lys

velkomin <3 just a girl with an icelandic husband trying to learn his language

[islenskology]

more uncommon topics for vocab lists in your target language:

astronomy

mythology

folklore

obsolete professions

specialized medicine

linguistics

history and artifacts

botany

art styles and periods

oceanography

cryptozoology

esoteric hobbies

etymology

logical fallacies

[islenskology]

a quick guide to greetings in icelandic:

kveðjur / greetings

hæ / hi (used informally, mostly with friends/family)

there are multiple conjugations for sæll / directly translates to happy, but is used as a greeting - conjugates based on gender and number

sæll / hello (used when speaking to a singular male)

sælir / hello (used when speaking to more than one male)

sæl / hello (used when speaking to a singular female or a mixed group of males and females)

sælar / hello (used when speaking to more than one female)

there are multiple conjugations for blessaður / directly translates to blessed, but is used as a greeting - also conjugates based on gender and number

blessaður / hello (used when speaking to a singular male)

blessaðir / hello (used when speaking to more than one male)

blessuð / hello (used when speaking to a singular female or a mixed group of males and females)

blessaðar / hello (used when speaking to more than one female)

you can also add komdu (singular) or komiði (plural) to the sæll greetings to change formality - adding these creates a more formal greeting

komdu sæll, komiði sælir, komdu sæl, komiði sælar

you can also add vertu (singular) or veriði (plural) to the blessaður greetings to change formality - adding these creates a more formal greeting - but this is used in very old icelandic and is not commonly used anymore

vertu blessaður, veriði blessaðir, vertu blessuð, veriði blessaðar

góðan dag / góðan daginn / good day (used informally, used in the same way that good morning is used in english)

bless / bye

sjáumst / see you later

heyrumst / hear from you later

blessaður / bye (to a man)

blessuð / bye (to a woman)

bæ / bye (informal)

[islenskology]

a quick guide to verb tenses/moods in icelandic:

indicative: factual action

includes the present, past, future, present perfect, past perfect, and future perfect tenses

present: ég fer - i go

past: ég for - i went

future: ég mun fara - i will go

present perfect: ég hef farið - i have gone

past perfect: ég hafði farið - i would have gone

future perfect: ég mun hafa farið - i will have gone

subjunctive: hypothetical situation, wishes, or suggestions

includes present, past, present perfect, past perfect

present: ég fari - i go

past: ég færi - i went

present perfect: ég hafi farið - i have gone

past perfect: ég hefði farið - i would have gone

conditional: actions that are dependent on a condition or circumstance

includes present conditional and past conditional

present: ég mundi fara - i would go

past: ég mundi hafa farið - i would have gone

imperative: gives a command

far þú - you go!

[islenskology]

icelandic personal pronouns in the genitive case:

mín - my

þín - your

hans - his

hennar - hers

þess - its

okkar - ours

ykkar - yours (pl.)

þeirra - theirs (masc. fem. neut. pl.)

(the genitive case is used to show possession)

examples:

bíllinn hennar er rauður - her car is red

hundurinn hans er stór - his dog is big

[islenskology]

icelandic personal pronouns in the dative case:

mér - me

þér - you

honum - him

henni - her

því - it

okkur - us

ykkur - you (pl.)

þeim - they (masc. fem. neut. pl.)

(the dative case is used to show the indirect object of a verb)

examples:

ég gaf henni bók - i gave her a book

hann hjálpaði mér - he helped me

[islenskology]

icelandic personal pronouns in the accusative case:

mig - me

þig - you

hann - him

hana - her

það - it

okkur - us

ykkur - you (pl.)

þá - them (masc. pl.)

þær - them (fem. pl.)

þau - them (neut. pl.)

(accusative case used for when a noun or pronoun is the direct object of a verb)

examples:

ég elska þig - i love you

horfðu á hana - look at her

[islenskology]

icelandic personal pronouns in the nominative case:

ég - i

þú - you

hann - he

hún - she

það - it

við - we

þið - you (pl.)

þeir - they (masc. pl.)

þær - they (fem. pl.)

þau - they (neut. pl.)

(nominative case used for when a noun or pronoun is the subject of the verb)

examples:

ég er svangur - i am hungry

hann er þreyttur - he is tired

[islenskology]

less common greetings in icelandic:

goðan daginn kæri - good morning dear (to a man)

goðan daginn kæra - good morning dear (to a woman)

hvað er að frétta? - what’s up?

hvernig liður þér? - how do you feel?

hvernig var dagurinn þinn? - how was your day?

hvernig var morguninn þinn? - how was your morning?

hvernig var nóttin þín? - how was your night?

hvað ertu að gera? - what are you doing?

hvað hefurðu verið að gera? - what have you been doing?

hvað ertu að gera í dag? - what are you doing today?

hvað ertu að gera í kvöld? - what are you doing tonight?

hvað ertu að gera á morgun? - what are you doing tomorrow?

hvað ætlar þú að gera í dag? - what do you plan to do today?

hvað er nýtt hjá þér? - what is new with you?

[islenskology]

common greetings in icelandic:

halló - hello

goðan daginn - good morning

gott kvöld - good night (used during the evening)

góða nótt - good night (going to sleep)

sæll - hello to a man

sæl - hello to a woman (or mixed group)

komdu sæll - hello to a man

komdu sæl - hello to a woman (or a mixed group)

hæ - hi

bless - bye

gaman að sjá þig - good to see you

hvernig hefur þú það? - how are you?

hvað segir þú gott? - what’s up?

velkomin - welcome (to a woman)

velkominn - welcome (to a man)

allt gott - all good

bara gott - just fine

en þú? - and you?

takk - thanks

afsakið - excuse me

sjáumst - see you later

blessaður - goodbye (to a man)

blessuð - goodbye (to a woman)

[islenskology]

uncommon topics for vocab lists in your target language:

natural disasters

astronomy

baking

business and economy

architecture

culinary arts

fashion

cinema

music

philosophy

psychology

travel and tourism

historical periods

legal terminology

[islenskology]

less common vocab lists to learn in your target language:

furniture

technology

nature

countries

languages

shapes

buildings

space

health and medicine

money and finance

sports equipment

gardening supplies

camping gear

parts of a car

parts of a house

[islenskology]

common topics for vocab lists in your target language:

animals

fruits

vegetables

family members

clothing

weather

colors

numbers

days of the week

months of the year

food and drink

body parts

household items

school/office supplies

occupations

sports

hobbies

transportation

emotions

musical instruments

holidays

nature

[icelandicreverie-blog]

“Sá má fullvel fasta sem fisk hefur á borði.”

—

Icelandic Proverb.

‘He who has thrown the fish overboard may as well fast.’

[notquiteapolyglot]

To people who use "þ" as an aesthetic "p"

þink again.

[mudpuddling-moved]

beautiful icelandic words

afdrif, the fate of somebody

afturganga, a ghost, “one who walks again”

álfadans, dance of the elves

átt, the direction of the wind

augabragð, the twinkling of an eye

álfatrú, belief in fairies

bíldóttur, having black spots around the eyes of animals

blámóða, blue mist

blika, a cover of clouds, often foreboding storm or rain

blær, soft, calm wind

draugagangur, the walking of ghosts, a haunting

draumaland, land of dreams

dúnalogn, calm as death

dýjamosi, bright green moss growing in quagmires

fenna, to fill with snow

fjallavættur, a mountain spirit

fjúka, carried away by the wind

flygja, a ghost who accompanies a certain person

föl, a thick film of snow covering the ground

galdraöld, the age of magic

grængolandi, deep and dark green

gullbúinn, adorned with gold

hlakka, the cry of a bird of prey

hrafnagervi, the outward form of ravens

huldurdalur, hidden valley

kaf, to plunge into deep water

kollgáta, the true answer to the riddle

kossleit, looking for kisses

leirskáld, a bad poet

lumma, a pancake, or, the palm of a small hand

mói, ground covered with heather

morgungyðja, the goddess of the morning

mosavaxinn, overgrown with moss

náttúrufegurð, the beauty of nature

norðankaldi, a light breeze from the north

rammgöldróttur, full of witchcraft and wizardry 

rósóttur, with a design of roses

selslíki, the shape of a seal

sjódraugur, the ghost of a drowned man

smáminnka, getting smaller and smaller

sólskin, sunshine

stirndur, set full of stars

sumarsól, the sun in the summer

sæbrattur, rising steeply out of the sea

sælurdalur, the valley of bliss

undirsæng, a soft feather mattress

veturnætur, a few days before the first day of winter