biðjast is the middle-voice (miðmynd, the -st form) of biðja "to ask, to pray." On its own biðjast means roughly "to ask for oneself / beg," but the form you actually need at A1 is the fixed phrase biðjast afsökunar — "to apologise." It is your formal "I'm sorry," the one you say when you've genuinely caused a problem, as opposed to the throwaway fyrirgefðu "sorry / excuse me." Learn the chunk Ég biðst afsökunar whole — it is the single most useful thing on this page.
Conjugation
Class: middle voice (-st) built on the strong verb biðja (class 5). The -st fuses onto each finite form. Watch the stem vowel jump exactly as in active biðja: present bið-, past singular bað-, past plural báð-, supine beð-.
| Principal parts (middle voice) | |
|---|---|
| Infinitive | að biðjast |
| 3sg present | biðst |
| 3sg past | baðst |
| Supine | beðist |
| Person | Present (nútíð) | Past (þátíð) |
|---|---|---|
| ég | biðst | baðst |
| þú | biðst | baðst |
| hann / hún / það | biðst | baðst |
| við | biðjumst | báðumst |
| þið | biðjist | báðust |
| þeir / þær / þau | biðjast | báðust |
| Person | Present subjunctive | Past subjunctive |
|---|---|---|
| ég | biðjist | bæðist |
| þú | biðjist | bæðist |
| hann / hún / það | biðjist | bæðist |
| við | biðjumst | bæðumst |
| þið | biðjist | bæðust |
| þeir / þær / þau | biðjist | bæðust |
| Non-finite & imperative | |
|---|---|
| Imperative (þú) | biðstu afsökunar (apologise!) |
| Imperative (þið) | biðjist afsökunar |
| Supine | beðist |
| Active partner | biðja (3sg biður, past bað, supine beðið) |
biðjast afsökunar — the apology (+ genitive)
The phrase is biðjast afsökunar — literally "ask oneself forgiveness." The thing you're sorry for, afsökun ("apology, excuse"), appears in the genitive: afsökunar. This genitive is fixed; you do not change it. To name what you're apologising for, add á + dative: biðjast afsökunar á því "apologise for that."
Ég biðst afsökunar á þessu, þetta var mín mistök.
I apologise for this, it was my mistake.
Hann baðst afsökunar á því að mæta of seint.
He apologised for arriving late.
Við biðjumst innilega afsökunar á töfinni.
We sincerely apologise for the delay.
fyrirgefðu vs biðjast afsökunar — two different "sorry"s
Day to day, the word you reach for is fyrirgefðu (informal) / fyrirgefið (to several people or formally) — "sorry / excuse me," used for bumping into someone, interrupting, or squeezing past. biðjast afsökunar is heavier and more formal: a real apology for a real wrong, common in writing, announcements, and serious face-to-face moments. Use fyrirgefðu to get attention; use Ég biðst afsökunar when you've actually messed up.
Fyrirgefðu, veistu hvað klukkan er?
Excuse me, do you know what time it is?
Fyrirgefðu að ég truflar, ég ætla bara að spyrja að einu.
Sorry to bother you, I just want to ask one thing.
The active partner: biðja (to ask, to pray)
The middle biðjast grows out of the active biðja "to ask (for) / to pray." Active biðja takes a person in the accusative and the thing asked for in um + accusative: biðja einhvern um eitthvað "ask someone for something." Seeing the two side by side makes the -st logic click: biðja is asking someone else, biðjast (afsökunar) turns the asking back on yourself.
Má ég biðja þig um greiða?
May I ask you for a favour?
Hún bað mig um að bíða aðeins lengur.
She asked me to wait a little longer.
Amma bað bænirnar sínar á hverju kvöldi.
Grandma said her prayers every evening.
Common Mistakes
❌ Ég biðjast afsökunar.
The 1sg present is biðst, not the infinitive/3pl biðjast
✅ Ég biðst afsökunar.
I apologise.
❌ Ég biðst afsökun.
The noun must be genitive — afsökunar, not afsökun
✅ Ég biðst afsökunar.
I apologise.
❌ Hann baðst afsökunar fyrir að mæta of seint.
'Apologise for' is biðjast afsökunar á + dative, not fyrir
✅ Hann baðst afsökunar á því að mæta of seint.
He apologised for arriving late.
❌ Má ég biðja þig greiða?
biðja needs um before the thing asked for
✅ Má ég biðja þig um greiða?
May I ask you for a favour?
Key Takeaways
- biðjast is the middle voice of biðja; the core A1 phrase is biðjast afsökunar "to apologise."
- Singular present is the same for all persons: ég / þú / hann biðst; past baðst; supine beðist.
- afsökunar stays in the genitive; "apologise for" adds á
- dative: biðjast afsökunar á því.
- Everyday "sorry / excuse me" is fyrirgefðu (informal); Ég biðst afsökunar is the formal, serious apology.
- The active partner biðja "ask / pray" takes accusative person + um
- accusative thing.
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- Social Formulae and Set PhrasesA2 — The frozen social phrases of daily Icelandic — takk fyrir mig, gangi þér vel, verði þér að góðu, til hamingju með — and the hidden grammar inside them: most are frozen subjunctive optatives, so you start 'using the subjunctive' long before you study it.