finna ("to find") looks like a small verb, but it is one of the most important in the language — not for its active meaning, but for what happens when you add -st. The middle voice finnast is how Icelanders say "I think / it seems to me," and it appears in conversation hundreds of times a day: mér finnst. So learn finna the active verb, but learn it knowing that its real payload is the experiencer construction it spawns.
Conjugation
Class: strong, Class 3 (ablaut stem finn–fann–fundu). Auxiliary: hafa — ég hef fundið "I have found."
| Principal parts | |
|---|---|
| Infinitive | að finna |
| 3sg present | finnur |
| 3sg past | fann |
| Supine | fundið |
| Person | Present (nútíð) | Past (þátíð) |
|---|---|---|
| ég | finn | fann |
| þú | finnur | fannst |
| hann / hún / það | finnur | fann |
| við | finnum | fundum |
| þið | finnið | funduð |
| þeir / þær / þau | finna | fundu |
| Person | Present subjunctive | Past subjunctive |
|---|---|---|
| ég | finni | fyndi |
| þú | finnir | fyndir |
| hann / hún / það | finni | fyndi |
| við | finnum | fyndum |
| þið | finnið | fynduð |
| þeir / þær / þau | finni | fyndu |
| Non-finite & imperative | |
|---|---|
| Imperative (þú) | finn! / finndu (with attached pronoun) |
| Imperative (þið) | finnið! |
| Supine | fundið |
| Past participle (m/f/n) | fundinn / fundin / fundið |
| Middle voice (miðmynd) | finnast (3sg finnst, past fannst) — "to seem / be found" |
The vowels of finna
The four principal parts are finn (present), fann (past singular), fundu (past plural / past stem), fundið (supine). This i–a–u pattern is the signature of strong Class 3, the same series you meet in binda → batt → bundum → bundið and vinna → vann → unnum → unnið. The single biggest spelling trap is forgetting that the past plural is fundum, not "funnum" — the nn of the present collapses to nd once you leave the present tense.
Ég finn aldrei neitt í þessari tösku.
I can never find anything in this bag.
Loksins fann ég lyklana — þeir voru í úlpunni.
I finally found the keys — they were in the parka.
Við fundum frábæran veitingastað í gærkvöldi.
We found a great restaurant last night.
finnast — "to seem / to think" (dative experiencer)
This is why you came. The middle voice finnast carries a dative experiencer subject and means "it seems to (someone)," which Icelanders use as their everyday word for I think / I feel. The person doing the thinking goes in the dative (mér, þér, honum, henni), and the verb stays in the 3rd person, agreeing with the thing judged — not with the experiencer.
Mér finnst þetta góð hugmynd.
I think this is a good idea. (lit. to-me seems this a good idea)
Hvernig finnst þér maturinn?
How do you like the food? (lit. how seems to-you the food)
Okkur fannst myndin frekar leiðinleg.
We found the film rather boring.
Note that the past singular fannst is identical to the active "you (sg.) found" (þú fannst). Context separates them effortlessly: þér fannst (dative) = "you found it [to be]…"; þú fannst (nominative) = "you found."
finna fyrir — "to feel / to sense" (+ dative)
The active verb plus fyrir + dative means "to feel, to sense, to be aware of" a physical or emotional sensation — a pain, the cold, pressure.
Ég finn fyrir smá verk í bakinu.
I feel a slight pain in my back.
Finnurðu fyrir kuldanum hérna inni?
Do you feel the cold in here?
Common Mistakes
❌ Ég finnaði lyklana.
Incorrect — finna is strong, not weak; the past is fann, never a -aði form
✅ Ég fann lyklana.
I found the keys.
❌ Við funnum gott kaffihús.
Incorrect — the past plural switches nn → nd: it is fundum, not funnum
✅ Við fundum gott kaffihús.
We found a good café.
❌ Ég finnst þetta gott.
Incorrect — with finnast the experiencer is dative (mér), not nominative (ég)
✅ Mér finnst þetta gott.
I think this is good.
❌ Mér finn fyrir verk í hnénu.
Incorrect — the active sensing verb is finn (1sg), and the subject is nominative ég
✅ Ég finn fyrir verk í hnénu.
I feel a pain in my knee.
Key Takeaways
- finna / finnur / fann / fundið — strong Class 3, vowels i–a–u (finn–fann–fundum).
- The past stem changes spelling: present nn (finn) becomes nd (fundum, fundinn).
- The middle voice finnast with a dative experiencer is the everyday word for "think / seem": mér finnst.
- finna
- accusative = locate; finna fyrir
- dative = sense a feeling.
- accusative = locate; finna fyrir
- Auxiliary is hafa: ég hef fundið.
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Start learning Icelandic→Related Topics
- finnast (to think / seem — opinion verb)A2 — Full conjugation of finnast, the everyday opinion verb with a DATIVE subject (mér finnst þetta gott), its quirky-subject syntax, plural agreement with the nominative theme (mér finnast þau góð), the past fannst, and how it differs from halda and líka.