Tag Archives: sample of icelandic
Everyday Icelandic Posted by sequoia on Jul 17, 2012
The most difficult thing to find when you don’t live in Iceland is the Icelandic for things that you would never talk to someone else about. You might be able to get some of this from reading a lot of varied books, but unless you have a friend in Iceland willing to take photos or…
Reading Receipts Posted by sequoia on Jul 10, 2012
If you ever go to Iceland, a fun souvenir is your shopping receipts. They’re almost always in Icelandic and there are two main types with slight variations. You can also get other receipt types from various more unique events and places. The first type is the real receipt. This shows the items that you bought…
Signs part two Posted by sequoia on Jun 30, 2012
Here are some signs, mostly from downtown Reykjavik. Reykjavík is very fond of frosted glass and many houses have it, especially on doors, although it’s less common for businesses. This and the one before it are signs put up by the public. Often if there’s some kind of protest planned, or if a new club…
Is this person a drusla, a slut? Posted by hulda on Jun 24, 2012
You may be wondering why on earth am I so keen on teaching you rude words of Icelandic today with such a provocative image attached, but I have an excuse, I swear! The annual Drusluganga (SlutWalk) parade crowded up the downtown area yesterday and by a lucky accident I happened to walk right into it. The answer…
Is your neighbour an elf? Posted by hulda on Jun 22, 2012
Happy Midsummer/Solstice everyone! Unlike many European countries, this time of the year is not celebrated very much in Iceland, at least in comparison. There’s Þórláksmessa (the summer version of it – one is held on 20th June and another on 23rd December) held in the memory of Þórlák hinn helga Þórláksson, the patron saint of…
When the free dictionary is wrong Posted by sequoia on Jun 19, 2012
This is about when you can’t find the meaning of a word because the free dictionary doesn’t have it or is wrong. This will happen more and more as you read in Icelandic. Part of it is because English is a much more specific language, like how we have many words with very similar meanings…
Happy Birthday, Iceland! Posted by hulda on Jun 17, 2012
“Hæ, hó, jibbí, jei og jibbí, jei – Það er kominn 17. júní!” In other words, happy Independence Day Iceland and Icelanders! Today’s a big fest downtown that began in the morning and will go on until at least seven p.m. We have been lucky with the weather today, it’s been sunny and warm with…