Walking into an Icelandic shop or café, you need maybe a dozen fixed phrases — but the wrong verb choice marks you as a foreigner instantly. The single most useful habit on this page: Icelanders order with "fá" ("to get"), not with "kaupa" ("to buy") or "vilja" ("to want"). "Ég ætla að fá ..." ("I'm going to get ...") is the default request frame, and the blunt "ég vil ..." ("I want ...") sounds rude in a way English "I want" does not. Below are the phrases, the case each one governs, and the politeness logic underneath them. Every noun is tagged for gender (kk = masculine, kvk = feminine, hk = neuter), because gender drives every ending.
The places and the things
| Icelandic | Gender | English |
|---|---|---|
| búð | kvk | shop, store |
| verslun | kvk | store (slightly more formal) |
| matvörubúð | kvk | grocery store |
| verð | hk | price |
| afsláttur | kk | discount |
| kassi | kk | till, checkout |
| poki | kk | bag |
| kort | hk | card |
| stærð | kvk | size |
| reikningur | kk | bill, receipt |
búð (kvk) and verslun (kvk) both mean "shop"; verslun is a touch more formal and shows up on signage and in compounds (matvöruverslun, grocery store). For everyday speech, búð is what you'll say. Note that matvörubúð (kvk) inherits its gender from búð — Icelandic compounds always take the gender of the last element.
Asking the price: "Hvað kostar þetta?"
The price question is Hvað kostar þetta? — literally "What costs this?" Notice there is no equivalent of English "is" here. Icelandic uses the verb kosta ("to cost") directly: the thing costs, it isn't "much." Don't try to build "how much is it" word for word; that calque produces nonsense.
Hvað kostar þetta?
How much is this? Literally 'What costs this?' — kosta is the verb, no 'is'.
Hvað kosta epli í dag?
How much are apples today? Plural subject (epli) → plural verb kosta.
Þetta kostar tólf hundruð krónur.
This costs twelve hundred krónur. The answer mirrors the question: kosta + the amount.
Ordering and requesting: "fá", never "vilja"
Here is the verb-choice pattern that competitors skip. When you ask for something — a coffee, a kilo of apples, the bill — you get it: fá. The two polite frames are Ég ætla að fá ... ("I'm going to get ...") and Má ég fá ...? ("May I get ...?"). Both govern the accusative for the thing ordered.
Do not open with Ég vil ... ("I want ..."). In Icelandic, bare "vilja" in a request lands as demanding or childish — closer to English "I demand" than "I'd like." The softening comes from ætla að (the intention frame) or má ég (asking permission). This is a genuine pragmatic difference from English, where "I want a coffee" is merely casual, not rude.
Ég ætla að fá eitt kaffi, takk.
I'll have a coffee, please. The default order frame — 'I'm going to get'. kaffi is neuter (hk), so 'one' is eitt, not einn.
Má ég fá tvö kíló af eplum?
May I have two kilos of apples? 'Má ég fá' = the polite permission frame.
Get ég fengið reikninginn, takk?
Can I have the bill, please? 'Get ég fengið ...?' — fengið is the supine of fá; the all-purpose 'may I have'.
Sizes and stock: "Áttu þetta í stærra?"
To ask whether something comes in another size, use eiga ("to have in stock") plus í + a comparative: Áttu þetta í stærra/minna (númeri)? — "Do you have this in a bigger/smaller (size)?" The verb eiga is the shop-stock verb here: a shop owns/stocks the item.
Áttu þetta í stærra númeri?
Do you have this in a bigger size? 'Áttu' = á + þú contracted; í + comparative stærra.
Eruð þið með þetta í öðrum lit?
Do you have this in another colour? 'vera með' (to have on hand) is the everyday alternative to eiga.
Því miður, þetta er uppselt.
Unfortunately, this is sold out. uppselt = sold out — the answer you don't want.
Paying: "Get ég borgað með korti?"
Payment hinges on the verb borga ("to pay") and the preposition með ("with"), which governs the dative. So "card" (kort, hk) becomes korti after með. This dative is obligatory and easy to forget.
Get ég borgað með korti?
Can I pay by card? með governs the dative: kort → korti.
Ég ætla að borga með reiðufé.
I'll pay with cash. reiðufé (hk) = cash; again með + dative.
Það er allt og sumt, takk.
That's everything, thanks. The set phrase for 'that's all' at the till.
Bags: "Get ég fengið poka?"
Icelandic shops charge for bags, so you'll hear and use this constantly. Get ég fengið poka? ("Can I have a bag?") uses the same fá frame; poki (kk) goes to its accusative poka. The clerk may ask you the offer version: Viltu poka? ("Do you want a bag?") — here vilja is fine, because it's an offer, not a request.
Get ég fengið poka?
Can I have a bag? poki (kk) → accusative poka after fá.
Viltu poka? — Nei, takk, ég er með minn eigin.
Do you want a bag? — No thanks, I've got my own. vilja is fine in the clerk's OFFER.
A full exchange
Putting the frames together, here's a natural café-shop interaction:
— Hæ, ég ætla að fá einn kaffibolla og eitt vínarbrauð.
— Hi, I'll have a cup of coffee and a Danish pastry. The fá order, two items in the accusative; kaffibolli (kk) → einn, vínarbrauð (hk) → eitt.
— Viltu poka? — Nei takk. Get ég borgað með korti?
— Do you want a bag? — No thanks. Can I pay by card? Note the verb switch: viltu (offer) → borga með korti (payment).
— Er einhver afsláttur af þessu? — Já, tuttugu prósent.
— Is there any discount on this? — Yes, twenty percent. afsláttur (kk) af + dative þessu.
Common Mistakes
❌ Ég vil eitt kaffi.
Incorrect in a café — bare 'vil' sounds demanding. Use the polite frame.
✅ Ég ætla að fá eitt kaffi.
I'll have a coffee. ætla að fá softens it to a normal order.
❌ Ég ætla að kaupa einn bjór, takk.
Odd — you 'buy' groceries in the abstract, but you 'get' (fá) when ordering at the counter.
✅ Ég ætla að fá einn bjór, takk.
I'll have a beer, please. Order with fá, not kaupa.
❌ Get ég borgað með kort?
Incorrect — með governs the dative, so kort must become korti.
✅ Get ég borgað með korti?
Can I pay by card? með + dative korti.
❌ Hvað er það? (meaning 'how much is it?')
Incorrect — that means 'what is it?'. Use the verb kosta.
✅ Hvað kostar það?
How much is it? kosta is the verb; no 'is'.
❌ Get ég fengið poki?
Incorrect — fá governs the accusative, so poki must become poka.
✅ Get ég fengið poka?
Can I have a bag? poki (kk) → accusative poka.
Key Takeaways
- Order with fá (get), not kaupa (buy) or vilja (want): Ég ætla að fá ... and Má ég fá ...?, both + accusative.
- A bare ég vil ... sounds demanding in a shop — but vilja is fine in the clerk's offer (Viltu poka?).
- The price question is Hvað kostar þetta? with the verb kosta — never calque English "how much is it."
- með ("with", for payment) governs the dative: með korti, með reiðufé.
- Ask about stock with Áttu þetta í stærra/minna? (eiga = to have in stock) or Eruð þið með ...?
- Compound shop words take the gender of their last element: matvörubúð (kvk), reikningur (kk), kort (hk).
Now practice Icelandic
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Start learning Icelandic→Related Topics
- Annotated Dialogue: At the ShopA2 — A natural Icelandic clothes-shopping dialogue — glossed line by line, then unpacked: the demonstrative + weak adjective + accusative noun phrase (þessa rauðu peysu), asking the price (Hvað kostar þetta?), trying things on (Má ég máta?), sizes and colours, and partitive af (kíló af eplum).