Hárið hennar er langt og þykkt.

Her hair is long and thick.

Breakdown of Hárið hennar er langt og þykkt.

• vera: to be
• og: and
• langur: long
• þykkur: thick
• hennar: her
• hárið: the hair

Questions & Answers about Hárið hennar er langt og þykkt.

Why does hár become hárið here? What does the -ið ending mean?

Hárið is hár (hair) + the definite article -ið, which means “the”.

• hár = hair
• hárið = the hair

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

Because hár is neuter singular, its definite form in the nominative is hárið.

Why is hár / hárið considered neuter, and how does that affect the sentence?

Every Icelandic noun has a grammatical gender: masculine, feminine, or neuter.

• hár is a neuter noun.
• In the nominative singular definite form, neuter nouns often add -ið → hárið.

This neuter gender also affects the adjectives:

• The adjectives langt and þykkt take neuter singular forms to agree with hárið.
  
  • basic form: langur (m.), löng (f.), langt (n.)
  • basic form: þykkur (m.), þykk (f.), þykkt (n.)

So we say Hárið hennar er langt og þykkt, not langur og þykkur, because they must match the neuter subject.

Why is it hárið hennar and not hennar hár like “her hair” in English?

In Icelandic, possessive pronouns often come after the noun, especially when the noun is definite (has -ið, -inn, etc.):

• hárið hennar = literally “the hair her” → her hair / the hair of hers

Putting the possessive first (hennar hár) is possible, but it tends to sound:

• more emphatic (HER hair, not someone else’s), or
• more formal/literary in many contexts.

In everyday speech, noun + definite article + hennar is the usual pattern:

• bíllinn hans = his car
• bókin hennar = her book
• hárið hennar = her hair

What exactly is hennar? Is it like “her” or “hers”?

hennar is the genitive singular form of the third-person feminine pronoun (hún = she).

Functionally, hennar corresponds to English her or hers when showing possession:

• hárið hennar = her hair / the hair of hers
• kisan hennar = her cat

So hennar is a possessive form (“of her”), used after the noun here.

Why are langt and þykkt ending in -t?

The -t marks the neuter singular form of the adjectives, agreeing with hárið:

• masculine: langur, þykkur
• feminine: löng, þykk
• neuter: langt, þykkt

Because the subject hárið is neuter singular, the predicate adjectives must also be neuter singular:

• Hárið hennar er langt.
• Hárið hennar er þykkt.
• Combined: Hárið hennar er langt og þykkt.

Why is it er and not some other verb? Is this just “to be”?

Yes, er is the present tense of the verb vera = to be.

• ég er = I am
• þú ert = you are
• hann / hún / það er = he / she / it is

So Hárið hennar er langt og þykkt literally means:

• Her hair is long and thick.

The structure is subject – verb “to be” – description, similar to English.

Why does Icelandic say “Her hair is long and thick” instead of “She has long, thick hair”?

Both patterns exist, but this specific Icelandic sentence uses a “be + adjective” structure:

• Hárið hennar er langt og þykkt. = Her hair is long and thick.

You could also express possession with hafa (to have), e.g.:

• Hún er með langt og þykkt hár. / Hún hefur langt og þykkt hár.
  = She has long, thick hair.

So Icelandic can use either type, but the given sentence is simply using “X is Y” instead of “She has X”.

What case is hárið in here, and why?

Hárið is in the nominative singular definite.

Reason:

• It is the subject of the verb er (“is”).
• In Icelandic, the subject of a normal “be” sentence like this is typically in the nominative.

So:

• Hárið hennar (nom.) er langt og þykkt.

Why isn’t there a separate word for “the” in this sentence?

Icelandic usually uses suffixed definite articles—the article is attached to the end of the noun:

• hár = hair
• hárið = the hair
• bíll = car → bíllinn = the car
• bók = book → bókin = the book

So “the hair” is expressed by changing hár to hárið, not by adding a separate word.

How do you pronounce þykkt and hárið?

Approximate pronunciation (in simple English terms):

• hárið ≈ [HOW-rith]

  • á like “ow” in “cow”
  • ð is often a soft th (as in “this”) or very weak at the end

• þykkt ≈ [THIKT]

  • þ is like “th” in “thing”
  • y similar to “i” in “sit”
  • final kt is a tight consonant cluster, like k-t in one breath

These are approximations; actual Icelandic pronunciation has some subtle differences.