Við tölum um þetta síðar.

Tölum is the 1st person plural present tense form of the verb að tala, which usually means to speak or to talk.

So:

• að tala = to speak / to talk
• við tölum = we speak / we talk

In this sentence, Við tölum um þetta síðar, the present tense is being used in a very natural way to refer to something that will happen later, similar to English We’ll talk about this later.

Við means we.

In Icelandic, verb endings often give information about the subject, but the subject pronoun is still commonly stated. So:

• Við tölum = We talk / We are talking

You may sometimes see Icelandic drop pronouns in certain contexts, especially when the subject is already obvious, but for learners it is best to think of við here as the normal explicit subject: we.

The preposition um means about in this sentence.

So:

• um = about
• þetta = this
• um þetta = about this

This is a very common pattern in Icelandic:

• að tala um eitthvað = to talk about something

So the sentence is built around the expression:

• við tölum um þetta = we talk about this

Þetta is the neuter singular form of this / it / this thing.

After the preposition um, the noun or pronoun normally takes the accusative case. The pronoun þetta is the correct accusative form here.

A useful thing to know is that þetta is also often the same in nominative and accusative, so learners may not immediately notice the case at work. But grammatically, um is taking the accusative here.

So in this sentence:

• um þetta = about this

Síðar means later.

So the full sentence literally looks like:

• Við = we
• tölum = talk
• um þetta = about this
• síðar = later

A natural English translation is:

• We’ll talk about this later.

Even though Icelandic uses the present tense here, síðar makes it clear that the action is postponed until later.

This is a very normal Icelandic main-clause word order:

• Við = subject
• tölum = verb
• um þetta = prepositional phrase
• síðar = adverb

So the structure is basically:

• Subject + Verb + Prepositional phrase + Adverb

That said, Icelandic word order is fairly flexible, especially with adverbs. You could also encounter variations depending on emphasis, such as placing síðar earlier. But Við tölum um þetta síðar is a straightforward, neutral way to say it.

It is grammatically present tense, but it is often understood as future in meaning.

This is very common in Icelandic, just as in English:

• English: We talk about it later can sometimes mean a future plan, though English more often says We’ll talk about it later
• Icelandic: Við tölum um þetta síðar naturally means We’ll talk about this later

So Icelandic often does not need a separate future form when the context already makes the time clear.

Yes. Að tala can mean both to talk and to speak, depending on context.

For example:

• tala um eitthvað = talk about something
• tala íslensku = speak Icelandic

In this sentence, because of um þetta (about this), the meaning is clearly talk about rather than simply speak.

No. A very common alternative in everyday Icelandic is seinna, which also means later.

So you may hear:

• Við tölum um þetta síðar.
• Við tölum um þetta seinna.

Both are natural. There can be slight stylistic or contextual preferences, but for many learners it is enough to know that both can work in sentences like this.

A rough learner-friendly pronunciation is:

vith TOH-lum um THET-ta SEE-thar

A few important sounds:

• ð in við is like the th in this
• ö in tölum is somewhat like the vowel in bird or burn, though not exactly the same
• þ in þetta is like the th in thing
• ð in síðar is again like the th in this

Icelandic pronunciation can vary a bit by speaker and region, but those approximations will help an English speaker get started.

Not naturally in most contexts. Even though tölum is present tense, the adverb síðar strongly points to a future meaning: later.

So the sentence is normally understood as:

• We’ll talk about this later

rather than

• We are talking about this later

In English, the future translation sounds more natural, and the same is true for how the Icelandic is usually understood.