounciation
Yes	Já	yah
No	Nei	nay (like the horsie sound)
Thank you	Takk	tock
Thank you very much	Takk fyrir	tock fear-rear
You’re welcome	þú ert velkominn/ Gerðu svo vel	thoo ehrt vell-come-in / gerth-eu svo vel the u of French, as in tu, “eux”
Please	Vinsamlegast/Takk	vin-sam-leg-gassed/tock
Excuse me	Fyrirgefðu	fear-rear-gev-thoo
Hello	Halló/Góðan daginn	hah-low/go-than dah-gin (g like in gate)
Goodbye	Bless	bless
Nice to meet you	Gaman að kynnast þÉr	gah-man ath ky-(t)nast thyeh (thee-yeh)
How are you?	Hvernig hefur þú það?	kfer-nig heh-fur thew thau-th hv as “kf” in thankful

Numbers

English	Icelandic	Pronounciation
zero	núll	nootl
one	einn	ayne
two	tveir	tvair
three	þrír	thr-rear
four	fjórir	fyoh-rear
five	fimm	fim
six	sex	sex
seven	sjö	seey-ur ('ur' as in murder, sir)
eight	átta	ow-ta
nine	níu	knee-yeuh (the u of French, as in tu, “eux”)
ten	tíu	tee-yeuh (the u of French, as in tu, “eux”.)

Useful Icelandic Phrases

English	Icelandic	Pronounciation
How much does this cost?	Hvað kostar þetta (mikið)	kfath ko-star theth-ah (mick-ieth) hv as “kf” in thankful
I would like to buy …	Ég mundi vilja kaupa …	egg mun-dee veel-yah keu(r)-pa (au – is said as “öj” Not present in English, a blending of ‘ö’ (ur as in murder, sir) and ‘u’ (the u of French, as in tu, “eux”).
Do you accept credit cards?	Takið þið við krítarkortum?	tock-ee-eth thieth veeth kree-tar-kor-tum
Open	Opið	oh-pith
Closed	Lokað	low-kath

General phrases in Icelandic, some thing to play by before your visit to Iceland

English	Icelandic	Pronounciation
Good Day / Good Morning	Góðan dag	go-than dag ó as in hotel and ð as in the
Good Evening	Gott kvöld	gott kverld v as in unbelivable; ö as in murder, sir,
Good Night	Góða nótt	go-tha note ó as in hotel
Do you speak English?	Talarðu ensku?	tal-are-theu ens-cue ð as in “the”
I only speak English	Ég tala bara ensku	egg tah-lah bah-rah enskeu É like in yes
Nice to meet you	Gleður mig að kynnast þÉr	gleth-ur mig ath kine-nast theur the u of French, as in tu, “eux”
How are you?	Hvernig gengur?	kfair-nig gen-chur hv as “kf” in thankful first “g” as in guffaw
My name is …	Ég heiti	egg hey-tee

For all kinds of emergency or general communication

English	Icelandic	Pronounciation
Where is the bathroom?	Hvar er salernið?	kfar err sal-ehr-neth? hv as “kf” in thankful
What is this?	Hvað er þetta?	kfath err thetta? hv as “kf” in thankful
How much for that?	Hvað kostar þetta?	kfath koe-star thetta hv as “kf” in thankful
I don't understand	Ég skil ekki	egg skill egg-key