These 100 words carry most everyday Icelandic. Nearly all of them are short function words, pronouns, prepositions, and a few core verbs, and they appear in almost every sentence you will hear in Reykjavik or read online. Learn them well and the longer words around them become much easier to place.
How to use this list
Do not work through this list top to bottom. Read down it and mark only the words you could not have produced yourself. Those are your list. The rest are already yours, and reviewing them is wasted effort better spent on words you actually meet in reading, conversation, or subtitles.
The 100 words
| # | Icelandic | English | In use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | og | and | Ég á hund og kött.I have a dog and a cat. |
| 2 | að | to (infinitive); that | Mig langar að læra íslensku.I want to learn Icelandic. |
| 3 | vera | to be | Ég er þreyttur í dag.I am tired today. |
| 4 | í | in | Hún býr í Reykjavík.She lives in Reykjavik. |
| 5 | á | on, at | Bókin er á borðinu.The book is on the table. |
| 6 | það | it, that | Það er kalt úti.It is cold outside. |
| 7 | hann | he | Hann heitir Jón.His name is Jon. |
| 8 | ekki | not | Ég skil þetta ekki.I do not understand this. |
| 9 | ég | I | Ég kem frá Íslandi.I come from Iceland. |
| 10 | sem | who, which, that | Konan sem býr hér er læknir.The woman who lives here is a doctor. |
| 11 | hafa | to have | Hafið þið tíma á morgun?Do you have time tomorrow? |
| 12 | um | about, around | Við tölum um veðrið.We are talking about the weather. |
| 13 | en | but | Ég vil koma, en ég er veikur.I want to come, but I am sick. |
| 14 | við | we; at, by | Við borðum saman í kvöld.We are eating together tonight. |
| 15 | til | to, until | Rútan fer til Akureyrar.The bus goes to Akureyri. |
| 16 | með | with | Viltu koma með mér í bíó?Do you want to come to the movies with me? |
| 17 | sig | oneself | Hann meiddi sig í gær.He hurt himself yesterday. |
| 18 | fyrir | for, before | Þetta er gjöf fyrir þig.This is a gift for you. |
| 19 | þú | you (singular) | Þú talar mjög góða íslensku.You speak very good Icelandic. |
| 20 | hún | she | Hún les blaðið á morgnana.She reads the paper in the mornings. |
| 21 | af | of, off, by | Hann datt af hestinum.He fell off the horse. |
| 22 | verða | to become; will | Það verður sól á morgun.It will be sunny tomorrow. |
| 23 | þeir / þær / þau | they | Þau eiga tvö börn.They have two children. |
| 24 | svo | so, then | Við borðum fyrst og svo horfum við á mynd.First we eat and then we watch a movie. |
| 25 | geta | can, to be able | Getur þú hjálpað mér?Can you help me? |
| 26 | koma | to come | Hún kemur heim klukkan sex.She comes home at six o'clock. |
| 27 | segja | to say | Hvað segir þú gott?How are you doing? |
| 28 | fara | to go | Við förum í sund á morgun.We are going swimming tomorrow. |
| 29 | allur | all, whole | Ég borðaði allan matinn.I ate all the food. |
| 30 | þegar | when (conjunction) | Þegar það rignir erum við inni.When it rains, we stay inside. |
| 31 | eða | or | Viltu te eða kaffi?Do you want tea or coffee? |
| 32 | sá | that (demonstrative) | Sá bíll er of dýr.That car is too expensive. |
| 33 | nú | now | Nú er komið vor.Spring has arrived now. |
| 34 | mikill | great, much | Það er mikill snjór úti.There is a lot of snow outside. |
| 35 | einn | one; alone | Ég á bara eina systur.I have only one sister. |
| 36 | út | out | Förum út að ganga.Let's go out for a walk. |
| 37 | sinn | his/her own | Hún elskar bróður sinn.She loves her brother. |
| 38 | þá | then | Ég var þreyttur og þá fór ég að sofa.I was tired and then I went to sleep. |
| 39 | vilja | to want | Ég vil læra meira.I want to learn more. |
| 40 | upp | up | Hún stendur upp frá borðinu.She gets up from the table. |
| 41 | gera | to do, make | Hvað ertu að gera?What are you doing? |
| 42 | eftir | after | Við borðum eftir vinnu.We eat after work. |
| 43 | annar | other, second | Áttu annan penna handa mér?Do you have another pen for me? |
| 44 | hvað | what | Hvað kostar þessi bók?How much does this book cost? |
| 45 | frá | from | Ég fékk póstkort frá ömmu.I got a postcard from grandma. |
| 46 | sjá | to see | Sérðu fjöllin út um gluggann?Do you see the mountains out the window? |
| 47 | maður | man, person; one | Maður veit aldrei með veðrið.You never know with the weather. |
| 48 | taka | to take | Ég tek strætó í vinnuna.I take the bus to work. |
| 49 | ár | year | Ég hef búið hér í tvö ár.I have lived here for two years. |
| 50 | fá | to get, receive | Má ég fá reikninginn?May I have the check? |
| 51 | eiga | to own, have | Ég á gamlan bíl.I have an old car. |
| 52 | líka | also, too | Ég vil líka koma með.I want to come along too. |
| 53 | vita | to know (a fact) | Ég veit ekki svarið.I do not know the answer. |
| 54 | mjög | very | Kaffið er mjög gott.The coffee is very good. |
| 55 | góður | good | Hún er góður kennari.She is a good teacher. |
| 56 | hér | here | Strætó stoppar rétt hér.The bus stops right here. |
| 57 | þar | there | Ég var þar í gær.I was there yesterday. |
| 58 | dagur | day | Í dag er fallegur dagur.Today is a beautiful day. |
| 59 | bara | just, only | Þetta var bara grín.It was just a joke. |
| 60 | þessi | this | Þessi kaka er mjög góð.This cake is very good. |
| 61 | ef | if | Ef þú vilt getum við farið núna.If you want, we can go now. |
| 62 | hjá | at, beside, with | Ég gisti hjá vini mínum.I am staying at my friend's place. |
| 63 | vel | well | Þú syngur mjög vel.You sing very well. |
| 64 | halda | to think; to hold | Ég held að það rigni á morgun.I think it will rain tomorrow. |
| 65 | þurfa | to need | Ég þarf að kaupa mjólk.I need to buy milk. |
| 66 | ætla | to intend, be going to | Ég ætla að læra í kvöld.I am going to study tonight. |
| 67 | finna | to find | Ég finn ekki lyklana mína.I cannot find my keys. |
| 68 | nýr | new | Ég keypti nýjan síma.I bought a new phone. |
| 69 | tími | time | Við höfum nógan tíma.We have enough time. |
| 70 | hver | who; each | Hver á þessa tösku?Who owns this bag? |
| 71 | hvar | where | Hvar er næsta sundlaug?Where is the nearest swimming pool? |
| 72 | hvernig | how | Hvernig hefur þú það?How are you? |
| 73 | hvenær | when (question) | Hvenær opnar búðin á morgnana?When does the shop open in the mornings? |
| 74 | af hverju | why | Af hverju ertu svona þreyttur?Why are you so tired? |
| 75 | já | yes | Já, ég kem á morgun.Yes, I am coming tomorrow. |
| 76 | nei | no | Nei, takk, ég er saddur.No thanks, I am full. |
| 77 | takk | thanks | Takk kærlega fyrir hjálpina.Thank you very much for the help. |
| 78 | fólk | people | Margt fólk býr í borginni.Many people live in the city. |
| 79 | barn | child | Börnin leika sér úti.The children are playing outside. |
| 80 | kona | woman, wife | Konan mín heitir Anna.My wife's name is Anna. |
| 81 | heima | at home | Ég er heima í kvöld.I am home tonight. |
| 82 | núna | now, right now | Við verðum að fara núna.We have to go now. |
| 83 | alltaf | always | Hann er alltaf glaður.He is always happy. |
| 84 | aldrei | never | Ég borða aldrei kjöt.I never eat meat. |
| 85 | aftur | again | Sjáumst aftur á morgun!See you again tomorrow! |
| 86 | kannski | maybe | Kannski kem ég seinna.Maybe I will come later. |
| 87 | tala | to speak, talk | Hún talar þrjú tungumál.She speaks three languages. |
| 88 | búa | to live, reside | Við búum í miðbænum.We live downtown. |
| 89 | vinna | to work | Ég vinn á spítala.I work at a hospital. |
| 90 | borða | to eat | Við borðum kvöldmat klukkan sjö.We eat dinner at seven o'clock. |
| 91 | ganga | to walk | Ég geng í skólann á hverjum degi.I walk to school every day. |
| 92 | lítill | little, small | Kettlingurinn er mjög lítill.The kitten is very small. |
| 93 | gamall | old | Afi minn er áttatíu ára gamall.My grandpa is eighty years old. |
| 94 | stór | big, large | Reykjavík er ekki mjög stór borg.Reykjavik is not a very big city. |
| 95 | hús | house | Húsið okkar er gult.Our house is yellow. |
| 96 | skóli | school | Skólinn byrjar klukkan átta.School starts at eight o'clock. |
| 97 | vinur | friend | Besti vinur minn heitir Gunnar.My best friend's name is Gunnar. |
| 98 | matur | food | Íslenskur matur er oft úr fiski.Icelandic food is often made from fish. |
| 99 | vatn | water | Ég drekk mikið vatn á daginn.I drink a lot of water during the day. |
| 100 | veður | weather | Veðrið er gott í dag.The weather is nice today. |
The ones English speakers get wrong
vera vs. verða
Both begin with ver-, but vera is to be and verða is to become or will be. Það er kalt describes right now; það verður kalt says it is going to get cold. Verða also does the future work that English gives to will, so það verður sól á morgun is a forecast, not a description of the present.
eiga vs. hafa
Icelandic splits English have in two. Eiga is for things you own and people close to you: ég á hund, þau eiga tvö börn. Hafa covers more abstract having, like time, and builds perfect tenses such as ég hef búið hér í tvö ár. If you could put it in a box or a family photo, reach for eiga first.
The article hides at the end of the word
Icelandic has no word for a, and the attaches to the end of the noun instead of standing in front of it. Hús means house or a house, while húsið is the house; dagur becomes dagurinn. When a sentence seems to contain an unknown word, check whether it is a list word wearing its article, like veðrið from veður.
false friend: barn
Barn means child, not a farm building, and its plural börn turns up constantly around families and schools. Icelandic keeps a few more traps like this: gift means married rather than a present, and rok is a strong wind, not a stone. When a short Icelandic word looks like easy English, check it once before trusting it.
What to do next
A list this size is about two weeks of light daily review, and it is the difference between decoding Icelandic and following it.