Icelandic has a rich and unique vowel system that can be a challenge for non-native speakers. The system is based on 14 distinct vowel letters. Letters with a mark above indicate a different sound. These are considered separate letters in the Icelandic alphabet.

The vowel letters in Icelandic are:

• Monophthongs: a, e, i, o, u, y, é, í, ö, ú, ý
• Diphthongs: á, ó, æ

Icelandic also features several diphthongs with combinations of two letters. They are also considered part of the vowel system. These include:

• au
• ei
• ey

The pronunciation of these vowels can be quite different from their English counterparts, making it a key area of focus for anyone learning the language.

Long / Short vowel

A vowel is pronounced long when it is followed by at most one consonant. A vowel is pronounced short when it is followed by two or more consonants.

Listen to examples:

• a - baka (to bake) - pabbi (dad)
• á - lás (lock) - skáld (poet)
• e - vera (to be) - eldur (fire)
• é - fé (sheep/money) - fékk (got)
• i - liða (ice) - illur (bad)
• í - vín (wine) - bíll (car)
• o - loka (to close) - þorp (village)
• ö - mjög (very) - önd (duck)
• ó - góður (good) - nótt (night)
• u - gulur (yellow) - fullur (full)
• ú - hús (house) - súkkulaði (chocolate)
• y - dyr (door) - mynd (picture)
• ý - nýr (new) - prýddi (decorated)
• æ - sætur (sweet) - hætta (to stop)
• au - auka (to increase) - haust (autumn)
• ei - heimur (world) - steinn (stone)
• ey - geyma (to store) - keypt (bought)

The /i/ Sound

Both í and ý are pronounced the same: an "ee" sound. This is a crucial point for learners, as the choice between í and ý is purely orthographic (spelling) and does not change the sound.

The /ɪ/ Sound

Both i and y are pronounced the same: an "i" sound. Just like the previous pair, the difference is only in spelling, reflecting historical changes from Old Norse.

The /ei/ Diphthong

Both ei and ey are pronounced as the same diphthong, starting with the short 'e' sound and gliding toward the 'i' sound. This is one of the most common diphthongs and is a good one to master early.

í = ý (both pronounced /i/, like "ee" in "see")

i = y (both pronounced /ɪ/, like "i" in "sit")

ei = ey (both pronounced /ei/, like "ay" in "say")

Listen to examples:

• ís (ice)
• frýs (freezes)
• vinur (friend)
• lyfta (to lift)
• greina (to analyze)
• breyta (to change)

Icelandic consonants have unique pronunciations, especially the aspirated, pre-aspirated stops, and voiceless sonorants.

Listen to examples:

Aspirated: Strong puff of air. /pʰ, tʰ, kʰ/

• pabbi (dad)
• taka (to take)
• koma (to come)

Unaspirated: No puff of air. /p, t, k/

• spá (to prophesy)
• stór (big)
• skafa (to scrape)

Pre-aspirated Stops: a short voiceless puff (h) before the consonant. (hp, ht, hk)

• löpp (paw)
• nótt (night)
• þakka (to thank)

Voiceless Sonorants (Hl, Hn, Hr, Hv). The 'h' here makes the following sound voiceless.

• hlaupa (to run)
• hneta (nut)
• hringur (ring/circle)
• hvítur (white)

When the letter p appears at the beginning of a word, it is pronounced as a voiceless, aspirated stop. A sharp, strong puff of air (aspiration) immediately follows the release of the sound.

When the letter p appears immediately after the letter s (in the cluster sp), the aspiration is suppressed.

When p is part of the sequence pt in words, it can be realized as a voiceless labio-dental fricative. This means it is pronounced like the English letter f.

Listen to examples:

P /pʰ/

• pabbi (dad)
• peningur (money)
• póstur (mail/post)

P /p/:

• spá (to prophesy)
• spenna (tension/excitement)
• spila (to play)

P /f/:

• skipta (to divide)
• Egyptaland (Egypt)

Aspirated /kʰ/: This is the sound most English speakers associate with "k," like in the word "kite" or "key." It is a voiceless stop with a strong puff of air.

Unaspirated /k/: These sounds are similar to the k in English words like "sky" or "skip," where the puff of air is absent.

Preaspirated /hk/: This is a unique and challenging sound for many learners. It's an unaspirated k preceded by a puff of air, similar to the preaspirated p we discussed earlier. It is represented by a double kk.

Voiceless /x/: This sound is a rough, breathy sound.

Listen to examples:

K /kʰ/:

• köttur (cat)
• kær (dear)

K /k/:

• skafa (to scrape)
• skólí (school)

K /hk/:

• bakka (to drive backwards)
• þakka (to thank)

K /x/:

• abstrakt (abstract)
• aðjunkt (adjunct)

The letter g in Icelandic is perhaps the most complex of all the consonants, with a wide range of pronunciations that are determined by its position and the surrounding letters.

Palatal approximant /j/: This is the sound of the English "y" in "yes" or "you."

Voiced /ɣ/: Sound made by creating friction in the back of the throat, but without a full stop. It's a "soft" or "breathy" g.

Voiceless /x/: This is the voiceless version of the previous sound.

When the letter G appears before a front vowel (e, i, y, æ, ö, ei, ey), the place of articulation shifts forward from the soft palate (velum) to the hard palate G→kj .

Listen to examples:

G /k/:

• ganga (to walk)
• gestur (guest)
• langur (long)
• fingur (finger)

G /j/:

• magi (stomach)
• vegir (roads)

G /ɣ/:

• saga (story)
• þegar (when)

G /x/:

• dag (day)
• hægt (slowly)

G /kj/:

• gefa (to give)
• leggja (to lay)

G /gv/:

• guð (god)

Exception

The pronunciation of guð (God) in Icelandic is a fascinating case of an irregular and somewhat archaic sound change. While you might expect the g to be pronounced as a /k/ or /c/ at the beginning of the word, there is actually a /v/ sound inserted between the g and the u.

The letter T follows the same strict aspiration rules as P and K.

Listen to examples:

T /tʰ/:

• taka (to take)
• tíu (ten)

T /t/:

• stór (big)
• ást (love)

T /ht/:

• þetta (this - neuter)
• léttur (light - weight)

Other consonants

These consonants have similar pronunciation to English.

Listen to examples:

S

• sól (sun)
• hús (house)

B

• bók (book)
• labba (to walk)

D

• dóttir (daughter)
• dansa (to dance)

V

• vatn (water)
• kvöld (evening)

X

• sex (six)
• vaxa (to grow)

The letter f in Icelandic has multiple pronunciations that depend on its position within a word and the sounds surrounding it. Unlike in English, where it's consistently pronounced as a labiodental fricative /f/, the Icelandic f can sound like a v or a p.

Unaspirated voiceless plosive /p/

This is a unique pronunciation of f in Icelandic. It hardens into a p sound when it is followed by the letters l or n.

Fnt as /m̥t/

The fnt cluster in jafnt is also pronounced as a single sound, /m̥t/. Similar to hefnd, the f and n merge into a voiceless bilabial nasal, /m̥/, and the t is pronounced as an unaspirated dental plosive /t/. This makes the pronunciation of jafnt sound like "jamt."

Listen to examples:

F /f/:

• fara (to go)
• oft (often)

F /v/:

• hafa (to have)
• lifa (to live)

F /p/:

• Keflavík (airport town name)
• nafn (name)

F /m/:

• hefnd (revenge)
• nefnd (committee)

F /m̥/:

• jafnt (equally)

The letter H in Icelandic is another prime example of the language's positional phonology. While H can function as the simple glottal fricative it is in English (the "puff of air"), it more often acts as a marker for other sounds, either by preceding a voiceless sonorant or by being completely absorbed into a following consonant to create an aspirated sound.

Listen to examples:

H /h/:

• hátt (high)
• hætta (danger)

H /kʰ/:

• hvítur (white)
• hver (who/each)

Hj:

• hjarta (heart)

Hé:

• héðan (from here)

Hr:

• hraður (fast)

Hl:

• hljóð (sound)

Hn:

• hnífur (knife)

Ð (eth) never appears at the beginning of an Icelandic word.

• blað (paper)
• eða (or)
• iðka (to practice)

Þ (thorn) always appears at the beginning of a word.

• þú (you - singular)
• þing (parliament)

Other consonants

These consonants have different pronunciation when they are in different positions of a words.

Listen to examples:

L

• lífið (the life)
• sál (soul)
• salt (salt)
• bíll (car)

J

• já (yes)
• hjálpa (to help)

R

• rós (rose)
• orka (energy)

M

• minn (my)
• lampi (lamp)

N

• nú (now)
• enginn (nobody)

Foreign consonants in Icelandic:

C, Q, W, and Z are not part of the standard Icelandic alphabet.

Listen to examples:

C /s/

• Cello (often spelled selló)

C /k/

• Cuba (often spelled Kúba)

Q /k/

• Quíz (quiz)

W /v/

• Whisky (often spelled viskí)

Z /s/

• Pizza (often spelled pitsa)

When 3 or more consonants come together, a common tendency is to drop one of them.

Listen to examples:

• sigldi (sailed)
• æskti (love)
• barns (child's)
• lengd (length)
• nefnd (mentioned)
• hefnd (revenge)
• álft (swan)

When the letters P, T, K are doubled (pp,tt,kk), there is an aspiration occurs before the second letter.

When the kk sequence is immediately followed by a t, the first k often softens and becomes a voiceless velar fricative (/x/).

When the pp sequence is followed by a t, the first p often undergoes a change called spirantization, becoming the /f/ sound.

Listen to examples:

pp (pronounced as /hp/)

• klippa (to cut)
• toppur (top)
• tappa (to pour)

tt (pronounced as /ht/)

• þetta (this)
• léttur (light)
• gott (good)

kk (pronounced as /hk/)

• ekki (not)
• kokkur (chef)
• lokka (lure)

kkt /xt/

• óþekkt (unknown)

ppt /ft/

• yppta (shrug)

In Icelandic, when P, T, K is followed by a L or N, a voiceless sound is inserted before the cluster, or the cluster is pronounced as if it were pre-aspirated.

The easiest way for a learner to internalize this is: If the cluster is pl, pn, tl, tn, kl, kn, pronounce a short /h/ first.

*Note the pre-aspiration /h/ in the following words.

Listen to examples:

pl /hpl/:

• epli (apple)

pn /hpn/:

• opna (open)

tl /htl/:

• ætla (to intend)

tn /htn/:

• vatn (water)

kl /hkl/:

• miklu (much)

kn /hkn/:

• sakna (to miss)

kj and gj are essential because they introduce the palatal stop/affricate sounds, which are crucial for sounding like a native speaker.

Listen to examples:

kj

• kjóll (dress)
• kjúklingur (chicken)
• virkja (to activate)

gj

• gjald (fee, payment)
• gjafir (gifts)
• leggja (to lay, to put)
• teygja (to stretch)
• beygja (to bend)

Other words that sound like kj / gj

• gefa (to give)
• geta (ability)

LL is tricky in Icelandic pronunciation. They have different sounds in different words.

Listen to examples:

ll as Pre-aspirated tl (The General Rule)

ll /tl/:

• Fjall (mountain)
• Jökull (glacier)
• Kalla (to call)

ll as Simple Long l (Exceptions/Loanwords)

ll /l:/:

• pilla (pill) - Words borrowed from other languages
• Gulli (a nickname for Guðlaugur)

When ll is followed by d or t, the l remains or is realized as the voiceless liquid, and the following consonant is pronounced normally.

lld, llt:

• snilld (genius)
• villtur (wild)

The cluster rl also transforms into a three-sound sequence:

rl /rtl/:

• Perla (pearl)
• Karl (a man)
• Varla (barely)

The cluster sl is also treated by inserting a stop sound, which is an unaspirated t.

sl /stl/:

• Íslenskur (Icelandic)
• Veisla (party)
• Slys (accident)

When the double nn is preceded by a diphthong (ei, au, ey, æ, ó) or a long vowel, it is typically realized as a sequence of an unaspirated t followed by a voiceless nasal n. For learners, it is easiest to hear and produce this as tn.

Listen to examples:

nn /tn/

• einn (one)
• brúnn (brown)
• steinn (stone)

nn /n:/

• enn (yet, still)
• inn (in, inside)

rn /rtn/

• barn (child)
• þarna (there)
• hérna (her, well)

sn /stn/

• snúa (to turn)
• asni (donkey)
• Gísli (male name)

F pronounces differently when it comes with different alphabets.

Listen to examples:

fl /pl/:

• afla (to obtain)
• tafla (tablet)

fld:

• tvíefldur (very strong)

fn /pn/:

• hefna (to avenge)
• jafn (equal)

fnd, fnt:

• nefnd (committee)
• jafnt (equally)

rfl /rtl/:

• hvarfla (to wander)

rfn /rtn/:

• þarfnast (to need)

Primary stress in Icelandic almost always falls on the first syllable of a word.

Listen to examples:

• tala (to speak)
• maður (man)
• tölvurnar (the computers)
• Ísland (Iceland)
• Ameríka (America)
• banani (banana)

In compound words, the primary stress falls on the first syllable of the first component. Secondary stress can then fall on the first syllable of subsequent components.

Listen to examples:

• handklæði (towel) = hand + klæði
• bókabúð (bookstore) = bóka + búð

Why does drop happen?

This phenomenon is primarily a natural consequence of the language being spoken quickly. Certain sound combinations are phonetically challenging to articulate in rapid succession, so speakers naturally simplify them for ease of pronunciation.

For learners, this "drop" or elision can be one of the more difficult aspects of transitioning from understanding written Icelandic to comprehending spoken Icelandic.

Listen to examples:

drop h

• kom hann með henni? (Did he come with her?) → sounds like: kom ann með enni?

drop ð

• húsið mitt (my house) → sounds like: húsi mitt

drop þ

• lærðir þú heima? (Did you study at home?) → sounds like: lærðir ú heima?

drop vowel

• sástu þetta? (Did you see this?) → sounds like: sást etta?

The terms voiced and unvoiced (or voiceless) describe whether or not the vocal cords vibrate when a sound is produced.

Listen to examples:

Voiced (the consonant sounds involve vocal cord vibration.)

• vanda (to do with care)
• orga (cry loudly)

Unvoiced (consonant sounds do not involve vocal cord vibration.)

• vanta (to lack)
• orka (energy)

Other unvoiced words

• stelpa (girl)
• elta (to chase)
• fálki (falcon)
• gylltur (golden)
• varta (wart)
• verpa (to lay eggs)
• þurrka (to dry)

I hope you enjoy the pronunciation practice! These exercises are essential to help you understand the core ideas of Icelandic sounds.

However, the examples provided are limited. We need more practice for our speaking and listening skills.

I will now show you how to use an online tool for listening to and practicing Icelandic pronunciation.

Practicing Icelandic pronunciation

1. Access the Íslensk nútímamálsorðabók.
2. Enter the word (Leitarorð), and click Leita (search).
3. Look for the word you want to practice.
4. Click Framburður (pronunciation) to hear the recorded pronunciation.