Smástundin eftir vinnu hjálpar mér að slaka á.

Smástundin is the noun smástund with the definite article added to the end.

• smástund = a short while / a little bit of time
• smástundin = the short while / that little bit of time

Icelandic usually adds the as a suffix rather than using a separate word like English does.

So:

• smástund = a short while
• smástundin = the short while

In this sentence, smástundin eftir vinnu means something like the little period after work.

Smástund means a short time, a brief while, or a little moment.

It is made from:

• smá = small / little
• stund = moment / while / period of time

So the word has the sense of a little stretch of time. In this sentence, it refers to a small period of time after work.

This is a noun phrase:

• Smástundin = the short while
• eftir vinnu = after work

So eftir vinnu describes which short while we mean: the one after work.

English does the same thing:

• the short time after work

So the structure is very natural in Icelandic: [noun] + [describing phrase]

Because eftir is a preposition, and prepositions control case.

Here, eftir means after, and in this kind of time expression it takes the accusative. The noun vinna therefore appears as vinnu.

• vinna = nominative form
• vinnu = accusative form

So:

• eftir vinnu = after work

A useful extra note: with vinna, several singular case forms happen to look the same, so vinnu can appear in more than one case, but here it is used because of the preposition eftir.

Icelandic often leaves nouns without the definite article in expressions like this, especially when talking about something in a general or routine sense.

So:

• eftir vinnu = after work

This sounds natural, just like English often says after work rather than after the work.

If you added the definite article, it would sound more specific, as if you meant a particular job or a particular piece of work.

Because the verb hjálpa takes the dative case for the person being helped.

So:

• ég = I
• mig = me (accusative)
• mér = me (dative)

Since hjálpa requires dative, Icelandic uses:

• hjálpar mér = helps me

This is something English speakers often just have to memorize with the verb:

• hjálpa + dative

Because hjálpar is the present tense form for he/she/it.

The subject here is Smástundin eftir vinnu, which is a singular thing, so the verb must agree with that subject.

Conjugation of hjálpa in the present tense:

• ég hjálpa = I help
• þú hjálpar = you help
• hann/hún/það hjálpar = he/she/it helps

So:

• Smástundin eftir vinnu hjálpar mér ...
• The short while after work helps me ...

Að slaka á is the normal Icelandic expression for to relax.

It is best learned as a whole unit:

• slaka á = relax
• að slaka á = to relax

The á is part of the expression, not a separate word you can freely remove here.

So:

• Ég slaka á. = I relax.
• Það hjálpar mér að slaka á. = It helps me relax.

English has many verb-particle combinations like calm down or sit down. Icelandic also has combinations like this, and slaka á is one of them.

Because að marks the infinitive, like to in English.

• slaka á = relax
• að slaka á = to relax

After hjálpa in this sentence, Icelandic uses an infinitive phrase:

• hjálpar mér að slaka á
• helps me to relax

In natural English, we often also say helps me relax, but Icelandic normally keeps að here.

The sentence breaks down like this:

• Smástundin eftir vinnu = subject
• hjálpar = verb
• mér = indirect object in dative
• að slaka á = infinitive phrase

So literally:

• The short while after work helps me to relax.

This is a very normal Icelandic pattern: [subject] + [verb] + [dative pronoun/object] + [að + infinitive]

Yes. A very literal translation is:

• The short while after work helps me to relax.

But more natural English might be:

• That little bit of time after work helps me relax.
• A short break after work helps me unwind.
• The little time I have after work helps me relax.

The Icelandic sentence is simple, but the most natural English version depends on context.