Hann vill ekki svíkja loforðið.

Vill is the present tense of the verb vilja, which means to want.

So:

• ég vil = I want
• hann vill = he wants

In this sentence, hann vill ekki... means he does not want to...

Notice that vilja is an irregular verb, so its forms do not follow the simplest regular pattern.

Ekki means not, and in Icelandic it usually comes after the finite verb.

Here, the finite verb is vill, so the normal order is:

• Hann vill ekki svíkja loforðið.

Literally, this is something like:

• He wants not to break the promise

Even though that sounds unnatural in English, it is normal in Icelandic.

Because svíkja is the infinitive: to betray / to break

After vilja (to want), Icelandic normally uses an infinitive:

• hann vill svíkja = he wants to betray / break
• hann vill ekki svíkja = he does not want to betray / break

If you said svíkur, that would be a finite present-tense form meaning betrays, which would not fit after vill here.

Svíkja often means to betray, but with loforð it means to break in the sense of not keeping a promise.

So:

• svíkja vin = betray a friend
• svíkja loforð = break a promise

A useful way to think about it is that the basic idea is to fail someone or something you were supposed to be true to.

Loforð means promise.

Loforðið means the promise.

The ending -ið is the definite article attached to the noun. Icelandic usually puts the at the end of the word instead of using a separate word like English does.

So:

• loforð = a promise / promise
• loforðið = the promise

Because the sentence is talking about a specific promise: the promise.

If you said:

• Hann vill ekki svíkja loforð

that would sound more general or less specific, something like He does not want to break a promise / promises depending on context.

But:

• Hann vill ekki svíkja loforðið

clearly points to one particular promise already known in the context.

It is in the accusative singular definite.

That is because svíkja takes a direct object, and the direct object is often in the accusative.

The noun loforð is a neuter noun, and in this case the nominative and accusative singular forms happen to look the same:

• loforðið = nominative singular definite
• loforðið = accusative singular definite

So the form does not change visibly here, but grammatically it is functioning as the object.

The sentence follows a very common Icelandic pattern:

• Subject + finite verb + ekki + infinitive + object

So here:

• Hann = subject
• vill = finite verb
• ekki = not
• svíkja = infinitive
• loforðið = object

This is a very useful pattern to remember for sentences with modal-like verbs such as vilja.

Word-for-word, svíkja can suggest betray, but with loforð the natural meaning is break a promise or go back on a promise.

So in good English, the best translation is:

• He doesn't want to break the promise.

Saying betray the promise would sound unusual in English, even though it reflects part of the Icelandic verb's meaning.

The letter ð in Icelandic is often like the th in English this, though pronunciation can vary depending on position and surrounding sounds.

So in loforðið, the ð is not a hard d sound.

A rough learner-friendly guide:

• loforðið ≈ LOH-fohr-thith or LOH-fohr-thid

The exact pronunciation is best learned by listening, but the important point is:

• ð is usually a soft sound, not a normal English d

Normally, no. Icelandic usually keeps the subject pronoun.

So you would normally say:

• Hann vill ekki svíkja loforðið.

Unlike in some languages, you do not usually drop hann just because the verb already tells you the person.

Yes. Icelandic does not need a separate verb like English do for this kind of negation.

English says:

• He does not want

Icelandic simply says:

• Hann vill ekki

So instead of adding something like does, Icelandic just puts ekki after the conjugated verb.

Yes, that is a very close literal translation of the structure:

• Hann = he
• vill = wants
• ekki = not
• svíkja = to break / betray
• loforðið = the promise

But natural English is:

• He doesn't want to break the promise.

Literal translations can be useful for understanding Icelandic grammar, even when they sound unnatural in English.