International Students’ Favourite Icelandic Words

The University of Iceland has a diverse student body of which many do not have Icelandic as their mother tongue. Although Icelandic is thought to be a notoriously difficult language for foreigners to master, it does become easier on the ears the more you are exposed to it. Here are some favourite words from students who do not have Icelandic as their first language. 

“I really like, you could say that I was fascinated by, the word leiðinlegur because it means both ‘boring, tedious, dull,’ but also ‘sad.’ I found it a strange combination, to associate the same word to when some story is boring you and you can’t be bothered to hear it and when someone is telling you about something bad/sad that happened; to that the answer would in both cases be “þetta er leiðinlegt.” 

“My favourite letter is þ because I really enjoy writing it. My favourite place in Iceland is Látrabjarg because of puffins but my favourite word is kind of hard to think of. Maybe nótt because I like it as a second name or rós for the same reason. Maybe útvarp because it sounds nothing like radio. I find that amazing about the Icelandic language.”

“The first word that comes to mind is ástfanginn. Ástfanginn because love is actually a prison, if love is not mutual, you live alone in solitary confinement.”

“I love the word mjúk because before I even knew what it meant I got this feeling that it had something to do with softness just from how it was pronounced by my teacher.”

Gluggaveður! It’s such a distinctly Icelandic sentiment.”

Sólstafir, because it does not exist in French and I find it very moving.”

Dalalæða, it’s a fog waterfall which is just so cool.”

Skeið means spoon, but skæð means damage. Spoons are dangerous, watch out!”

Nesti. One of my first Icelandic words, it’s short and easy to remember for foreigners and the sound is much nicer than ‘packed lunch.’”

Hjúkrunarfræðingur was the first tongue twister I learned and since then it has become my favourite word.”

“My favourite word is kúra because it feels cozy when you pronounce it and I love to snuggle.”

Skriðdreki. It’s like something out of the sagas, weirdly cute but also terrifying.”

Kjúklingur, it sounds very cute and funny.”

Yrðlingur, which is a fox cub. It’s hard to pronounce, specifically the r-ð-l bridge, but it’s the most beautifully sounding word to me.”

Some students loved how an Icelandic word impacted one of their senses, whether it was how it sounded to their ear or how it rolled off their tongue. Others were more drawn to the meaning of a word and the uniqueness of its existence, which they found was missing in their own mother tongue. Language is a fascinating aspect of our existence and we all have a special relationship to it.

ViewpointMahdya Malik