Öryggishnappurinn er á borðinu.

The forms you would usually look up are:

• öryggishnappur = safety button
• vera = to be
• á = on
• borð = table

In the sentence, they appear as:

• öryggishnappurinn = the safety button
• er = is
• á = on
• borðinu = the table, in the form required after á here

Because Icelandic usually puts the definite article onto the end of the noun instead of using a separate word.

So:

• hnappur = button
• hnappurinn = the button

and

• borð = table
• borðið / borðinu = the table, depending on case

This is one of the first big differences from English. Icelandic often says the by adding an ending, not by putting a word in front.

Because Icelandic loves compound nouns.

Öryggishnappurinn is built from:

• öryggi = safety
• hnappur = button

Together they make öryggishnappur = safety button.

Then the definite ending is added, giving öryggishnappurinn = the safety button.

This kind of compounding is extremely common in Icelandic, much more so than in English.

That -s- is a linking element that comes from the genitive form of öryggi.

So roughly:

• öryggi = safety
• öryggis- = safety / of safety, used in compounds
• öryggishnappur = safety button

You do not always need to think of it as a separate word meaning of, but historically and grammatically it is connected to the genitive. English speakers often notice this because English usually just puts nouns together directly, while Icelandic often uses a linking form.

Because it is:

• singular
• definite
• masculine
• nominative

The base noun is hnappur. In this sentence, öryggishnappurinn is the subject of er, so it is in the nominative case.

A simplified breakdown is:

• öryggishnappur = safety button
• öryggishnappurinn = the safety button

The exact shape -urinn comes from how the noun ending and the definite article combine.

Because á can take different cases depending on the meaning.

Here, the meaning is location: the button is on the table, already there. With that meaning, á takes the dative.

So:

• borð = table
• borði = table, dative singular
• borðinu = the table, dative singular definite

If you said á borðið, that would usually mean movement onto the table rather than location on the table.

So the contrast is:

• á borðinu = on the table
• á borðið = onto the table

No. Á can take either dative or accusative.

A very common rule of thumb is:

• dative for location: where something is
• accusative for motion toward something: where something is going

In this sentence, the button is not moving; it is located on the table. So Icelandic uses the dative: á borðinu.

Er is the present singular form of vera, meaning to be.

So:

• vera = to be
• er = is

That is why Öryggishnappurinn er á borðinu uses er: it is the normal way to say is.

Icelandic can also use verbs like liggja (lie), standa (stand), or sitja (sit) in some contexts, but vera is perfectly normal for general location.

This sentence has the very normal order:

• subject
  • verb
    • prepositional phrase

So:

• Öryggishnappurinn = subject
• er = verb
• á borðinu = where it is

But Icelandic word order can change for emphasis, especially because Icelandic follows a verb-second pattern. For example, you can also say:

• Á borðinu er öryggishnappurinn.

That puts more emphasis on on the table. The finite verb er still stays in second position.

You would normally say:

• Öryggishnappur er á borði.

That means A safety button is on a table or Safety button is on a table, depending on context.

The forms change because you remove the definite endings:

• öryggishnappurinn → öryggishnappur
• borðinu → borði

So this sentence is also a nice example of how definiteness and case both affect the noun ending.

A few helpful pronunciation points:

• Stress is usually on the first syllable of each word.
• ö sounds somewhat like German ö or the vowel in French peur.
• á is like ow in now.
• ð is like the th in this.
• Icelandic r is usually tapped or rolled more than in English.

A rough learner-friendly approximation might be:

UR-ig-gis-hnap-pur-rin er ow BOR-thi-nu

That is only approximate, but it can help you get started. The most important thing at first is to notice the first-syllable stress and the special vowels.