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Annars vegar er veitingastaðurinn opinn, hins vegar viljum við frekar borða heima.

Annars vegar er veitingastaðurinn opinn, hins vegar viljum við frekar borða heima.
On the one hand the restaurant is open; on the other hand we would rather eat at home.
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Questions & Answers about Annars vegar er veitingastaðurinn opinn, hins vegar viljum við frekar borða heima.

What do annars vegar and hins vegar literally mean, and how are they used together?

They form a fixed pairing meaning “on the one hand … on the other hand …”.

  • annars = “of the other” / “otherwise” (genitive of annar “other”)
  • hins = “of the (other)” (genitive of hinn “the other” / “that”)
  • veg(ar) = “way/side” (in this idiom it’s essentially “side”)

So annars vegar … hins vegar … is an idiomatic two-part contrast structure. You typically put one clause after annars vegar and the contrasting clause after hins vegar.

Why is it veg(ar) and not vegi or vegur here?

Because this is an idiom: -s vegar is a set genitive phrase meaning “on the … side”.

  • vegur is the basic form (nominative singular).
  • vegar is genitive singular.

In annars vegar / hins vegar, the genitive is part of a frozen expression, so you learn it as a chunk rather than trying to “build” it productively each time.

Why is the word order Annars vegar er veitingastaðurinn opinn instead of Veitingastaðurinn er opinn?

Icelandic is a V2 language (verb-second) in main clauses: the finite verb usually comes in the second “slot”.

If you start with an adverbial like annars vegar, that occupies the first slot, so the finite verb er must come next:

  • Annars vegar (slot 1) er (slot 2) veitingastaðurinn …
    Not Annars vegar veitingastaðurinn er … (that would break V2).
What exactly is veitingastaðurinn made of, and why does it end in -inn?

veitingastaðurinn = veitinga- + staður + definite ending -inn

  • veiting = “serving/refreshment” (often used for food service)
  • veitinga- = genitive plural used in compounds (“of refreshments/food service”)
  • staður = “place”
  • -inn = the masculine definite article suffix (nominative singular)

So it’s “the restaurant” as one word, because Icelandic commonly attaches the definite article to the noun.

Why is it er … opinn and not er … opið or er … opin?

Adjectives agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.

  • veitingastaðurinn is masculine, singular, nominative
  • Therefore opinn is masculine singular nominative

Other forms would fit different nouns:

  • opið = neuter singular nominative/accusative (e.g., húsið er opið “the house is open”)
  • opin = feminine singular nominative (e.g., búðin er opin “the shop is open”)
Why does the second clause start with hins vegar and then viljum við—why is the subject after the verb?

Same V2 rule as in the first clause. Since hins vegar is placed first, the finite verb must be second:

  • Hins vegar (slot 1) viljum (slot 2) við (subject) …

This “inversion” (verb before subject) is normal in Icelandic whenever something other than the subject is put first in a main clause.

What tense/person is viljum, and what is the infinitive?
  • viljum is present tense, 1st person plural (“we want”)
  • Infinitive: vilja (“to want”)

Conjugation (present) is roughly:

  • ég vil
  • þú vilt
  • hann/hún/það vill
  • við viljum
  • þið viljið
  • þeir/þær/þau vilja
Why is að not used before borða (like “want to eat”)?

With vilja, Icelandic typically uses a bare infinitive (no að) in this kind of construction:

  • vilja borða = “want to eat”

að is used with many other verbs (and sometimes in other structures), but vilja commonly takes the infinitive directly.

How does frekar work here—what form is it, and where does it go in the sentence?

frekar is the comparative form of the adverb/adjective frekur / frekt in the sense of “rather / preferably”.

In sentences like this, frekar usually sits near the verb phrase it modifies:

  • viljum við frekar borða = “we would rather eat”

You can sometimes move it for emphasis, but this placement is very common and natural.

Why is it borða heima and not something like borða á heima or borða í heim?

heima is an adverb meaning “at home” (location). Many common place words in Icelandic appear as adverbs without a preposition:

  • heima = at home
  • heim = (to) home (direction)
  • héðan = from here
  • þangað = to there

So borða heima is simply “eat at home” using the adverb heima.

Is the comma required, and can this be split into two sentences?

The comma is standard because you’re joining two main clauses and explicitly marking the contrast pair annars vegar / hins vegar.

You can also write it as two sentences for style/clarity:

  • Annars vegar er veitingastaðurinn opinn. Hins vegar viljum við frekar borða heima.

Both are acceptable; one sentence often feels more like a balanced “on the one hand/on the other hand” structure.

How would this sound if I wanted to emphasize the contrast even more—are there common variations?

Common ways include:

  • Keeping the pair but adding emphasis words:

    • Annars vegar er veitingastaðurinn opinn, en hins vegar viljum við frekar borða heima. (Adding en “but” is possible, though the pair already signals contrast.)

  • Using other contrast connectors (not the same idiom):

    • Veitingastaðurinn er opinn, en við viljum samt frekar borða heima. (samt = “still/nevertheless”)

The original version already strongly signals a balanced contrast.