Jæja, hvað gerum við núna?

Jæja is a very common conversational word in Icelandic. It does not have one exact English equivalent in every context. Here it works a bit like well, right then, so, or okay at the start of a sentence.

In Jæja, hvað gerum við núna?, it gives the sentence a natural spoken tone, like someone pausing and then moving on to the next step:

Well, what do we do now?

It is very common in everyday speech, and its exact feeling depends on tone of voice and context.

In a basic statement, yes, you would normally get:

Við gerum ... = We do ...

But in Icelandic questions with a question word like hvað (what), the finite verb usually comes before the subject:

• Hvað gerum við?
• literally: What do we we?
• naturally: What do we do?

This is normal Icelandic word order. English also does something similar with do:

• What do we do now?

So the order hvað gerum við is exactly what you should expect in a question.

Gerum is the 1st person plural present tense of gera (to do, to make).

So:

• ég geri = I do
• þú gerir = you do
• við gerum = we do

In this sentence, gerum agrees with við (we), so it means we do.

No, hvað does not change the verb form. The verb is shaped only by its subject here, which is við (we), so the verb must be gerum.

Hvað simply means what and introduces the question. It does not require a special verb ending.

So:

• Hvað geri ég? = What do I do?
• Hvað gerir þú? = What do you do?
• Hvað gerum við? = What do we do?

The subject determines the verb form.

Hvað is the question word what.

It asks about the thing to be done:

• Hvað gerum við núna?
• What do we do now?

Grammatically, it is the object of gera here: do what?

So if you think of the sentence structure, it is basically:

• we do what now?

But Icelandic question word order puts hvað first.

Núna means now.

In this sentence, it appears at the end:

Hvað gerum við núna?

That is a very natural position. Icelandic word order is somewhat flexible, so núna can sometimes appear in other places depending on emphasis, but the version here is the most straightforward and idiomatic for everyday speech.

So yes, núna means exactly the time reference now, and here it helps give the sense of what do we do now?

Grammatically, it is present tense because gerum is present tense.

But just like in English, a present-tense form can be used to ask about the next step or immediate future:

• What do we do now?
• meaning: What are we going to do now?

So the Icelandic sentence is present in form, but in context it often refers to the action that should happen next.

Yes. Hvað eigum við að gera núna? is also very natural and common.

It literally means something like:

• What are we supposed to do now?
• or What should we do now?

The difference is small but useful:

• Hvað gerum við núna? = What do we do now? / What are we doing now?
• Hvað eigum við að gera núna? = What are we meant to do now? / What should we do now?

The version with eigum ... að gera can sound a little more like asking for guidance or the correct next step.

Usually yes. Icelandic normally keeps the subject pronoun, unlike some languages where it can be dropped.

So:

• Gerum við núna? by itself would not sound right as a full normal sentence meaning Do we do now?
• You want Hvað gerum við núna?

Because the verb ending already shows we, learners sometimes wonder whether við can be omitted. In normal Icelandic, the pronoun is generally still used.

A rough guide for English speakers is:

Jæja ≈ YAI-ya

The first part jæ sounds roughly like yai, and the second ja sounds like ya.

This is only approximate, but it is enough to help you recognize it. As always with Icelandic, listening to native audio is the best way to get the vowel quality right.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

Jæja, hvað gerum við núna?
≈ YAI-ya, kvath GEH-rum vith NOO-na?

A few helpful notes:

• hv in hvað is pronounced like kv
• ð is a soft voiced sound, somewhat like th in this, though in some positions it can sound weaker
• gerum has the stress on the first syllable: GE-rum
• við has ð at the end, again a soft th-like sound
• núna has stress on the first syllable: NOO-na

The main sentence stress often falls on hvað or núna, depending on what the speaker wants to emphasize.

It is natural everyday Icelandic and sounds fairly informal or neutral.

The word Jæja especially gives it a spoken, conversational feel. Without Jæja, the sentence is still perfectly normal:

Hvað gerum við núna?

That version is a little more direct. Adding Jæja makes it sound more like real conversation, especially when people are deciding what to do next.