Mission—Team—FAQ—Privacy—Terms—Sponsors—Grammar—Typing Course—Donate

© 2026 Elon Automation B.V.

Learn Hardcore Icelandic: Leikurinn er auðveldur. - The game is easy.

Hardcore Icelandic
/Lesson 21
/Leikurinn er auðveldur.

Leikurinn er auðveldur.

Leikurinn er auðveldur.

The game is easy.

Breakdown of Leikurinn er auðveldur.

Elon.io is an online learning platform

We have an entire course teaching Icelandic grammar and vocabulary.

Start learning Icelandic now

Questions & Answers about Leikurinn er auðveldur.

What does the ending -inn in leikurinn mean?

The ending -inn is the definite article in Icelandic, equivalent to English “the.”

leikur = a game
leikurinn = the game

In Icelandic, the definite article is usually attached to the end of the noun instead of being a separate word in front of it, as in English.

Why is it leikurinn and not just leikur in this sentence?

Both forms are grammatically possible, but they mean different things:

Leikur er auðveldur. = A game is easy / A game is an easy thing (in general).
Leikurinn er auðveldur. = The game is easy (a specific game you have in mind).

In normal speech, if you are talking about a particular game (e.g. the one you’re playing), you use the definite form leikurinn.

What are the gender, number, and case of leikurinn and auðveldur here?

leikurinn
- Gender: masculine
- Number: singular
- Case: nominative (it is the subject of the sentence)
auðveldur
- Gender: masculine
- Number: singular
- Case: nominative (it agrees with the subject)

In Icelandic, a descriptive adjective after er must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case. That is why auðveldur is masculine singular nominative, to match leikurinn.

Why does the adjective auðveldur end in -ur? Could it have a different ending?

The base of the adjective is auðveld-, and in the masculine nominative singular (strong declension) it takes the ending -ur, giving auðveldur.

Other forms appear with different genders/numbers, for example:

auðveldur leikur – an easy game (masc. sg.)
auðveld bók – an easy book (fem. sg.)
auðvelt verkefni – an easy assignment (neut. sg.)
Leikirnir eru auðveldir. – The games are easy. (masc. pl. nom.)

So the ending changes, but in the sentence Leikurinn er auðveldur, -ur is required by agreement with a masculine singular subject.

Can I say Leikurinn er auðvelt instead of auðveldur?

Not when leikurinn is the subject.

auðvelt is the neuter nominative/accusative form (or an adverb: easily), but leikurinn is masculine. The adjective must agree:

Leikurinn er auðveldur. ✅ (masc. adj. with masc. noun)
Verkefnið er auðvelt. ✅ The assignment is easy. (neut. noun + neut. adj.)
Leikurinn er auðvelt. ❌ (gender mismatch)

Why is the word order Leikurinn er auðveldur and not something else?

This sentence uses very normal Icelandic word order:

Subject – Verb – Predicative adjective
Leikurinn (subject) – er (verb is) – auðveldur (adjective describing the subject)

This is directly parallel to English “The game is easy.” You cannot normally drop er or move the adjective in front of the verb in this kind of simple statement.

What are the dictionary forms of leikurinn and auðveldur?

For the noun, dictionaries list the indefinite nominative singular form:
- leikur – this is what you look up, not leikurinn.
For adjectives, dictionaries typically list the masculine nominative singular strong form:
- auðveldur – that is already the dictionary form.

So you would find the entry leikur and auðveldur in a dictionary.

How would I say “The games are easy” in Icelandic, based on this sentence?

You need to put both the noun and the adjective in the masculine plural nominative definite:

Leikirnir eru auðveldir.
- leikirnir = the games (nom. pl. with definite ending)
- eru = are (plural of er, but same form for all persons in present)
- auðveldir = easy (masc. nom. pl. to agree with leikirnir)

Can auðveldur come before the noun, as in “an easy game”?

Yes, when it directly modifies the noun (attributive position):

auðveldur leikur – an easy game (indefinite)
auðveldi leikurinn – the easy game (definite; adjective takes weak ending -i, noun has -inn)

In your original sentence, though, the adjective is predicative (after the verb er), so the natural structure is:

Leikurinn er auðveldur. – The game is easy.

How do you pronounce Leikurinn er auðveldur?

Approximate pronunciation:

Leikurinn ≈ LAY-kur-in (first syllable stressed; the ei like say)
er ≈ ehr (like “air” but shorter)
auðveldur ≈ OITH-vel-dur
- auð: ð is like the th in this, and the vowel is somewhat like the vowel in burn plus a glide.
- ldur: the u is short, like the u in put (but fronted).

Icelandic vowels and consonant clusters are quite different from English, so listening to native audio for the sentence is very helpful.

Your questions are stored by us to improve Elon.io