Even though, English is widely spoken in Iceland, I think these words and phrases will certainly come in handy if you plan to visit or if you already live here and want to learn the language.  Even if you don’t have Iceland on your bucket list, I find it is a fascinating language to listen to, especially since it has not evolved much since the 12th  century. For anyone that is curious about the history of the Icelandic language check out the podcast episode I did about it.



If you find yourself interested in learning more Icelandic words and phrases after listening to this episode, head over to my Instagram account @Foreign2familiar. I teach a new Icelandic word or phrase in my Instagram stories every day.
Icelandic Letters That Are Not in the English Alphabet
Before I jump into the useful phrases, I want to point out that there are some letters in Icelandic that do not exist in English and they are the following:

Æ

ö

Ð - a "th" such as in weather

þ - a"th" sound that is unvoiced

Á

Í

Ý

I am not going to go over every word in the Icelandic alphabet because that would make this episode much longer. However, I have included a cute Youtube video below about how to pronounce Icelandic letters.



One simple rule to remember when saying Icelandic words is that the stress falls on the first syllable of a word.

I am going to start off with the most widely used words and phrases that are helpful when you are interacting with a person that speaks Icelandic. Then, I will move on to words and phrases to know when at a restaurant. Following that are useful words if a problem arises (such as needing the police, if you are sick and so on).  The third section are words about common signs in Iceland. Lastly, are words for service places and titles of professionals that you might need, such as a doctor. Ok, now let’s jump into some Icelandic.
Most Widely Used Words & Phrases in Iceland
Já - Yes

Jú  - Yoo and it is used for answering a negative question

Nei - No

Góðan daginn or Goðan dag  - Good morning or Good afternoon. Commonly used at any time before 6 PM

Sæll - Hello (informal, to a man).

Sæl - Hello (informal, to a woman).

Hæ - Hi (pronounced just like the English word)

Gott kvöld or Goða kvöldið - Good evening - commonly used after 6 PM

Ég heiti ______ - My name is ______

Gaman að kynnast þér - Nice to meet you.

Hvað segirðu gott? - How are you? or literally What say you good?

Ég segi allt gott, þakka þér fyrir - Fine, thank you.

Hvað heitirðu?  - What is your name?

Ég er frá - I am from

Weirdly enough, Icelandic people don’t have a word for “please”. The closest word they have is vinsamlegast, which means kindly.

Gjörðu svo vel, (to one person) or Gerið þið svo vel (to many people) - Here you are or if you please

Takk fyrir or Takk - Thank you.

Ekkert að þakka or Ekkert mál - You're welcome.

Afsakið - Excuse me, (getting someone's attention).

Fyrirgefðu - Excuse me, (begging pardon).

Ha? - I'm sorry, if you didn't hear what they said

Því miður - I'm sorry, (regretful)

Bless or bless bless - Goodbye

Bæ - Bye

Góða nótt - Good night.

Sofðu vel - Sleep well

Ég skil ekki - I don't understand.

Gætirðu talað hægar? - Could you speak more slowly?

Ég tala ekki íslensku- I can't speak Icelandic

Ég tala ekki íslensku svo vel - I can't speak Icelandic so well

Talarðu ensku? - Do you speak English?

Er einhver hér sem talar ensku? - Is there someone here who speaks English?

Hvernig segir maður _____ á íslensku? - How do you say _____ in Icelandic?

Ég tala ensku, spænsku, þysku, og smá íslensku - I speak English, Spanish, German and a little Icelandic.

Ok - Allt í lagí or ókei (used among the younger generations)

Hvar er klósettið? - Where is the toilet?

Hvar er _______ ? - Where is _______?

Hvað kostar það? - What does it cost?
Interacting at a Restaurant


Ég ætla að fá…  - I would like...

Áttu til…?  - Have you got any…?

Meira  - More

Meira takk - More, thanks or more, please