vita ("to know") covers one specific kind of knowing: knowing a fact — that something is the case, where something is, who did what. It is one of the first verbs you will reach for in conversation, because Ég veit ("I know") and Ég veit ekki ("I don't know") are among the most-used phrases in the language. But it is also irregular in a way that trips up every beginner: the present is veit, not "vit", and the past is vissi, not "vitti". And crucially, where English uses one word know for three different things, Icelandic splits them — vita is only for facts.
Conjugation
Class: preterite-present (its present descends from an old past tense, so the singular has no -r ending). Auxiliary: hafa — ég hef vitað "I have known."
| Principal parts | |
|---|---|
| Infinitive | að vita |
| 3sg present | veit |
| 3sg past | vissi |
| Supine | vitað |
| Person | Present (nútíð) | Past (þátíð) |
|---|---|---|
| ég | veit | vissi |
| þú | veist | vissir |
| hann / hún / það | veit | vissi |
| við | vitum | vissum |
| þið | vitið | vissuð |
| þeir / þær / þau | vita | vissu |
| Person | Present subjunctive | Past subjunctive |
|---|---|---|
| ég | viti | vissi |
| þú | vitir | vissir |
| hann / hún / það | viti | vissi |
| við | vitum | vissum |
| þið | vitið | vissuð |
| þeir / þær / þau | viti | vissu |
| Non-finite & imperative | |
|---|---|
| Imperative (þú) | vit! / vittu (with attached pronoun) |
| Imperative (þið) | vitið! |
| Supine | vitað |
| Past participle (n) | vitað (used as supine; verbal adjective rare) |
| Present participle | vitandi ("knowing") |
The irregular present: veit / veist / veit
The single most important thing about vita is that its present tense does not look like its infinitive. The infinitive is vita with a short i, but the present singular jumps to the diphthong veit. Then the plural drops back to the i: vitum, vitið, vita. Beginners constantly produce "vit" or "vitur" by analogy with regular verbs — but vita is preterite-present, so the singular is the bare, ending-less veit.
Ég veit það ekki, því miður.
I don't know that, unfortunately.
Veist þú hvar Anna er?
Do you know where Anna is?
Hann veit alltaf svarið.
He always knows the answer.
The past: vissi (not "vitti")
The past is vissi, with a double s — ég vissi, þú vissir, þeir vissu. The t of the infinitive disappears entirely; do not try to build a regular "vitti". This ss past is shared with a small set of old verbs and simply has to be memorised.
Ég vissi ekki að þú værir kominn heim.
I didn't know you were back home.
Þau vissu strax hvað var að gerast.
They knew right away what was going on.
vita = facts, not people or skills
Here is the distinction English speakers most need, and the one cheap word lists skip. English know does three jobs that Icelandic keeps separate:
- vita — know a fact, that something is the case: Ég veit hvar hún býr.
- þekkja — be acquainted with a person, place or thing: Ég þekki hana "I know her."
- kunna — know how to do something, have a skill: Ég kann að synda "I know how to swim."
So vita takes a fact — typically a að-clause, a question word, or the neuter pronoun það. You can vita that something is true; you cannot vita a person.
Ég þekki hana vel, en ég veit ekki hvar hún á heima.
I know her well, but I don't know where she lives.
Hún kann að keyra en hún veit ekki hvar bíllinn er.
She knows how to drive but doesn't know where the car is.
Veistu af hverju strætó er ekki kominn?
Do you know why the bus hasn't come?
Common Mistakes
❌ Ég vit ekki.
Incorrect — the present singular is the irregular veit, not 'vit'
✅ Ég veit ekki.
I don't know.
❌ Ég veit hana.
Incorrect — to know a person, use þekkja, not vita
✅ Ég þekki hana.
I know her.
❌ Ég vissti ekki svarið.
Incorrect — the past is vissi with a double s, never 'vissti'
✅ Ég vissi ekki svarið.
I didn't know the answer.
❌ Ég veit að synda.
Incorrect — for a skill (know how to), use kunna, not vita
✅ Ég kann að synda.
I know how to swim.
Key Takeaways
- vita / veit / vissi / vitað — a preterite-present verb; the present singular is the bare, ending-less veit (diphthong ei).
- Present: veit / veist / veit / vitum / vitið / vita; past: vissi / vissir / vissi / vissum / vissuð / vissu (double s).
- vita is only for facts — pair it with a að-clause, a question word, or það.
- Don't blur English know: people = þekkja, skills = kunna, facts = vita.
Now practice Icelandic
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Start learning Icelandic→Related Topics
- vita (to know a fact)A2 — Full conjugation of the preterite-present verb vita (veit / vissi / vissu / vitað), its 'know-a-fact' semantics versus kunna ('know how') and þekkja ('be acquainted with'), the að-clause complement, the phrases vita af and vita um, and the set phrase að því er ég best veit.
- vita vs kunna vs þekkja: Three Ways to 'Know'A2 — A decision guide for the three Icelandic verbs that all translate as English 'know' — vita for facts, kunna for skills and memorised content (including languages), and þekkja for being acquainted with a person or place.
- The Present Tense: First VerbsA1 — Your survival kit of present-tense verbs — vera, tala, eiga, koma, fara — with the core endings -∅/-r/-r and the single most freeing A1 fact: the present already means both 'I speak' and 'I am speaking', so there is no progressive to hunt for.