Kannt þú að nota þetta forrit?

Kannt is the 2nd person singular present form of the verb kunna.

In this sentence, kunna means to know how to do something or to be able to do something because you have learned it.

So Kannt þú að nota þetta forrit? is asking whether you know how to use this program.

A useful comparison:

• kunna = know how, have learned the skill
• geta = be able to, can, be capable of

So this sentence is closer to Do you know how to use this program? than to a general Can you use this program?

Because this is a yes/no question.

In Icelandic, the finite verb usually comes first in direct yes/no questions, and the subject comes after it.

Compare:

• Þú kannt að nota þetta forrit. = You know how to use this program.
• Kannt þú að nota þetta forrit? = Do you know how to use this program?

So the word order changes just like English changes from:

• You can use it.
• Can you use it?

That -t marks the 2nd person singular form: you know/how to.

The verb kunna is irregular, and in the present tense some important forms are:

• ég kann = I know how / I can
• þú kannt = you know how / you can
• hann/hún/það kann = he/she/it knows how / can

So kannt specifically matches þú.

Here að is the infinitive marker, like English to in to use.

So:

• nota = use
• að nota = to use

After kunna, Icelandic often uses að + infinitive to express knowing how to do something:

• Ég kann að synda. = I know how to swim.
• Hún kann að elda. = She knows how to cook.
• Kannt þú að nota þetta forrit? = Do you know how to use this program?

So að nota means to use.

Nota means to use.

In this sentence it is in the infinitive form, because it follows að:

• að nota = to use

This is the basic dictionary form of the verb.

Þetta means this, and it agrees with forrit.

The noun forrit is:

• neuter
• singular

So the correct form of this is þetta.

Compare the demonstrative this in singular:

• þessi for many masculine/feminine uses
• þetta for neuter singular nominative/accusative

Since forrit is a neuter noun, you get:

• þetta forrit = this program

Forrit means program, usually in the sense of a computer program, software program, or application.

Depending on context, English translations could include:

• program
• software
• app (sometimes, loosely)

So þetta forrit can mean this program or this software/program.

It is the direct object of nota (to use), so it is in the accusative case.

The good news is that for forrit, the nominative and accusative singular look the same:

• forrit = nominative singular
• forrit = accusative singular

And þetta is also the form used for neuter singular nominative/accusative.

So even though it is accusative here, the phrase still appears as:

• þetta forrit

The difference is mainly in nuance.

Kannt þú að nota þetta forrit?

• asks whether you know how to use it
• focuses on learned skill or familiarity

Getur þú notað þetta forrit?

• asks whether you can use it
• may focus more on possibility, ability, or circumstances

In many situations, both could work, but kunna often feels more like Do you know how to use it?

A simple positive answer:

• Já, ég kann að nota þetta forrit. = Yes, I know how to use this program.

A simple negative answer:

• Nei, ég kann ekki að nota þetta forrit. = No, I do not know how to use this program.

A shorter conversational answer could also be:

• Já.
• Nei.

A rough guide:

• kannt sounds roughly like kahnt
• þú has þ, which is like th in think, not th in this

So Kannt þú is approximately:

• kahnt thoo

A few pronunciation notes:

• þ = unvoiced th as in think
• ú is a long oo-like vowel
• nn+t in kannt gives a firm final nt sound

Yes, in actual Icelandic you will often see forms where the verb and þú are written together in questions:

• Kanntu að nota þetta forrit?

That is a very common written form of kannt þú.

So if you see either:

• Kannt þú að nota þetta forrit?
• Kanntu að nota þetta forrit?

they mean the same thing. The combined form is very common in everyday writing.