Lygin var verri en sannleikurinn.

Lygin is singular. The base noun is lygi = lie. Icelandic usually adds the definite article to the end of the noun, so lygin means the lie.

A useful contrast is:

• lygi = a lie / lie
• lygin = the lie
• lygar = lies
• lygarnar = the lies

So in this sentence, it is definitely the lie, not the lies.

Var is the past tense of vera, the verb to be. So it means was.

That tells you the sentence is talking about something in the past:

• er = is
• var = was

So Lygin var... means The lie was...

Verri means worse. It is the comparative form of bad.

This is an irregular comparative, like English bad → worse. In other words, you cannot just build it mechanically from the basic adjective and expect it to look regular.

A useful comparison:

• góður = good

• betri = better

• slæmur / vondur = bad
• verri = worse

So var verri means was worse.

Because Icelandic adjectives agree with the noun they describe in gender, number, and case, even when they come after the verb.

Here, lygin is feminine singular nominative, so the comparative adjective appears as verri.

English worse does not change form, but Icelandic adjectives often do. So the form of the adjective is not random; it is matching lygin.

Very roughly:

• with a feminine singular subject like lygin, you get verri
• verra is used in other grammatical environments, for example with neuter singular

Here en means than.

That is because it follows a comparative adjective: verri en = worse than.

Be aware that en can also mean but in other sentences, so the meaning depends on the context. In this sentence, because of verri, the meaning is clearly than.

Because sannleikurinn is in the nominative form, and that is natural here.

The comparison can be understood as an shortened version of:

Lygin var verri en sannleikurinn var.
= The lie was worse than the truth was.

So sannleikurinn is really the subject of an implied clause, and subjects are nominative.

This is important for English speakers because it may look like the noun after than should be treated like an object, but Icelandic does not work that way here.

The base noun is sannleikur = truth. It is a masculine noun, and in the nominative singular definite form it becomes sannleikurinn = the truth.

So:

• sannleikur = truth
• sannleikurinn = the truth

The exact shape of the definite ending depends on the noun’s gender and declension class. For this noun, the definite nominative singular form is -urinn.

Because that is the normal Icelandic system. In most ordinary cases, the definite article is a suffix attached to the noun.

So instead of a separate word like English the, Icelandic often uses endings such as:

• -inn
• -in
• -ið

In this sentence:

• lygin = the lie
• sannleikurinn = the truth

There is a separate article in Icelandic in some contexts, but the suffixed article is the basic pattern learners see most often.

The sentence follows a very straightforward pattern:

Lygin | var | verri | en sannleikurinn
subject | verb | predicate adjective | comparison phrase

So literally:

• Lygin = the subject
• var = was
• verri = worse
• en sannleikurinn = than the truth

This is a very common Icelandic pattern:

[subject] + [vera] + [comparative adjective] + en + [thing compared]

For example, in the present tense it would be:

Lygin er verri en sannleikurinn.
= The lie is worse than the truth.