You can get through your first days in Iceland on roughly a dozen phrases, learned as whole chunks, before you understand a single rule. This page is that survival kit: how to say yes and no (with the Icelandic twist that there are two yeses), how to be polite, how to admit you do not understand, and how to ask the three questions that actually save you — the price of something, whether someone speaks English, and where the toilet is. Memorise these as units. As a bonus, several of them quietly contain real grammar — a clitic question here, an imperative there — so your survival phrases double as seeds for the grammar to come.
Yes, no, and the second yes: já / nei / jú
Já is "yes," nei is "no." Simple — except Icelandic has a second word for "yes," jú, used to contradict a negative. When someone asks a question phrased in the negative — "you don't want coffee?" — answering já is confusing; the right word is jú, meaning "yes (I do), contrary to what you assumed."
| Word | Use |
|---|---|
| já | plain "yes" (to a positive question) |
| nei | "no" |
| jú | "yes" — but only to overturn a negative question or statement |
Viltu kaffi? – Já, takk.
Do you want coffee? – Yes, please. (positive question → já)
Viltu ekki kaffi? – Jú, takk!
Don't you want coffee? – Yes (I do), thanks! (negative question → jú)
Ertu ekki frá Íslandi? – Nei, ég er frá Noregi.
Aren't you from Iceland? – No, I'm from Norway.
English collapses both yeses into "yes," which is exactly why English speakers slip here. If the question has a not in it and your answer is positive, reach for jú.
Politeness: takk, gjörðu svo vel, ekkert mál
The politeness core is tiny. Takk ("thanks") and the fuller takk fyrir / þakka þér fyrir ("thank you"). Gjörðu svo vel is the multi-tool: it means "here you go" (handing something over), "go ahead / please do" (inviting an action), and "you're welcome" — context decides. Ekkert mál is "no problem," and kannski is "maybe."
Takk fyrir hjálpina! – Ekkert mál.
Thanks for the help! – No problem.
Gjörðu svo vel, hér er kaffið þitt.
Here you go, here's your coffee.
Getum við hist á morgun? – Kannski, ég læt þig vita.
Can we meet tomorrow? – Maybe, I'll let you know.
Sorry / excuse me: afsakið, fyrirgefðu
Two everyday words. Fyrirgefðu is "sorry / excuse me" said to one person you would address informally; afsakið is "excuse me / sorry," a touch more neutral and also what you say to a group or to get a stranger's attention. Both cover bumping into someone, interrupting, or apologising for a small mistake.
Fyrirgefðu, ég heyrði ekki hvað þú sagðir.
Sorry, I didn't catch what you said.
Afsakið, má ég komast hér fram hjá?
Excuse me, may I get past here?
Quietly, fyrirgefðu is an imperative ("forgive me!") with the þú fused on — a preview of how Icelandic commands work. You do not need that now; just notice the -ðu ending, the same one you saw in segirðu and will see again in talarðu below.
I don't understand — and asking for English
When the language outruns you, three phrases keep you afloat. Ég skil ekki ("I don't understand"), Geturðu talað hægar? ("Can you speak more slowly?"), and the lifesaver Talarðu ensku? ("Do you speak English?").
Fyrirgefðu, ég skil ekki. Geturðu sagt þetta aftur?
Sorry, I don't understand. Can you say that again?
Talarðu ensku? – Já, smávegis.
Do you speak English? – Yes, a little.
Talarðu is talar þú fused — a yes/no question made simply by sticking the pronoun onto the verb (no "do" as in English). So talarðu ensku? literally is "speak-you English?" This is the normal way to ask any yes/no question in Icelandic, and you have just learned it as a chunk before learning the rule.
The three questions that save you
Three more chunks handle most practical emergencies — shopping, eating, and the most universal need of all:
Hvað kostar þetta?
How much does this cost?
Hvar er klósettið?
Where is the toilet?
Get ég fengið reikninginn, takk?
Can I get the bill, please?
Hvað kostar þetta? ("what does this cost?") works for any price; hvar er klósettið? ("where is the toilet?" — klósettið, hk, "the toilet") needs no apology to ask; and get ég fengið…? ("can I have…?") gets you food, the bill, or anything you can point at.
The full survival list
Here is the kit in one place. Drill these as fixed units:
| Icelandic | English |
|---|---|
| já / nei / jú | yes / no / yes (to a negative) |
| takk / takk fyrir | thanks / thank you |
| gjörðu svo vel | here you go / go ahead / you're welcome |
| fyrirgefðu / afsakið | sorry / excuse me |
| ekkert mál | no problem |
| kannski | maybe |
| ég skil ekki | I don't understand |
| talarðu ensku? | do you speak English? |
| geturðu talað hægar? | can you speak more slowly? |
| hvað kostar þetta? | how much is this? |
| hvar er klósettið? (hk) | where is the toilet? |
| get ég fengið…? | can I have…? |
Common Mistakes
❌ Viltu ekki meira? – Já.
Confusing — to say 'yes I do' to a negative question, use jú, not já.
✅ Viltu ekki meira? – Jú, takk.
Don't you want more? – Yes (I do), thanks.
A positive answer to a negative question is jú. Using já there muddies whether you mean yes or no.
❌ Ég er mjög hræðilega leiður, ég bið yður afsökunar.
Over-formal and stilted for a small everyday slip — just say fyrirgefðu.
✅ Fyrirgefðu!
Sorry! / Excuse me!
Do not over-apologise. For everyday bumps and interruptions, the natural word is the short fyrirgefðu (or afsakið), not an elaborate formal apology.
❌ Do you speak English? (asked in English first, with no attempt)
Open with the Icelandic — Talarðu ensku? — it is friendlier and often gets a warmer response.
✅ Talarðu ensku?
Do you speak English?
Even one Icelandic phrase goes a long way. Ask Talarðu ensku? rather than launching straight into English.
❌ Hvar er klósetið?
Spelling slip — it's klósettið, with double t (and the article -ið).
✅ Hvar er klósettið?
Where is the toilet?
Keep the double t and the accent: klósettið. Watch the diacritics across the kit — já, jú, fyrirgefðu (with þ-less f, but note the ð), gjörðu.
Key Takeaways
- Já = yes; nei = no; jú = yes-to-a-negative — the split English lacks.
- Politeness: takk / takk fyrir, gjörðu svo vel (the multi-use one), ekkert mál, kannski.
- Apologise small: fyrirgefðu / afsakið — never an elaborate formal apology for an everyday slip.
- Survival questions: Talarðu ensku?, Ég skil ekki, Hvað kostar þetta?, Hvar er klósettið?, Get ég fengið…?.
- The recurring -ðu (talarðu, segirðu, geturðu, fyrirgefðu) is þú fused on — a free preview of questions and commands.
Now practice Icelandic
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Start learning Icelandic→Related Topics
- já, jú, nei, jæja: The Answer SystemA2 — Icelandic's three-way answer system — já 'yes' to a positive question, jú 'yes' contradicting a negative question (like German doch / French si), nei 'no' — plus the indispensable, culturally loaded discourse word jæja (well / so / anyway / let's wrap up).
- Asking Simple QuestionsA1 — The survival kit for everyday Icelandic questions — yes/no questions by inversion (Ertu …? Áttu …? Kemurðu?), the core wh-words (hvað, hver, hvar, hvenær, hvernig), and the spoken clitic forms, with natural answers.
- Small Talk and Everyday ReactionsA1 — The frozen Icelandic small-talk rituals — Hvað segirðu?, Allt gott, Hvað er að frétta?, Ekkert sérstakt, Gaman að hitta þig, Sömuleiðis — and why Hvað segirðu? is never a literal question.