spila ("to play") is the verb you use for games, cards, sports, and musical instruments — but not for acting or a child's make-believe, where Icelandic switches to leika. It is a borrowed verb (ultimately from the same root as English "spiel" / German spielen) that has settled neatly into the weak Class-1 pattern, conjugating exactly like tala. The one thing to watch is the u-umlaut rule, which here works in your favour: because the stem vowel is i, not a, there is no umlaut at all. This page gives the paradigm and the three constructions — spila (a game), spila á (an instrument), and spila við (against an opponent) — plus the line between spila and leika.
Conjugation
Class: weak, Class 1 (the -aði preterite — the tala type). Auxiliary: hafa — ég hef spilað "I have played."
| Principal parts | |
|---|---|
| Infinitive | að spila |
| 3sg present | spilar |
| 3sg past | spilaði |
| Supine | spilað |
| Person | Present (nútíð) | Past (þátíð) |
|---|---|---|
| ég | spila | spilaði |
| þú | spilar | spilaðir |
| hann / hún / það | spilar | spilaði |
| við | spilum | spiluðum |
| þið | spilið | spiluðuð |
| þeir / þær / þau | spila | spiluðu |
| Person | Present subjunctive | Past subjunctive |
|---|---|---|
| ég | spili | spilaði |
| þú | spilir | spilaðir |
| hann / hún / það | spili | spilaði |
| við | spilum | spiluðum |
| þið | spilið | spiluðuð |
| þeir / þær / þau | spili | spiluðu |
| Non-finite & imperative | |
|---|---|
| Imperative (þú) | spilaðu! |
| Imperative (þið) | spilið! |
| Supine | spilað |
| Past participle (m/f/n) | spilaður / spiluð / spilað |
| Middle voice (miðmynd) | spilast — "to be played," leikurinn spilast á morgun "the match is played tomorrow" |
spila (a game) — bare or with accusative
For card games, board games, and sports as games, spila stands alone or takes an accusative object: spila á spil "play cards," spila fótbolta "play football," spila tölvuleiki "play video games."
Eigum við að spila á spil í kvöld?
Shall we play cards tonight?
Krakkarnir spiluðu fótbolta allan daginn.
The kids played football all day.
Ég spila stundum tölvuleiki með bróður mínum.
I sometimes play video games with my brother.
spila á + accusative — "play an instrument"
This is the construction learners most often get wrong. To play a musical instrument, use spila á + accusative: spila á gítar "play the guitar," spila á píanó "play the piano." The á is obligatory — dropping it (saying spila gítar) sounds like you are playing a game called "guitar."
Hún spilar á fiðlu í sinfóníuhljómsveitinni.
She plays the violin in the symphony orchestra.
Ég lærði að spila á gítar þegar ég var sextán.
I learned to play the guitar when I was sixteen.
spila við — "play against"
To name the opponent, use spila við + accusative: spila við Frakkland "play against France." For "play with" in the sense of sharing a game, Icelandic usually says spila með (on the same side / together) — so við and með carve up English "with/against."
Í kvöld spilar Ísland við Frakkland.
Tonight Iceland plays against France.
spila vs leika — the boundary
spila covers games and instruments. leika covers acting (a role in a film or play), playing a character, and — in the reflexive leika sér — a child's free, imaginative play. So an actor leikur a part, children leika sér in the garden, but you spilar chess or the piano. Mixing them up is the most common vocabulary error here.
Börnin eru að leika sér úti í garði.
The children are playing outside in the garden.
Hann spilar í hljómsveit en leikur líka í leikhúsi.
He plays in a band but also acts in the theatre.
There is a useful overlap to be aware of: in sports commentary you will hear both spila and leika for "play a match" — Ísland spilar / leikur við Frakkland are both heard, with leika sounding a touch more formal or journalistic. But for instruments and games there is no overlap at all: an instrument is always spila á, and acting a part is always leika. When in doubt outside the sports register, let the object decide — a ball or a board game pulls spila, a stage role or free imaginative play pulls leika sér.
Common Mistakes
❌ Við spölum á spil um helgina.
Incorrect — the i-stem does NOT u-umlaut; the 'we' form is spilum
✅ Við spilum á spil um helgina.
We'll play cards this weekend.
❌ Hún spilar gítar.
Incorrect for an instrument — you need á: spila á gítar
✅ Hún spilar á gítar.
She plays the guitar.
❌ Hann spilar aðalhlutverkið í myndinni.
Incorrect — acting a role is leika, not spila
✅ Hann leikur aðalhlutverkið í myndinni.
He plays the lead role in the film.
❌ Þau spiluðuðu fótbolta í gær.
Incorrect — the 3pl past is spiluðu (one -ðu); 'spiluðuðu' is a double-ending invention
✅ Þau spiluðu fótbolta í gær.
They played football yesterday.
Key Takeaways
- spila / spilar / spilaði / spilað — weak Class-1 (-aði preterite), conjugating like tala; perfect takes hafa.
- The i-stem blocks u-umlaut: spilum, spiluðum — never "spölum." This is the trap tala sets and spila clears.
- A game is a direct object (spila fótbolta); an instrument needs spila á
- accusative (spila á gítar).
- spila við = "play against"; spila með = "play with / on the same side."
- Use leika — not spila — for acting a role and for leika sér (children's imaginative play).
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Start learning Icelandic→Related Topics
- The Weak Preterite: -aði, -di, -ði, -tiA2 — How to choose and form the weak past tense — Class-1 -a verbs take -aði (tala → talaði, plural töluðum), Class-2 verbs take the short dental -di/-ði/-ti picked by the preceding sound (reyndi, dæmdi, keypti) — with the full tala paradigm and the 'when in doubt, -aði' default for unknown verbs.