Learn Hardcore Icelandic: Nýja leikfangið er mjög fyndið.

In Icelandic, “the” is usually a suffix on the noun, not a separate word as in English. For neuter nouns in the nominative singular, the definite ending is -ið.

So leikfangið literally means toy-the, i.e. the toy.

Why is it nýja leikfangið and not nýtt leikfangið or nýr leikfangið?

Two things are going on here: gender and definiteness.

Gender and agreement
- leikfangið is neuter.
- Adjectives must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.
- So we need the neuter form of nýr (new), not the masculine nýr.
Strong vs. weak adjective forms
- With an indefinite neuter noun (no “the”), you use the strong form:
  - nýtt leikfang = a new toy
- With a definite noun (with -ið = the toy), you use the weak form of the adjective:
  - nýja leikfangið = the new toy

So:

nýtt leikfang = a new toy (indefinite, strong adjective)
nýja leikfangið = the new toy (definite, weak adjective)

nýr leikfangið is wrong because nýr is masculine; the noun is neuter.

Why is the last word fyndið and not fyndna or something like fyndinn?

fyndið is the neuter, nominative singular form of the adjective fyndinn (funny, amusing), used in predicate position (after er).

Key points:

Agreement with the subject
- Subject: Nýja leikfangið (neuter, singular, nominative).
- The adjective in the predicate must agree with the subject:
  - Masculine: fyndinn
  - Feminine: fyndin
  - Neuter: fyndið
- So here we need fyndið.
Predicate adjectives usually use the strong forms
- Attributive (before a definite noun):
  - fyndna leikfangið = the funny toy → weak form fyndna
- Predicative (after er):
  - Leikfangið er fyndið = The toy is funny → strong form fyndið

In your sentence, fyndið is a predicate adjective describing the subject leikfangið, so the neuter strong form fyndið is the correct one.

Both leikfangið and fyndið end in -ið. Are those endings the same thing?

They look the same, but they are not the same ending grammatically.

In leikfangið, -ið is the definite article for a neuter noun (the toy).
In fyndið, the -ið is simply the regular neuter form of the adjective fyndinn (funny). It is not a definite article.

So:

leikfang + ið → toy + the → leikfangið (the toy)
fyndinn → fyndið → neuter adjective form (funny when describing a neuter noun)

They just happen to have the same spelling -ið in this particular combination.

What gender and case is leikfangið, and how do the adjectives agree with it?

leikfangið is:
- Gender: neuter
- Number: singular
- Case: nominative (it’s the subject of the sentence)

Adjectives must agree with the noun they describe:

Nýja:
- Modifies leikfangið directly.
- Neuter, singular, nominative.
- Weak form, because it’s used with a definite noun (-ið).
- → nýja leikfangið = the new toy
fyndið:
- Also describes leikfangið, but in predicate position after er.
- Neuter, singular, nominative.
- Strong form, because predicate adjectives normally take strong endings.
- → leikfangið er fyndið = the toy is funny

So both adjectives agree in gender (neuter), number (singular) and case (nominative) with leikfangið, but one is weak attributive (nýja) and the other strong predicative (fyndið).

Why is the word order Nýja leikfangið er mjög fyndið? Could I put the adjective after the noun?

The word order follows normal Icelandic patterns:

Basic clause word order is S–V–(other stuff):
- Nýja leikfangið – subject (the new toy)
- er – verb (is)
- mjög fyndið – predicate (very funny)
Adjectives usually come before nouns they modify:
- nýja leikfangið, stóra húsið, gamli maðurinn, etc.
- Putting the adjective after the noun (as in English expressions like something interesting) is not the normal pattern in Icelandic.

So Leikfangið nýja er mjög fyndið would sound wrong or at least very marked/poetic. The natural way is exactly what you have: Nýja leikfangið er mjög fyndið.

What does mjög mean, and how does it work in this sentence?

mjög is an adverb meaning very.

It is used to modify adjectives or other adverbs:
- mjög góð = very good
- mjög stórt = very big
- mjög fyndið = very funny

In your sentence:

mjög modifies fyndið, making it stronger:
- fyndið = funny
- mjög fyndið = very funny

mjög itself does not change form; it doesn’t agree in gender, number, or case. It’s always just mjög.

How do you pronounce Nýja leikfangið er mjög fyndið?

Approximate pronunciation (with English-like hints):

Nýja ≈ NEE-ya
- ý is a long ee sound.
- Stress on the first syllable: NÝ-ja.
leikfangið ≈ LAYK-fowng-ith
- ei like ay in day.
- ng typically sounds like ng (often with a hidden k sound after it).
- ð at the end (in -ið) is like the soft th in this, but often quite weak.
er ≈ ehr
- Short e, like in bed (but a bit closer).
mjög ≈ somewhere between myog and myurg
- mj is like my in myu.
- ö is like French eu (as in deux) or German ö (as in schön).
- Final g is often a soft [ɣ] or very light.
fyndið ≈ FIN-dith
- Both vowels are short, a bit like the i in bit.
- Final ð again like the th in this, but soft.

More precise IPA (one possible transcription):
[ˈniːja ˈleikˌfauŋkɪð ɛr mjœːɣ ˈfɪntɪð] (exact details vary slightly by speaker).

Does fyndið mean funny in the sense of amusing, or can it also mean strange/odd like English funny?

fyndinn/fyndið in Icelandic primarily means “funny, amusing, witty” – something that makes you laugh.

fyndið here is best understood as very amusing / very funny (haha-funny).
For funny in the sense of strange, odd, peculiar, Icelandic normally uses skrítinn:
- Þetta er skrítið. = This is strange/odd.

So:

Mjög fyndið ≈ very funny / very amusing
Mjög skrítið ≈ very strange / very weird

That distinction is clearer in Icelandic than in English.

Why is Nýja capitalized? Are adjectives in Icelandic always written with a capital letter?

Nýja is capitalized only because it is the first word of the sentence.

In Icelandic:

You do not normally capitalize adjectives or nouns in the middle of a sentence (unlike German).
You do capitalize:
- The first word of a sentence.
- Proper names (people, places, etc.).

So:

At the start of the sentence: Nýja leikfangið er mjög fyndið.
In the middle of a sentence, it would be:
- … að nýja leikfangið er mjög fyndið. (… that the new toy is very funny.)

Here nýja is lowercase because it’s no longer sentence-initial.