Learn Hardcore Icelandic: Ég vil meiri svefn.

Ég – /jɛiːɣ/ or /jɛiː/
- Like “yay” but with a short y at the start: yei, and often a soft throat sound at the end.
vil – /vɪl/
- Like English “will”, but with a slightly shorter i.
meiri – /ˈmeiːrɪ/
- mei like “may” (a bit longer), ri like “ri” in “ribbon”.
- Stress is on mei: MEI-ri.
svefn – /svɛpn/
- sv like “sv” in “Svalbard”,
- e like “e” in “bed”,
- fn is pronounced more like pn: svepn.

Whole sentence: /jɛiːɣ vɪl ˈmeiːrɪ svɛpn/

Why is it Ég vil, not Ég vilja or Ég vilt?

Because vilja (“to want”) is irregular and must be conjugated:

Present tense of að vilja:

ég vil – I want
þú vilt – you (sing.) want
hann / hún / það vill – he / she / it wants
við viljum – we want
þið viljið – you (pl.) want
þeir / þær / þau vilja – they want

So with ég, the correct form is vil.

Ég vilja is wrong (that’s the infinitive form used as a finite verb).
Ég vilt is also wrong; vilt is only for þú.

Is Ég always written with a capital letter like English I?

No. Unlike English I, the Icelandic pronoun ég is not normally capitalized in the middle of a sentence.

At the start of a sentence: it’s capitalized because it’s first: Ég vil meiri svefn.
In the middle of a sentence: it would be ég:
- Stundum er ég þreytt(ur). – “Sometimes I am tired.”

So ég behaves like any other pronoun (like he, she in English), not like special capital I.

Why is it meiri svefn and not meira svefn?

This is about agreement in gender.

svefn (“sleep” as a noun) is masculine.
meiri is the masculine (and also feminine) form of the comparative adjective meaning more (from mikill = much, a lot).

Comparatives decline and have different forms depending on gender and case. For a masculine noun like svefn, you use meiri:

meiri svefn – more sleep (masculine noun)

meira is the neuter form and is also often used as an adverb (“more” as in “sleep more”). That’s why you see:

Ég vil meiri svefn. – I want more sleep. (adjective + noun)
Ég vil sofa meira. – I want to sleep more. (verb + adverb)

So:

with the noun svefn → meiri svefn
modifying the verb sofa → sofa meira

What is the grammatical gender and case of svefn here?

svefn is a masculine noun.
In the sentence Ég vil meiri svefn, it’s in the accusative singular.

Why accusative? The verb vilja (“to want”) takes its object in the accusative case, and sleep here is the direct object of want.

For this noun, nominative and accusative singular look the same:

Nominative: svefn (as a subject) – Svefn er mikilvægur. (Sleep is important.)
Accusative: svefn (as an object) – Ég vil svefn. (I want sleep.)

So it looks identical, but the role in the sentence (after vil) makes it accusative.

Why isn’t there an article, like “a” or “the”, before svefn?

Icelandic handles articles differently from English, and mass nouns like sleep often appear without any article, similar to English “I need sleep” (not “a sleep”).

Ég vil meiri svefn. – I want more sleep.
- No einhvern (a/any) and no attached definite article (like -inn) is needed.

You could theoretically make it definite, but the meaning changes and it becomes strange in most contexts:

Ég vil meiri svefninn. – literally “I want more the sleep” (only in very specific contexts, e.g. referring to some concrete, known amount of sleep).

For the general idea “I want more sleep” as a quantity, no article is normal and idiomatic.

Can I say Ég vil sofa meira instead? What’s the difference from Ég vil meiri svefn?

Yes, you can say both, and both are natural. The difference is structure and nuance:

Ég vil meiri svefn.
- Literally: I want more sleep.
- svefn is a noun (“sleep”).
- meiri modifies the noun: more (amount of) sleep.
- Sounds a bit more abstract or noun-like: I want a greater quantity of sleep in my life / in general.
Ég vil sofa meira.
- Literally: I want to sleep more.
- sofa is a verb (to sleep, infinitive).
- meira is an adverb modifying sofa: sleep more.
- Focuses more on the action: I want to spend more time sleeping.

In most everyday situations, both work and are very close in meaning. Context usually doesn’t require distinguishing them strongly.

Is the word order fixed? Could I say Meiri svefn vil ég?

Basic, neutral word order in Icelandic is S–V–O, just like in English:

Ég vil meiri svefn. – subject Ég, verb vil, object meiri svefn.

However, Icelandic allows fronting for emphasis or style. So:

Meiri svefn vil ég. is grammatically correct.

That version puts meiri svefn (more sleep) in first position for emphasis, roughly like:

“More sleep, I want.”

So:

Neutral statement: Ég vil meiri svefn.
Emphatic / stylistic: Meiri svefn vil ég.

How would I say “I would like more sleep” more politely than “Ég vil meiri svefn”?

Ég vil meiri svefn is perfectly normal, but it can sound a bit direct, like English “I want more sleep.”

For a politer or softer tone, especially in requests, you can use conditional forms or other polite constructions:

Ég myndi vilja meiri svefn.
- Literally: I would want more sleep.
Ég þyrfti meiri svefn.
- I would need / I need more sleep. (often softer/less demanding)
In a request context (e.g. talking to a doctor):
- Mig vantar meiri svefn. – I am lacking more sleep / I need more sleep.

All of these are more indirect than a plain “I want …”.

How do I say “I don’t want more sleep” using this sentence?

You add ekki (not) after the verb:

Ég vil ekki meiri svefn. – I don’t want more sleep.

Word order pattern:

Ég (subject)
vil (verb)
ekki (negation)
meiri svefn (object)

I’ve seen mig langar used to mean “I want”. How would that work with this sentence, and what’s the difference from Ég vil?

You can indeed express “to want / to feel like” with mig langar:

Mig langar í meiri svefn.

Breakdown:

Mig – accusative of ég (“me”).
langar – 3rd person singular of að langa.
í – preposition meaning “for / to / into” here.
meiri svefn – “more sleep”.

Literally: “Me longs for more sleep.”

Difference in feel:

Ég vil meiri svefn. – more direct: I want more sleep.
Mig langar í meiri svefn. – more like I feel like having / I crave more sleep.

Both are common and correct. Mig langar í … is often used for desires, cravings, and wishes (food, drink, sleep, activities, etc.).