Every language has a set of phrases you don't build word by word — you reach for them whole, like keys on a ring. Icelandic has more of these than most, and the surprising thing is how much grammar is frozen inside them. Several of the commonest daily phrases are present subjunctive optatives — wishes — so an A2 learner is already "using the subjunctive" in gangi þér vel and verði þér að góðu long before ever opening the chapter on mood. Naming that hidden grammar is what makes these phrases stick instead of feeling arbitrary. Below, each phrase comes with the situation that triggers it and the case or verb form buried inside.
"Takk fyrir" — the thank-you family
English has essentially one "thank you." Icelandic splits gratitude by what you're thanking for, and two of these have no English equivalent at all.
| Icelandic | Literally | When to use |
|---|---|---|
| takk fyrir mig | thanks for me | After a meal or visit — thanking the host for having you |
| takk fyrir síðast | thanks for last time | Next time you meet someone after a shared occasion |
| takk fyrir mig og mína | thanks for me and mine | Same as fyrir mig, but on behalf of your family/group |
| takk kærlega | thanks dearly | An emphatic "thank you very much" |
Takk fyrir mig is what you say as you leave the table or the house — it thanks the host for the food, the coffee, the hospitality. Takk fyrir síðast is the one foreigners never see coming: the next time you run into someone after a dinner, party, or meeting, you greet them with it. Skipping it can read as slightly cold. The mig in fyrir mig is the accusative of ég — fyrir governs the accusative here.
Takk fyrir mig, þetta var alveg dásamlegt.
Thank you for having me, that was absolutely wonderful. Said as you leave a meal or visit — 'fyrir mig' = 'for me' (accusative).
Sæl, og takk fyrir síðast!
Hi, and thanks for last time! The standard re-greeting after you last met for some occasion — there's no English equivalent.
"Verði þér að góðu" — the reply to thanks for food
When someone thanks you with takk fyrir mig or takk fyrir matinn (thanks for the food), the host answers verði þér að góðu — roughly "may it do you good" / "you're welcome." Here is your first frozen subjunctive: verði is the present subjunctive of verða (to become). It's an optative — a wish that the food become good for you (þér, dative). You will not parse this in the moment, and you don't need to; you just need to know it answers thanks-for-food.
— Takk fyrir matinn! — Verði þér að góðu.
— Thanks for the meal! — You're welcome (may it do you good). 'verði' is a frozen present subjunctive of 'verða'; 'þér' is dative.
"Gangi þér vel" — good luck
This is the big one for English speakers, because the literal translation is a trap. "Good luck" is not góð heppni — that's a calque no one says. The idiom is gangi þér vel, literally "may it go well for you." Gangi is the present subjunctive of ganga (to go), another optative wish, and þér is again the dative ("for you"). Change the pronoun for the addressee:
| Addressee | Phrase |
|---|---|
| you (sg.) | gangi þér vel |
| you (pl.) / formal | gangi ykkur vel |
| him/her | gangi honum / henni vel |
Gangi þér vel í prófinu á morgun!
Good luck on the exam tomorrow! 'gangi' = frozen subjunctive of 'ganga'; 'þér' is the dative of 'you'.
Þið eruð að flytja? Gangi ykkur vel með allt saman.
You're moving? Good luck with everything. The plural addressee takes 'ykkur' (dative).
"Til hamingju" — congratulations
Til hamingju means "congratulations." Two things trip up English speakers. First, til is a genitive preposition, so the fixed phrase is til hamingju (genitive of hamingja, happiness) — you never change it. Second, to say what you're congratulating about, you add með + dative, and the person congratulated goes in the dative too.
| Icelandic | English |
|---|---|
| Til hamingju! | Congratulations! |
| Til hamingju með afmælið! | Happy birthday! (lit. congrats on the birthday) |
| Til hamingju með daginn! | Congratulations on the day! (national days, name days) |
| Ég óska þér til hamingju. | I congratulate you. ('þér' = dative) |
Til hamingju með afmælið, elskan!
Happy birthday, darling! 'með + afmælið' (dative) names what you're congratulating about.
Til hamingju með nýja starfið!
Congratulations on the new job! Again 'með' + dative for the occasion.
Ég óska ykkur öllum til hamingju með daginn.
I congratulate you all on this day. The people congratulated ('ykkur') are in the dative.
Wishes with the accusative: góða ferð, góða nótt
A whole family of wishes is built on góður (good) + a noun in the accusative — you're wishing someone a good X, with the verb "may you have" silently dropped. Because they're objects of an unspoken "have," they sit in the accusative.
| Icelandic | English | Noun (gender, case) |
|---|---|---|
| góða ferð | have a good trip | ferð (kvk), accusative |
| góða nótt | good night | nótt (kvk), accusative |
| góða helgi | have a good weekend | helgi (kvk), accusative |
| góðan dag | good day / hello | dagur (kk), accusative |
| góða skemmtun | have fun / enjoy | skemmtun (kvk), accusative |
Notice how góður changes shape to agree: góða before the feminine nouns (ferð, nótt, helgi, skemmtun) and góðan before the masculine dag. The accusative is doing real grammatical work even inside these frozen wishes.
Góða ferð! Sjáumst eftir viku.
Have a good trip! See you in a week. 'ferð' (kvk) is in the accusative — a 'may you have a good trip' wish.
Góða nótt, sofðu vel.
Good night, sleep well. 'nótt' (kvk) is accusative; 'sofðu' is the imperative of 'sofa'.
Leave-takings and quick reactions
A handful of short formulae cover farewells and everyday reactions:
| Icelandic | English | Note |
|---|---|---|
| vertu blessaður / blessuð | goodbye (to a man / a woman) | 'be blessed' — agrees with the addressee's gender |
| bless / bless bless | bye (informal) | The casual everyday farewell |
| sömuleiðis | likewise / you too | The all-purpose return of a wish |
| ekkert mál | no problem | (informal) — 'no matter' |
| allt í lagi | OK / it's fine | 'everything in order' |
| því miður | unfortunately / I'm afraid not | softens bad news |
Vertu blessaður/blessuð is a fuller, warmer goodbye than plain bless, and it agrees with whom you're addressing: blessaður to a man, blessuð to a woman. (It started as a religious blessing, hence the form.)
Vertu blessuð, og takk fyrir mig!
Goodbye, and thanks for having me! 'blessuð' because the person addressed is a woman.
— Góða ferð! — Takk, sömuleiðis!
— Have a good trip! — Thanks, likewise! 'sömuleiðis' bounces almost any wish back.
Því miður get ég ekki komið á laugardaginn.
Unfortunately I can't come on Saturday. 'því miður' flags that bad news is coming.
Common Mistakes
❌ Góð heppni!
Incorrect — a word-for-word calque of English 'good luck'. No one says this.
✅ Gangi þér vel!
Good luck! Literally 'may it go well for you' — a frozen subjunctive plus dative.
❌ Til hamingju á afmælinu.
Incorrect — wrong preposition; congratulations takes 'með', not 'á'.
✅ Til hamingju með afmælið.
Happy birthday. 'með' + dative names the occasion.
❌ Takk fyrir mér.
Incorrect — 'fyrir' here governs the accusative, not the dative.
✅ Takk fyrir mig.
Thanks for having me. 'mig' is the accusative of 'ég'.
❌ Góður dag!
Incorrect — the adjective must take the accusative ending to agree with 'dag'.
✅ Góðan dag!
Good day / hello. 'góðan' is the masculine accusative agreeing with 'dag'.
❌ Vertu blessaður (said to a woman)
Incorrect — the form must agree with the addressee's gender.
✅ Vertu blessuð.
Goodbye (to a woman). 'blessuð' is the feminine form.
Key Takeaways
- Takk fyrir mig thanks a host as you leave; takk fyrir síðast re-greets someone after a shared occasion — neither has an English equivalent.
- Many daily formulae are frozen present subjunctives (optative wishes): gangi þér vel, verði þér að góðu, guð blessi þig. You're using the subjunctive before you study it.
- "Good luck" is gangi þér vel (+ dative), never góð heppni.
- Til hamingju is fixed (genitive after til); the occasion takes með + dative, and so does the person congratulated.
- Góða ferð / góða nótt / góðan dag are accusative wishes — the adjective góður agrees: góða (kvk), góðan (kk).
- Vertu blessaður/blessuð agrees with the addressee's gender.
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
- Greetings, Openers, and ClosingsA2 — The formulae that frame an Icelandic conversation — gender-agreeing greetings (sæll to a man, sæl to a woman), the how-are-you ritual (Hvað segirðu gott? — Allt fínt), the attention-getter heyrðu, and leave-takings (bless, sjáumst, hafðu það gott).