Ég ætla að kíkja við eftir vinnu ef ég næ strætónum.

Ég ætla að is a very common way to talk about an intention or a near-future plan.

In this sentence, Ég ætla að kíkja við means something like:

• I’m going to stop by
• I intend to stop by
• I plan to stop by

So ætla often works a lot like English be going to.

Because ætla is normally followed by að + infinitive.

Here:

• ætla = intend / be going to
• að kíkja = to stop by

So the structure is:

• Ég ætla að + infinitive

This is very common in Icelandic.

kíkja við is an idiomatic verb phrase meaning:

• stop by
• drop in
• come by briefly

The idea is usually that the visit is short or informal.

A useful thing to notice is that kíkja by itself can mean something like peek or have a quick look, but with við it becomes the expression kíkja við, which you should learn as a whole phrase.

So it is best not to translate við separately here.

In this sentence, við is part of the fixed expression kíkja við.

Icelandic has many verbs that combine with a small word like við, upp, út, á, and so on, and the meaning of the whole expression is not always predictable from the individual parts.

So here:

• kíkja ≠ fully enough on its own
• kíkja við = stop by

This is similar to English phrasal verbs like drop by, come over, or stop in.

Here vinna is not the verb to work. It is the noun work.

So:

• eftir = after
• vinnu = work

Together, eftir vinnu means after work or after the workday.

This is a very natural everyday expression, just like English after work.

Because after a preposition like eftir, the noun does not stay in its dictionary form.

The dictionary form is:

• vinna = work

But in this phrase it appears as:

• vinnu

That is the correct inflected form here.

A useful detail: with the noun vinna, the singular form vinnu is used in several cases, so learners often just memorize the whole expression eftir vinnu as a chunk.

Because Icelandic, like English, often leaves the article out in general routine expressions.

So eftir vinnu means:

• after work
• not necessarily after the specific work

It sounds natural because it refers to the general situation of finishing work for the day.

If you added a definite article, the meaning would become more specific.

Because ná is the infinitive, while næ is the 1st person singular present tense form.

So:

• ná = to catch / to reach / to manage
• ég næ = I catch / I reach / I manage

Since the subject is ég, you need næ.

This is a good verb to notice because it changes its vowel when conjugated:

• ég næ
• þú nærð
• hann/hún/það nær

So this is not just ná with an ending added; the stem changes too.

Because ná takes a dative object in this meaning, and the noun is also definite here.

So:

• strætó = bus
• strætónum = the bus in the required case

The ending -num shows that inflected definite form.

In other words, Icelandic is not using a separate word for the; instead, the article is attached to the noun.

Yes. In this sentence, ná strætónum means catch the bus.

More literally, ná has a broader sense such as:

• reach
• manage to get
• make it to

So ef ég næ strætónum is very close in sense to:

• if I catch the bus
• if I make the bus

That broader meaning is useful to remember, because ná is used in several related ways in Icelandic.

Because Icelandic often uses the present tense in if-clauses when talking about the future.

So:

• ef ég næ strætónum = if I catch the bus

This is actually similar to English. We usually say:

• If I catch the bus, I’ll stop by

  not

• If I will catch the bus...

So the Icelandic structure is very natural here.

Yes. The sentence can be rearranged depending on what you want to emphasize.

The original version starts with the main clause:

• Ég ætla að kíkja við eftir vinnu ef ég næ strætónum.

You could also put the condition first:

• Ef ég næ strætónum, ætla ég að kíkja við eftir vinnu.

That version emphasizes the condition more: if I catch the bus.

This is a useful pattern to learn, because Icelandic often moves clauses around while keeping the verb in the correct position.