skoða (to look at / examine) | Icelandic Grammar

skoða ("to look at, examine, inspect, check out") is the verb of active, deliberate looking — you skoða a museum, a flat you might rent, a rash the doctor frowns at, a website, a price. It is a textbook weak Class-1 verb (the -aði preterite of tala), with one wrinkle worth flagging: the u-umlaut that turns a → ö in the plural preterite, giving skoðuðu (not skoðaðu). The real prize on this page, though, is not the conjugation — it is keeping skoða apart from its two false friends, horfa á ("watch") and sjá ("see"). English collapses all three under "look/watch/see"; Icelandic keeps them sharply distinct, and choosing the wrong one is an instant tell.

Conjugation

Class: weak, Class 1 (the -aði preterite). Auxiliary: hafa — ég hef skoðað "I have looked at." The stem skoð- is stable; the only vowel event is the u-umlaut a → ö in the plural preterite (skoðuðu) and the við-present (skoðum).

Principal parts
Infinitive	að skoða
1sg present	skoða
1sg past	skoðaði
Supine	skoðað

Person	Present (nútíð)	Past (þátíð)
ég	skoða	skoðaði
þú	skoðar	skoðaðir
hann / hún / það	skoðar	skoðaði
við	skoðum	skoðuðum
þið	skoðið	skoðuðuð
þeir / þær / þau	skoða	skoðuðu

Person	Present subjunctive	Past subjunctive
ég	skoði	skoðaði
þú	skoðir	skoðaðir
hann / hún / það	skoði	skoðaði
við	skoðum	skoðuðum
þið	skoðið	skoðuðuð
þeir / þær / þau	skoði	skoðuðu

Non-finite & imperative
Imperative (þú)	skoðaðu!
Imperative (þið)	skoðið!
Supine	skoðað
Past participle (m/f/n)	skoðaður / skoðuð / skoðað
Middle voice (miðmynd)	skoðast — "to be examined / be considered"

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The only vowel surprise is the u-umlaut: the short stem a becomes ö whenever a u follows in the ending. That's why the plural preterite is skoðuðu (not "skoðaðu") and the feminine participle is skoðuð (not "skoðað"). It is the same rule you've met in tala → töluðu.

skoða + accusative — examine, inspect, check out

skoða takes an ordinary accusative object and covers a wide band of "deliberate looking": browse, inspect, examine, check out, consider. You skoða a museum, a used car, a sore throat, a website, an offer.

Læknirinn skoðaði hálsinn á mér og sá ekkert að.

The doctor examined my throat and found nothing wrong.

Eigum við að skoða þessa íbúð áður en við ákveðum okkur?

Should we go look at this flat before we decide?

Ég var að skoða nýju heimasíðuna ykkar — hún er flott.

I was just checking out your new website — it looks great.

It also reaches the figurative "look into / consider a matter," which is why officialdom loves it: málið er í skoðun ("the matter is under review").

Við þurfum að skoða þetta betur áður en við svörum.

We need to look into this more before we answer.

skoða vs. horfa á vs. sjá — the three "looks"

This is the heart of the page. English uses look, watch and see loosely; Icelandic assigns each a different verb, and they are not interchangeable.

Verb	Meaning	Frame	Typical object
skoða	examine, inspect, check out (active, purposeful looking)	accusative	a museum, a flat, a wound, a website
horfa á	watch (sustained viewing of something playing out)	horfa á + accusative	a film, TV, a match, the sunset
sjá	see (passive perception, happen to perceive)	accusative	whatever enters your field of vision

The crucial split for learners is skoða vs. horfa á. You skoða something you are inspecting or browsing; you horfa á something you are watching unfold. A film is horfa á (you watch it play), but a painting you study is skoða (you examine it). Using skoða for "watch a film" is the single most common error here — that needs horfa á.

Við horfðum á bíómynd í gærkvöldi og fórum snemma að sofa.

We watched a film last night and went to bed early. (horfa á for watching a film — NOT skoða)

Ég sá hann úti í búð en hann sá mig ekki.

I saw him out at the shop but he didn't see me. (sjá = passive perception)

Á safninu skoðuðum við gömlu handritin í heila klukkustund.

At the museum we examined the old manuscripts for a whole hour. (skoða = deliberate examination)

💡

skoða = examine/inspect (study it closely), horfa á = watch (let it play out in front of you), sjá = see (it simply registers). The classic mistake is using skoða for "watch a film" — that is always horfa á. Mnemonic: you skoða a painting but horfir á a movie.

skoða sig um — "look around / have a look round"

The reflexive skoða sig um ("look around oneself," literally "examine oneself about") means to have a look round a place — a shop, a city, a new flat — without necessarily buying or committing. The reflexive sig agrees with the subject (mig, þig, sig, okkur …).

Má ég bara skoða mig um aðeins? Ég er ekki að leita að neinu sérstöku.

Can I just have a look around for a bit? I'm not looking for anything in particular.

Þau skoðuðu sig um í bænum allan daginn.

They looked around the town all day.

skoða í — "look inside" (+ accusative)

With í + accusative, skoða means "look inside / into" a container or enclosed space — peek in a bag, a fridge, a box.

Skoðaðu í ísskápinn — ég held að það sé til ostur.

Have a look in the fridge — I think there's some cheese.

The noun: skoðun

The derived feminine noun skoðun is a satisfying two-for-one. It means both "inspection / examination" (the act of skoða-ing) and "opinion / view" (the result of looking at a matter). So bílaskoðun is the (compulsory) vehicle inspection, læknisskoðun is a medical check-up, but að mínu mati and að minni skoðun both mean "in my opinion." The phrase hafa skoðun á (+ dative) means "to have an opinion about."

Ég fer með bílinn í skoðun á morgun.

I'm taking the car in for its inspection tomorrow. (skoðun = inspection)

Hún hefur sterkar skoðanir á öllum sköpuðum hlutum.

She has strong opinions about absolutely everything. (skoðun = opinion)

Common Mistakes

❌ Við skoðuðum bíómynd í gærkvöldi.

Incorrect — you skoða (inspect) a painting, but you horfa á (watch) a film; this should be horfðum á.

✅ Við horfðum á bíómynd í gærkvöldi.

We watched a film last night.

❌ Þeir skoðaðu húsið í síðustu viku.

Incorrect — the plural preterite has u-umlaut: a → ö before the -u ending, giving skoðuðu, not 'skoðaðu'.

✅ Þeir skoðuðu húsið í síðustu viku.

They looked at the house last week.

❌ Ég vil skoða mér um í búðinni.

Incorrect — skoða sig um uses the reflexive sig/mig as object, not the dative mér; it's skoða mig um.

✅ Ég vil skoða mig um í búðinni.

I want to have a look around in the shop.

❌ Hvað skoðar þú þessa tillögu?

Incorrect for 'what do you think of' — that's an opinion, so use the noun: Hvaða skoðun hefur þú á þessari tillögu?

✅ Hvaða skoðun hefur þú á þessari tillögu?

What's your opinion of this proposal?

Key Takeaways

skoða / skoðar / skoðaði / skoðað — a regular weak Class-1 verb; the past is -aði, with u-umlaut in the plural (skoðuðu) and feminine participle (skoðuð).
skoða + accusative = examine, inspect, browse, "check out," consider a matter.
Keep the three "looks" apart: skoða (examine) ≠ horfa á (watch a film/TV) ≠ sjá (passively see). The top error is skoða for "watch a film."
skoða sig um = "look around"; skoða í
- accusative = "look inside."
The noun skoðun means both "inspection" and "opinion" (hafa skoðun á
- dative).
Auxiliary is hafa: ég hef skoðað.

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