icelandic

  1. Holywar

    Icelandic: do not be sorry be better

    Hi everyone! I need a little help here. I would like to have a tattoo with this quote, but written in futhark. The problem is I dont have anyone who can help me with translation. Google translated this as: "ekki vera því miður vertu betri", but i think thats a really poor translation.
  2. G

    Icelandic: don't say a word (idiomatic usage)

    Sæl, Á ensku mætti heyra orðatiltækið “don't say a word” í þess konar samhengi: --------------------------- Maður 1: Hei, mant þú eftir að þú talaðir um hve þér finnst fersk mjólk bragðgóð? Maður 2: Já ... Maður 1: Sko vinurinn minn Snævar sem er bóndi hefur óvenjulegt stór hjörð þetta ár...
  3. T

    Icelandic: segir + þolfall/segja að

    Sæl, Hvor setningin væri eðlilegri? Hver er munurinn á þeim? 1) Hann segir að hún sé veik. 2) Hann segir hana (vera- er þetta orð ónauðsynlegt?) veika. Ég er búinn að velta þessari spurningu fyrir mér í langan tíma en nennti ekki að spyrja. Talk fyrir ábendingarnar.
  4. Hspo

    Icelandic verb conjugation reference book

    I hope this isn't already somewhere in the threads, I've been searching for a while... but I would like to find a good book about icelandic verbs and conjugation. One like the Bescherelle series. It would be ok in Icelandic , English or French, even Spanish , German or Danish... I'm desperate...
  5. L

    Icelandic: annað

    Hello, I know that in Icelandic "annars" means "otherwise" but I was wondering if this sentence "annað" could mean the same: Annað hefði verið heimskulegt. Otherwise it would have been stupid. Or did I completely misunderstand the sentence? Thank you!! Louis
  6. L

    Icelandic: svæla tófuna úr greninu.

    Hello everyone, I came across what looks like an idiom in Icelandic in a novel but I can't understand what it should mean. This is the whole sentence: Nú á að svæla tófuna úr greninu. I took a stab, but I'm waiting to hear from the native speakers: "And now she had to lure the fox out of the...
  7. 盲人瞎馬

    Icelandic: Dummy subject + að vera búinn að = passive voice

    Hello. I'd like to know if the construction dummy subject + að vera búinn að can be translated using the passive voice. "Er (það) búið að styrkja hann?" = "Has he been strengthened?"
  8. L

    Icelandic: ráðit ... heldr liggja til

    Is this a set phrase and how can it be translated? That's the whole sentence: "Nú hafðir þú þat ráðit, Þorsteinn, er helzt lá til, ok mundi eigi hlýtt hafa ella." So far I came up with "Now you have ... , Thorstein, ... ,and it would not have been proper otherwise.” Can you help me fill the gaps?
  9. M

    Icelandic: borða

    borða this means to eat I couldn't find an etymology, is it related to the word borð 'table'?
  10. Isakichan

    Icelandic: A lovers promise : loforð, orð, fyrirheit ?

    Hello everyone, i want to gift to my beloved a ring with the word "promise" engraved in it. It will be a ring crafted from an Icelandic coin. I want to give it to him on his graduation day, because it'll be our "pinky promise", that we will one day go to Iceland :) We want to live there but it's...
  11. A

    Official name of Iceland in Icelandic

    Hello I know that the official name of Iceland in English is the Republic of Iceland, but is the word "republic" a part of the official name of Iceland? I would appreciate if someone could give me the name in Icelandic with a reference to a Government site.
  12. S

    All Nordic languages: Gutt og jente, osv.

    Have you noticed that the usual words for 'boy' and 'girl' are completely different in Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Icelandic (I think) and German? Whereas the words for 'man' and 'woman' show much more similarity between the languages, as do the words for various everyday things such as 'house'...
  13. Askur

    Icelandic: í Líðum á Vestfold

    ".. því hefi ek nú látit gera knörru tvá í Líðum á Vestfold," því at hans ríki stóð allt til Dofrafjalls ok Líðandisness. Svona segir Ragnarr i Thaetti af Ragnars sonum. Eg er ad reyna ad thyda thad a Eistnesku, en nota stadarnöfn sem eru notud a stadnum, til daemis Lundunarborg - London. Svo...
  14. Wiccio

    Icelandic: A tree doesn’t fall at the first blow

    Halló! I translated A tree doesn’t fall at the first blow into Eigi fellr tré við fyrsta högg, and found various references online, including a song. But I also found a variant translation, Eigi fellr tré við it fyrsta högg, which adds it ([...] við it fyrsta [...]). It seems strange to me but...
  15. G

    Icelandic: right? (as used in responses)

    Sæl, Í nútímaensku (í talmálinu) er orðatiltækið "Right?" notað í jákvæðum svörum, til þess að 1) segjast vera einhverjum sammála (sérstaklega þegar um er að ræða hluttekningu, sameiginlega reynslu, o.s.frv.): Maður A: Á þessum flugvelli eru flugin alltaf seinkuð! Maður B: Right? 2) svara í...
  16. Lemminkäinen

    Nordic languages resources & F.A.Q.

    Quick links: Danish Faroese Icelandic Norwegian Swedish Suggestions and comments are welcome, please use the "Report a post" icon on this message to get in touch with a moderator. How to write the special characters? Tips from the main forum features FAQ: How to type accents and other...
  17. B

    Icelandic: Ég hef búið á mjög fáum stöðum

    Good morning everyone Can you help please? I'm working through the University of Iceland online course and am at Icelandic Online 2, Bálkur#5 Þráður#2 Síða#1 (5) This is the exercise, which is comprehension and writing the opposite of what's in bold but only using the specific words from the...
  18. F

    Icelandic: Epilogue

    Hello, I’ve been struggling to find solid reference for what one would title an epilogue if it were untitled and just “Epilogue”. There are not many good resources for translated ebooks that I have found, unless the epilogue is titled (19 árum síðat in Harry Potter og dauðadjásnin). I’ve only...
  19. kokoro_mo

    All Nordic languages: lockdown

    Hello, with a couple of friends, we're trying to establish a list of expressions that name in respective linguistic communities the current security hygienic "dispositifs". It's pretty evident that the use is rather arbitrary and "improper" from the point of view of the internal sens of the...
  20. G

    Icelandic: just for that

    Sæl, Þið vitið víst hvað enska orðatiltækið "just for that ..." þýðir, en samt hef ég búið nokkrar setningar til: Vinur 1: Ég heyrði að hann Arnkell er að reyna að laða viðskiptavini þína, með því að bjóða fimm aura afslátt af stjörnuskrúfum í járnvöruversluninni sinni. Vinur 2: Hvað!! Ég...
  21. Hspo

    Lexibar special characters Icelandic

    Good evening, I have been using the Lexicool Icelandic Lexibar for special characters in Ubuntu for several years. It no longer works in Ubuntu 18.04.3 however and I would like to know if there are any linux users with the same problem. (Lexibar, pour caractères spéciaux clavier islandais)...
  22. F

    Icelandic: eg skil þig mer er bara alveg sama

    Hello, I just came back from iceland where I bought a T-shirt with the phrase below, but I forgot the translation. Someone know the translation or meaning, in English or French? "eg skil þig mer er bara alveg sama" Thank
  23. Hspo

    Icelandic: allvegþéldhús

    I'm stuck! Can anyone help me with this word please? "allvegþéldhús". I use bilingual and uni-lingual dictionaries and have tried decomposing the word every which way, without success. It comes in the first verse of the song 'Yfirborð': "Óstillt fasið, kennt við yfirborð í gruggugt glasið við...
  24. G

    Icelandic: that so

    Orðatiltækið "That so" er (upprúnalega) stytting af "Is that so?", og er notað í a.m.k. tvenns konar samhengjum: 1) Strákur: Pabbi, við hurðina var maður frá orkufyrirtækinu – hann sagði að hann verður að slökkva raforkuna okkar ef þú gefur mér ekki fimm ausa af sukkulaðirjómaís í hádegismat...
  25. Unleekist

    Icelandic: translating lyrics to Mánadans by Kælan Mikla

    In the chorus to the song mentioned in the thread title there is a lyric which goes: En á föstudögum trúlofast hún nóttinni I can't find trúlofast in the dictionary and I don't know what it might mean. My best guess of a translation of this sentence is: But come Friday she is engaged to the...
  26. L

    Icelandic: mundi takmarkað

    Hello guys, I have come across this sentence but I don't understand the use and the meaning of the phrase mundi takmarkað. I know that mundi is the subjunctive but why is it used before the supine? And why is it here? Hún mundi takmarkað eftir að hafa skriðið upp í rúm seinna um kvöldið. She...
  27. RedwoodGrove

    Icelandic - 24th week of summer?

    Greetings, I'm trying to understand the English translation of this sentence from an Icelandic murder mystery. The text is supposed to have been written in a diary during WWI: "Heyskapur varð afar slæmur og illa hirt og gat ég hirt inn 24 vikum af sumri." This is the English translation I...
  28. G

    Icelandic: buddy

    Á ensku getur orðið "buddy" gegnt (a.m.k.) tveimur hlutverkum: 1) talmálslegt samheiti á "vinur": Um helgina fer ég á kafbátaferð í Suður-Kyrrahafinu með buddy minn. 2) notað til að ávarpa einhvern sem er *ekki* vinur þess sem talar (oft ókunnugur honum), sem talandinn vil friða vegna hættu...
  29. S

    Icelandic pronunciation of lyrics to "Aldasöngur"

    Hi everyone, The choir I'm singing in is currently rehearsing "Aldasöngur" composed by Jón Nordal. Although we spend a lot of time figuring out and practising the pronunciation, it would help immensely if we had a spoken version from a native speaker. Is there an Icelandic native speaker here...
  30. J

    Icelandic: Understanding other Nordic languages

    Hej alle sammen I'm learning Danish and from my experience listening to Icelanders talking, I catch about every ten words, but in written form a bit more. But it seems to me that the reason I can't understand more is because of the lack of foreign loan words from French and so on. (i.e. tálsýn...
  31. G

    Icelandic: How to put this?

    Sæl, Á ensku heyrist stundum “How to put this?” þegar um er að ræða eitthvað sem er mjög auðvelt að skýra, en sem finnst (að hyggju þess sem talar) vera of viðkvæmt og/eða vandræðalegt til að segja beint. T.d.: Fljótasti kappakstursökumaðurinn sem ég hef alltaf séð var eflaust hann Sævar...
  32. G

    Icelandic: you don't seem to understand

    Sæl, Í nútímaensku er setningin "You don't seem to understand" stundum notuð til að gefa nokkurs konar hótun í skyn. T.d.: Sölumaður: Afsakaðu, hægt er ekki að gefa þér áttatíu prósent afslátt. Kúnni: Gleymdi að segja: ég er elsti sonur höfuðhundafangarans í þessari borg. Sölumaður: Um...
  33. V

    -inn / -in pronunciation

    Is there a difference in pronunciation between Icelandic m. and f. definite article inn/in?
  34. Shai Sendik

    Icelandic: skarks

    I am reading a book in Icelandic but couldn't find the meaning of the last word in dictionaries: Röddin var svo ákveðin að bekkjarsystkini mín tóku hana á orðinu og drógu sig saman í hópa án teljandi skarks From what I understand the sentence means: The voice was so determined that my...
  35. N

    Icelandic: audiobook

    How would one say ‘audiobook’? I want to find audio of a book (Mávahlátur bý Kristín Marja Baldursdottir: I loved the film) hear whilst studying it. I found hlóðbókur, but I cannot seem to find it. Am I just out of luck, or is there a different word?
  36. B

    Icelandic Online 2 Bálkur#3 Þráður#2 Síða#6 (1)

    Hello, I am slowly making my way through the above internet course. However, since there is no glossary or translations whatsoever I get stuck sometimes. Could someone translate the following phrases for me? "...og dást að því eina efnislega sem hún hafði eignast um ævina og gat með sanni...
  37. M

    Swedish, Norwegian, and Icelandic: Placement of ‘nu’ / ‘nå’ / ‘núna’

    Greetings! English is pretty flexible when it comes to the placement of ‘now’ and I was wondering whether Swedish, Norwegian, and Icelandic are equally flexible. In English, you can say each of (1). Are all the sentences in (2) to (4) likewise correct? Also, is it natural to use ‘nu’ / ‘nå’ /...
  38. Riverplatense

    Icelandic: adverbial form of present participles

    Hello! Does the Icelandic present participle change when used adverbially — in case it can be used as an adverb? Or maybe, is there any Nordic language showing adverbial endings for present participles? Thank you!
  39. Hspo

    Icelandic superlative prefixes lang-, al-

    Good morning. Is there a rule for using lang- or al- with superlatives when comparing several things( eg. alstærsti, langminnst...)? Does it depend on the adjective, context or do we learn each one by heart? Thank you for your help? :)
  40. G

    Icelandic: so it's like that

    Í ensku er stundum notað orðatiltækið “So it's like that?” þegar einhver gerir sér grein fyrir því að hann/hún er að þola einhvers konar ósanngirni, t.d. fjárkúgun, af annarri manneskjunni: Maður með stóra kylfu í höndinni fær inn í brauðgerð og segir: Góðan daginn - ég er hér til að innheimta...
  41. G

    Icelandic: none of that (expression)

    Í ensku er orðatiltækið "None of that" notað þegar (m.a.) einhver reynir að fara kringum reglurnar á nokkurn hátt (eða sýnist svo gera) og önnur manneskja vill leggja áherslu á að hann/hún hefur enga þolinmæði fyrir slíkt. (Til samanburðar felur í sér svipaða orðatiltækið “Don't give me that”...
  42. Hspo

    Icelandic: gafst hún upp á rólunum

    "Það á að gefa börnum brauð" is a popular Christmas folk song. I have tried to translate it as well as possible but I am stuck on the last line ie. "gafst hún upp á rólunum". Is this an expression, like she kicked the bucket, or gave up? Here is the whole text: Það á að gefa börnum brauð Það á...
  43. S

    Icelandic: how to pronounce kemur and allt

    Hey, everybody. As in tittle, how to pronounce them? When I hear "kemur" I hear something more like "kémur". What is a correct form of that word's pronounciation? And I'm confused about "allt". Is it pronounce "alt" or "ahlt" or "atlt"? Thanks.
  44. G

    Icelandic: well, I'll be

    Enska orðatiltækið "Well, I'll be!" er notað á a.m.k. tvo hætti: 1. nokkuð gamaldags/kjánalegur háttur til þess að tjá undrun: Well, I'll be! Ég setti þríhjólið mitt fyrir útan sætindaverslunina og fór inn, en nú þegar ég hef komið tilbaka sýnist það hafa rúllað burt einhvert! 2. notað...
  45. Hspo

    Icelandic : use of 'sést'

    Good morning. Could someone please explain why: Fólk drekkur sólarkaffi = Það er drukkið sólarkaffi. Félagið gaf út sumarblað handa börnum = Það var gefið út sumarblað handa börnum. BUT: Við sjáum sólina = Það sést til sólar. (not séð ). I thought the passive form was 'vera + Lýsingarháttur...
  46. Hspo

    Icelandic: húsdýranna [genitive use]

    In a gap exercise I had to decline "húsdýr" correctly. I finally came up with the right answer using BÍN, but I'm not sure why it's correct. Could someone please explain how this sentence is constructed, and why the word "húsdýr" is genitive plural "með greini": Í sveitinni er aldur húsdýranna...
  47. R

    Icelandic: any deviations from V2 word order

    Good day! I have questons about icelandic syntax. All german languages but english are so called V2-languages, where a finite verb must stand on the second place of a sentence. It's very interesting for me, if that rule can be broken sometimes in icelandic, for emphasis reasons, til dæmis. In...
  48. G

    Icelandic: why no

    Sæl, Áður spurði ég um enska orðatiltækið "Why yes". Ég er einnig forvitinn um öfuga orðatiltækið "Why no", sem notað er (m.a.) þegar einhver svarar spurningu, þar sem búist var við að svarið væri jákvætt. T.d. hvað myndi passa best í þessu samhengi? Maður 1: Hej, þú tókst bílastæðinu mínu...
  49. RedwoodGrove

    Icelandic: Fjölmóður – ævidrápa Jóns lærða Guðmundssonar

    Hello, This is from the Author's Note in "Blackout", the English translation of Ragnar Jonasson's mystery book, "Myrknætti". Could someone provide a translation, please? I'm fairly certain that "lærða" means "the learned" as that is part of his soubriquet. I suspect that "Fjölmóður" may mean...
  50. A

    Icelandic: að eiga [preterite-present verb]

    Hello everybody, I've read that in Icelandic the verb "að eiga" is a "preterite-present verb" but I don't really understand what that means; I've been reading about it for a while but I still don't get it. Could somebody here cast light on it? Thank you very much in advance.
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