This page does two jobs: it gives you the body-part words, and it hands you a ready-made frame for telling a doctor or a friend that something hurts. That frame — Mér er illt í maganum ("my stomach hurts") — looks nothing like English. There's no word for "my," the verb is just er ("is"), you appear in the dative as mér ("to me"), and the body part takes its suffixed article (the definite "the"). It's a quirky-subject construction, but at A1 you can simply learn it as a chunk. Genders are tagged: kk = masculine, kvk = feminine, hk = neuter.
The body-part words (and their plurals)
Several of the most basic body parts have irregular plurals — the kind you can't predict, so learn the pair:
| Singular | Gender | Plural | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| höfuð | hk | höfuð | head |
| auga | hk | augu | eye / eyes |
| eyra | hk | eyru | ear / ears |
| nef | hk | nef | nose |
| munnur | kk | munnar | mouth |
| hönd | kvk | hendur | hand / hands |
| fótur | kk | fætur | foot/leg / feet/legs |
| magi | kk | magar | stomach |
| bak | hk | bök | back |
| hjarta | hk | hjörtu | heart |
| hár | hk | hár | hair |
| háls | kk | hálsar | neck / throat |
| tönn | kvk | tennur | tooth / teeth |
The ones to fix in memory: auga → augu, eyra → eyru (neuter, -u plural), hönd → hendur and fótur → fætur (these change the vowel), and tönn → tennur. Also note fótur (kk) covers both "foot" and "leg" — Icelandic doesn't draw the English line. The colloquial word for "head," haus (kk), exists too, but it's casual/slangy; höfuð (hk) is the neutral term.
Hún er með falleg, blá augu.
She has beautiful blue eyes. 'augu' is the irregular plural of 'auga' (hk).
Þvoðu þér um hendurnar fyrir matinn.
Wash your hands before the meal. 'hendurnar' = the definite plural of 'hönd' (kvk) → hendur.
The pain frame: "Mér er illt í + dative"
To say "my X hurts," Icelandic uses a fixed construction that has no "I" as subject in the English sense. Word by word:
- Mér — "to me," the dative of ég. You, the sufferer, appear in the dative. (This is the "experiencer.")
- er illt — literally "is bad/ill." Just the verb vera (er) plus the neuter adjective illt.
- í + dative — "in" the body part, and the body part is in the dative with its suffixed article (no possessive).
So Mér er illt í maganum = literally "to-me is bad in the-stomach" = my stomach hurts. There is no word for "my" — the dative mér already tells the listener whose body it is.
| Body part (nom.) | í + dative (definite) | English |
|---|---|---|
| magi (kk) | í maganum | … in the stomach |
| höfuð (hk) | í höfðinu | … in the head |
| háls (kk) | í hálsinum | … in the throat |
| bak (hk) | í bakinu | … in the back |
| tönn (kvk) | í tönninni | … in the tooth |
| fótur (kk) | í fætinum | … in the foot/leg |
Mér er illt í maganum.
My stomach hurts. Literally 'to-me is bad in the-stomach' — dative 'mér', body part in the dative with the article (maganum), no 'my'.
Mér er illt í höfðinu, ég held ég sé að fá kvef.
I have a headache, I think I'm coming down with a cold. 'í höfðinu' = in the head (höfuð → dative höfðinu).
Mér er rosalega illt í hálsinum.
My throat really hurts. 'rosalega illt' = really sore; 'í hálsinum' = in the throat.
Asking someone where it hurts
To turn the frame into a question, swap mér ("to me") for þér ("to you") and front the question word hvar ("where"):
Hvar er þér illt?
Where does it hurt? Literally 'where is it bad to-you?' — 'þér' is the dative 'you'.
Er þér illt í bakinu?
Does your back hurt? Yes/no version — 'þér' (to you) + 'í bakinu' (in the back).
And to answer for someone else, just change the dative pronoun:
Honum er illt í eyranu.
His ear hurts. 'Honum' = to him (dative of hann); 'í eyranu' = in the ear (eyra → eyranu).
A gentler everyday alternative: "vera með verk í"
You'll also hear vera með verk í + dative — "to have a pain in." Verkur (kk) is "an ache/pain." This one does have a normal subject (you say ég), which can feel more familiar at first:
Ég er með verk í maganum.
I have a pain in my stomach. 'vera með verk í' — a more transparent alternative; still 'í + dative' with the article, still no possessive.
Both are correct and common. Mér er illt í … is the more idiomatic, classically Icelandic frame; Ég er með verk í … is a useful backup with a familiar subject.
Common Mistakes
❌ Mitt höfuð er illt.
Incorrect — calques English 'my head'. Icelandic uses no possessive and no 'my X is bad' structure.
✅ Mér er illt í höfðinu.
My head hurts. Dative experiencer + í + the body part with the article.
❌ Ég er illur.
Incorrect — 'ég er illur' means 'I am evil/wicked', not 'I'm in pain'!
✅ Mér er illt.
I'm in pain / I feel unwell. The dative 'mér' + neuter 'illt'.
❌ Mér er illt í maga.
Incorrect — the body part needs the suffixed (definite) article.
✅ Mér er illt í maganum.
My stomach hurts. 'maganum' = the stomach, dative + article.
❌ Ég er illt í maganum.
Incorrect — the experiencer must be DATIVE (mér), not nominative (ég).
✅ Mér er illt í maganum.
My stomach hurts. The sufferer is 'mér', not 'ég'.
❌ Hvar ert þú illt?
Incorrect — uses the nominative 'þú'; the frame needs the dative 'þér'.
✅ Hvar er þér illt?
Where does it hurt? Dative 'þér'.
Key Takeaways
- Body parts carry unpredictable gender and several irregular plurals: auga → augu, hönd → hendur, fótur → fætur, tönn → tennur. fótur = both foot and leg.
- "My X hurts" is Mér er illt í
- body part, where the body part is in the dative with the suffixed article and there is no possessive.
- The sufferer is dative (mér, þér, honum), never nominative — and that dative is what marks whose body it is.
- Beware: Ég er illur means "I'm wicked," not "I'm in pain." Use Mér er illt.
- A handy alternative with a normal subject: Ég er með verk í
- dative.
Now practice Icelandic
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Icelandic→Related Topics
- Talking About Feelings and Bodily StatesA2 — How Icelandic expresses feelings — the dative-experiencer frames (mér líður vel, mér er kalt, mér er illt, mér leiðist) versus the nominative adjectives (ég er svangur, þreyttur, glöð) — and why each state must be learned with its frame.