Icelandic Gender

Welcome to the fifth Icelandic lesson about gender. This time we will view a list of people, feminine and masculine, followed by grammar rules, finally a list of expressions in Icelandic to help you practice your daily phrases.

man maður

woman kona

husband eiginmaður

wife eiginkona

boy strákur

girl stelpa

father faðir

mother móðir

Gender Grammar Rules

In general, gender is used to distinguish between male and female, sometimes referred to as masculine and feminine. For example: my son and daughter are students the noun [son] is masculine, while [daughter] is feminine. The following examples use gender in different ways and places to demonstrate their behavior.

Grammar + Rules - Icelandic
my son is a student [masculine + noun] sonur minn er nemandi
her daughter is a student [feminine + noun] dóttir hennar er nemandi
he has a tall brother [adjective + masculine] hann á hávaxinn bróðir
she has a tall sister [adjective + feminine] hún á hávaxna systur
his brothers are young [plural masculine + adjective] bræður hans eru ungir
his sisters are young [plural feminine + adjective] systur hans eru ungar

The list below will probably provide more clarification. These are family members (males and females). I think it would be wise to memorize them as part of your important vocabulary list.

son sonur

daughter dóttir

brother bróðir

sister systir

grandfather afi

grandmother amma

child barn

children börn

Expressions in Icelandic

Now it's time to practice expressions used in daily conversations. If you're a beginner in learning Icelandic, then the phrases below are something you would want to know.

English - Icelandic
What do you mean? hvað meinarðu?
I don't understand ég skil ekki
I don't know ég veit það ekki
What is that called in Icelandic? hvað kallast þetta á íslensku?
What is this? hvað er þetta?
What does that word mean in English? hvað þýðir þetta orð á ensku?
Sorry (if you made a mistake) fyrirgefðu

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