Íslenska

Icelandic

Germanic

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Also known as: Icelandic, Íslenska

Icelandic has remained remarkably conservative — Icelanders can still read medieval Sagas (12-13th century) in the original. As a North Germanic language descending from Old Norse, it preserves the four-case noun system, three grammatical genders, and complex verb conjugation. Strong language purism encourages neologisms over loanwords (tölva 'computer' from tala+völva).

Where it is spoken

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87 core words in Icelandic

Water

vatn

vahtn

Fire

eldur

ɛltʏɹ

Sun

sól

souːl

Moon

tungl

tʰuŋkl

Star

stjarna

ˈstjadna

Night

nótt

nouht

Rain

rigning

ˈrɪknɪŋk

Snow

snjór

snjouːr

Wind

vindur

ˈvɪntʏr

Earth

jörð

jœrð

Stone

steinn

steitn̥

Mountain

fjall

fjatl̥

Sea

haf

haːv

Mother

móðir

mouːðɪɹ

Father

faðir

faðɪɹ

Daughter

dóttir

ˈtouhtɪr

I

ég

jɛːɣ

You

þú

θuː

We

við

vɪːð

Name

nafn

napn̥

Person

manneskja

ˈmanːɛskja

Head

höfuð

ˈhœːvʏð

Eye

auga

œyːɣa

Ear

eyra

ˈeiːra

Nose

nef

nɛːv

Mouth

munnur

ˈmʏnːʏr

Tooth

tönn

tʰœnː

Tongue

tunga

ˈtʰuŋka

Hand

hönd

hœnt

Foot

fótur

ˈfouːtʏr

Heart

hjarta

çaɹta

Bone

bein

peiːn

Blood

blóð

plouð

Poop

kúkur

kʰuːkʏr

Love

ást

auːst

Tree

tré

tʰrjɛː

Dog

hundur

hʏntʏɹ

Cat

köttur

kʰœhtʏɹ

Fish

fiskur

ˈfɪskʏr

Bird

fugl

fʏɣl̥

Butterfly

fiðrildi

ˈfɪðrɪltɪ

Egg

egg

ɛɡ

Bear

björn

pjœrtn̥

Horse

hestur

ˈhɛstʏr

House

hús

huːs

Milk

mjólk

mjoulk

Honey

hunang

ˈhʏːnauŋk

Salt

salt

salt

Wine

vín

viːn

Rice

hrísgrjón

ˈr̥isɡrjouːn

Chocolate

súkkulaði

ˈsuːkʰʏlaðɪ

Iron

járn

jaurtn

Wheel

hjól

çouːl

Silk

silki

ˈsɪlkɪ

Book

bók

pouk

Eat

borða

pɔrða

Drink

drekka

trɛhka

Sleep

sofa

ˈsɔːva

One

einn

eitn

Two

tveir

tʰveir

Three

þrír

θriːr

Four

fjórir

ˈfjouːrɪr

Five

fimm

fɪmː

Hundred

hundrað

ˈhʏntrað

Hello

halló

halouː

Thank you

takk

tʰahk

Good

góður

kouːðʏr

New

nýr

niːr

Red

rauður

ˈrœyðʏr

White

hvítur

kʰviːtʏr

Black

svartur

ˈsvartʏr

Green

grænn

kraitn̥

Blue

blár

plauːr̥

Cuckoo

gaukur

ˈɡœyːkʏr

Woof

voff voff

vɔfː vɔfː

Cock-a-doodle-doo

gaggalagó

ˈɡaɡːalaˌɡouː

Computer

tölva

ˈtʰœlva

Sushi

sushi

ˈsuːsɪ

Tea

te

tʰɛː

Coffee

kaffi

ˈkʰafːɪ

Sugar

sykur

ˈsɪːkʏr

Orange

appelsína

ˈaʰpɛlˌsiːna

Ninety-nine

níutíu og níu

ˈniːʏtʰiːʏ ɔɣ ˈniːʏ

Dopamine

dópamín

ˈtouːpaˌmin

At sign

atmerki

ˈaːtmɛrcɪ

Internet laughter

híhí

ˈhiːhi

Sources

Words compared

Compared with languages in the same classification: Germanic

Meaning IcelandicFaroeseOld NorseSwedishNorwegian NynorskNorwegianOld Frisian
Water vatn /vahtn/ vatn /vahtn/ vatn /vɑtn/ vatten /vatːɛn/ vatn /vɑːtn/ vann /vɑnː/ wetir /wetir/
Fire eldur /ɛltʏɹ/ eldur /ɛltʊɹ/ eldr /eldr/ eld /ɛld/ eld /ɛld/ ild /ilː/ fiur /fjuːɾ/
Sun sól /souːl/ sól /sɔuːl/ sól /soːl/ sol /suːl/ sol /suːl/ sol /suːl/ sunne /sunːe/
Moon tungl /tʰuŋkl/ máni /mɔaːnɪ/ máni /mɑːni/ måne /moːnɛ/ måne /moːnə/ måne /moːnə/ mōna /moːnɑ/
Star stjarna /ˈstjadna/ stjørna /ˈtʃœdna/ stjarna /ˈstjarna/ stjärna /ˈɧæːɳa/ stjerne /ˈstjæːɳə/ stjerne /ˈstjæːɳə/ stera /ˈstɛra/
Night nótt /nouht/ nátt /nɔtː/ nótt /noːtː/ natt /natː/ natt /nɑtː/ natt /nɑtː/ nacht /naxt/
Rain rigning /ˈrɪknɪŋk/ regn /rɛɡn/ regn /rɛɣn/ regn /rɛŋn/ regn /rɛjn/ regn /rɛjn/ rein /rɛin/
Snow snjór /snjouːr/ kavi /ˈkɛaːvɪ/ snjór /snjoːr/ snö /snøː/ snø /snøː/ snø /snøː/ snē /sneː/
Page 1/11

Word order compared

Compare with major world languages

I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
Ich möchte einen Anzug anprobieren den ich in einem Geschäft gegenüber vom Hotel gesehen habe
Icelandic
Ég vil máta jakkaföt sem ég sá í búð á móti hótelinu
मैं होटल के सामने एक दुकान में देखा सूट को पहनकर देखना चाहता हूँ
私は ホテルの 向かいの お店 で 見た スーツを 試着 したいです
我 想 试穿 酒店 对面的 商店 里 看到的 那套西装
أنا أريد أن أجرب بدلة رأيتها في محل مقابل الفندق
Я хочу примерить костюм который я увидел в магазине напротив отеля

Compare with languages in the same classification

I wanna try on a suit I seen ‌in a shop across from the hotel
Ek wil 'n pak aanpas wat ek gesien het ‌in 'n winkel oorkant die hotel
I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
Jeg vil prøve et jakkesæt som jeg så i en butik overfor hotellet
Icelandic
Ég vil máta jakkaföt sem ég sá í búð á móti hótelinu

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