þykja is the Icelandic verb of subjective evaluation — "to find (something to be), to deem, to seem to (someone)." It is a dative-subject quirky verb: the person holding the opinion goes in the dative (mér þykir, "to-me seems"), not the nominative. The thing being judged is in the nominative and, crucially, controls the verb's agreement — so a plural theme makes the verb plural (mér þykja bækurnar góðar "I find the books good"). It overlaps heavily with finnast "to find/feel," differing mainly in register and flavour, and it anchors two everyday fixed phrases every learner needs: mér þykir vænt um "I'm fond of" and mér þykir leitt "I'm sorry." Watch the spelling — the present is þykir, þ word-initial, with y.
Conjugation
Class: weak, used with a dative experiencer and a nominative theme. The verb is usually 3rd person and agrees with the nominative theme, not with the dative experiencer: singular theme → þykir, plural theme → þykja. Experiencer: dative (mér, þér, honum, henni, okkur …). Auxiliary: hafa — mér hefur þótt "I have found (it)."
| Principal parts | |
|---|---|
| Infinitive | að þykja |
| 3sg present | þykir |
| 3sg past | þótti |
| Supine | þótt |
Agreement runs off the nominative theme. With a singular theme the verb is þykir / þótti; with a plural theme it is þykja / þóttu. The dative experiencer (mér, þér, honum …) stays constant and never triggers agreement:
| Theme | Present (nútíð) | Past (þátíð) |
|---|---|---|
| singular theme (e.g. maturinn) | þykir — mér þykir maturinn góður | þótti — mér þótti maturinn góður |
| plural theme (e.g. bækurnar) | þykja — mér þykja bækurnar góðar | þóttu — mér þóttu bækurnar góðar |
| Theme | Present subjunctive | Past subjunctive |
|---|---|---|
| singular | þyki | þætti |
| plural | þyki | þættu |
| Non-finite & imperative | |
|---|---|
| Imperative | — (none; an opinion can't be commanded) |
| Supine | þótt |
| Past participle | þótt (also the conjunction "although") |
| Middle voice (miðmynd) | þykjast — "to claim to / pretend to" (a distinct, very common verb) |
So the present is þykir / þykja (with y), the past þótti / þóttu (with ó and the þ), and the past subjunctive þætti / þættu (with æ). Three vowels, three tenses/moods: y (present), ó (past), æ (past subjunctive). Mind every mark — þykir without the þ or with i for y is simply the wrong word.
The dative experiencer: mér þykir
Like finnast, líka, leiðast and the rest of the dative-subject family, þykja puts the opinion-holder in the dative: mér þykir, þér þykir, honum þykir, henni þykir, okkur þykir. The thing judged is nominative and drives agreement. The basic template is [dative experiencer] + þykir/þykja + [nominative theme] + [predicate adjective, agreeing with the theme].
Mér þykir þessi mynd ofmetin.
I find this film overrated. — mér (dative) þykir; theme þessi mynd is nominative, adjective ofmetin agrees with it.
Honum þótti veislan heldur leiðinleg.
He found the party rather boring. — past þótti, dative honum, nominative theme veislan; an evaluation about how it struck him.
Mér þykja sumarkvöldin hér engu lík.
I find the summer evenings here like nothing else. — plural theme sumarkvöldin forces the plural verb þykja; the dative mér is unchanged.
þykja vs finnast: the register difference
þykja and finnast are near-synonyms — both mean "to find/feel (something to be)," both take a dative experiencer. The practical difference is register and shade: finnast is the neutral, everyday workhorse ("I feel, I reckon"), while þykja sounds a touch more formal, considered, or evaluative — closer to "deem" than to "feel." In speech finnast dominates; þykja surfaces in writing, in fixed phrases, and when you want a slightly weightier judgement. They are interchangeable in many sentences, so this is a matter of flavour, not a hard rule.
Mér finnst þetta gott — en gagnrýnendum þótti það miðlungs.
I think it's good — but the critics deemed it mediocre. — everyday finnst (me) vs the more evaluative þótti (the critics).
Fixed phrase: mér þykir vænt um (+ accusative)
The idiom þykja vænt um + accusative means "to be fond of, to care about, to hold dear." It is the standard warm way to say you love or treasure someone or something short of the strong elska. Lock it as a unit: dative experiencer + þykir vænt um + accusative object.
Mér þykir mjög vænt um ömmu mína.
I'm very fond of my grandmother. — þykja vænt um + accusative (ömmu mína). A core affectionate phrase, gentler than elska.
Henni þótti vænt um að þú skyldir hringja.
She appreciated that you called. — past þótti vænt um + (clause); 'it meant a lot to her'.
Fixed phrase: mér þykir leitt
þykja leitt means "to be sorry, to regret" — the standard way to apologise or express sympathy. Mér þykir það leitt "I'm sorry (about that)," mér þykir leitt að heyra þetta "I'm sorry to hear this." Again, learn it whole; the experiencer is dative and leitt is the fixed neuter predicate.
Mér þykir leitt að heyra að þú sért veik.
I'm sorry to hear you're ill. — mér þykir leitt að… = the everyday 'I'm sorry to…'. Note the subjunctive sért in the að-clause.
Honum þótti það afar leitt og baðst afsökunar.
He was very sorry about it and apologised. — past þótti leitt; a sincere apology in the narrative past.
Common Mistakes
❌ Ég þyki þetta skrítið.
Case error — the opinion-holder is a DATIVE experiencer, not a nominative subject. It's mér þykir, never ég þyki.
✅ Mér þykir þetta skrítið.
I find this strange.
The headline error, transferred straight from English "I think." þykja never takes a nominative ég; the experiencer is dative mér.
❌ Mér þykir bækurnar góðar.
Agreement error — the verb agrees with the nominative theme. A plural theme (bækurnar) needs the plural þykja: mér þykja bækurnar góðar.
✅ Mér þykja bækurnar góðar.
I find the books good.
The dative experiencer doesn't control agreement; the nominative theme does. Plural theme → þykja / þóttu.
❌ Mér finnst vænt um þig.
Wrong verb for the idiom — 'be fond of' is the fixed phrase with þykja: mér þykir vænt um þig. finnst doesn't carry vænt um.
✅ Mér þykir vænt um þig.
I'm fond of you / I care about you.
Although finnast and þykja swap freely elsewhere, vænt um is lexically bound to þykja. Mér finnst vænt um is not idiomatic.
❌ Hann þykir vera veikur.
Wrong verb — 'he claims/pretends to be ill' uses the middle voice þykjast: hann þykist vera veikur. Plain þykja with a nominative he doesn't mean 'pretend'.
✅ Hann þykist vera veikur.
He's pretending to be ill.
The -st middle voice þykjast ("claim/pretend to") is a separate verb. Don't reach for bare þykja to mean "pretend."
❌ Mér þikir leit að heyra þetta.
Spelling — it's þykir (þ + y) and leitt (double t). Keep the þ, the y, and the geminate: mér þykir leitt.
✅ Mér þykir leitt að heyra þetta.
I'm sorry to hear this.
Three orthographic points at once: word-initial þ, the y of þykir, and the double tt of leitt. Each mark is load-bearing.
Key Takeaways
- þykja / þykir / þótti / þótt — a dative-subject opinion verb; experiencer in the dative (mér þykir), never ég þyki.
- The verb agrees with the nominative theme: singular → þykir / þótti, plural → þykja / þóttu (mér þykja bækurnar góðar).
- Spelling across the paradigm: þykir (y, present) / þótti (ó, past) / þætti (æ, past subjunctive). Word-initial þ throughout.
- vs finnast: same structure, but þykja is slightly more formal/evaluative ("deem"); finnast is the everyday "feel/reckon."
- Two essential fixed phrases: mér þykir vænt um (+ accusative) "I'm fond of," and mér þykir leitt "I'm sorry."
- The middle voice þykjast = "to claim / pretend to" — a different verb (hann þykist sofa).
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- halda vs finnast vs þykja: 'Think/Find'B1 — A decision guide for the three verbs English flattens into 'think': halda 'believe / suppose' (a conjecture about a fact, nominative subject + að-clause — ég held að…), finnast 'find / think' (a subjective impression, dative subject — mér finnst), and þykja 'find / deem' (more formal and evaluative, dative subject — mér þykir leitt). Belief takes ég; impression takes mér — so the wrong verb gives the wrong case.
- Dative-Subject Verbs: mér finnst, mér líkar, mér tekstB1 — The family of Icelandic verbs whose grammatical subject is in the DATIVE — finnast 'think', líka 'like', takast 'manage', leiðast 'be bored', batna 'recover', detta í hug 'occur to', and the vera-kalt/heitt feeling phrases — with the crucial rule that the verb agrees with the nominative THEME, not with the dative experiencer, so it can be plural while 'mér' stays singular.
- 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.
- 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.
- finnast vs þykja vs halda: 'Think/Seem'B1 — The 'think/seem/find' cluster that English collapses into one word: finnast (dative subject, a subjective impression — mér finnst þetta gott), þykja (dative subject, more formal and evaluative — mér þykir vænt um þig), and halda (ordinary nominative subject, a belief or conjecture — ég held að…). The case of the subject is the giveaway: an impression takes mér; a belief takes ég.