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, many of which have an acute accent mark, indicating a different sound rather than just stress. These are considered separate letters in the Icelandic alphabet.

The vowel letters in Icelandic are:

• Monophthongs (single vowel sounds): a, e, i, o, u, y, æ, ö
• Vowels with acute accents: á, é, í, ó, ú, ý

In addition to the monophthongs, Icelandic also features several diphthongs (combinations of two vowel sounds), which 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:

• baka (to bake) - maður (man)
• lás (lock) - skáld (poet)
• vera (to be) - eldur (fire)
• fé (sheep/money) - fékk (got)
• liða (ice) - illur (bad)
• vín (wine) - bíll (car)
• loka (to close) - þorp (village)
• mjög (very) - önd (duck)
• góður (good) - nótt (night)
• gulur (yellow) - fullur (full)
• hús (house) - súkkulaði (chocolate)
• dyr (door) - mynd (picture)
• nýr (new) - prýddi (decorated)
• sætur (sweet) - hætta (to stop)
• auka (to increase) - haust (autumn)
• heimur (world) - steinn (stone)
• geyma (to store) - breytast (to change)

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

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

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

• 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.

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)

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)

K /kʰ/:

• köttur (cat)
• kær (dear)

K /k/:

• skafa (to scrape)
• skólí (school)

K /hk/:

• bakka (bank/hill)
• þakka (to thank)

K /x/:

• abstrakt (abstract)
• aðjunkt (adjunct)

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)

T /tʰ/:

• taka (to take)
• tíu (ten)

T /t/:

• stór (big)
• ást (love)

T /ht/:

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

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."

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)

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)

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)

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

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.

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

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)

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

• 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 sound like kj / gj

• gefa (to give)
• geta (ability)

ll /tl/:

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

ll /l:/:

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

lld, llt:

• snilld (genius)
• villtur (wild)

rl /rtl/:

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

sl /stl/:

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

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)

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.

• 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.

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

Why does this 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.

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?

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)

Hæ, er til eitthvert orð sem er erfitt að bera fram á íslensku? Skrifaðu niður orðið og sendu það til okkar!

Hi, is there any word difficult to pronounce in Icelandic? Write down the word and send it to us!