Svefnloftið er lítið.

The sleeping loft is small.

Breakdown of Svefnloftið er lítið.

• vera: to be
• lítill: small
• svefnloftið: the sleeping loft

Questions & Answers about Svefnloftið er lítið.

What does svefnloftið mean as a single word, and how is it built?

Svefnloftið is a compound noun:

• svefn = sleep
• loft = loft, attic, or a raised sleeping/storage space
• -ið = the (the definite article attached to the end)

So svefnloftið literally means something like the sleep-loft, usually best understood as the sleeping loft.

This kind of compounding is very common in Icelandic.

Why is the attached to the end of svefnloftið instead of being a separate word?

In Icelandic, the definite article is usually added to the end of the noun instead of appearing as a separate word like English the.

So:

• svefnloft = a sleeping loft / sleeping loft
• svefnloftið = the sleeping loft

This is a very common pattern in Icelandic. English uses a separate word; Icelandic often uses an ending.

Why is it lítið and not lítill or lítil?