Þetta er víst rétt.

Þetta is the neuter singular demonstrative pronoun meaning this.

In Þetta er víst rétt, it refers to this thing / this statement / this situation.

Why not það?

• þetta = this
• það = that or sometimes it

So Þetta er víst rétt feels like This is apparently correct / This seems to be right, while Það er víst rétt would usually mean That is probably right or That’s apparently right.

Also, þetta is very common when pointing to something just mentioned, something nearby, or something the speaker is focusing on.

Er is the present tense of the verb að vera (to be).

So:

• ég er = I am
• þú ert = you are
• hann/hún/það er = he/she/it is

In this sentence, er simply means is.

Here víst is an adverb/particle that adds the idea of apparently, it seems, I gather, or presumably.

So the sentence is not as direct as Þetta er rétt (This is correct).
With víst, the speaker sounds a bit less absolute:

• Þetta er rétt. = This is correct.
• Þetta er víst rétt. = This is apparently correct / This seems to be right / I believe this is right.

A very important point: víst often carries a nuance of indirect knowledge, assumption, or something the speaker has heard or inferred.

Yes. Víst can be tricky because its tone depends a lot on context and stress.

It can mean:

• apparently / presumably / it seems
• but in some contexts also certainly / of course / indeed

For example, in spoken Icelandic, a stressed víst! can sound like Yes, of course! or Actually, yes!

However, in Þetta er víst rétt, the most natural reading for a learner is usually the softer one: apparently / presumably / seems to be.

So this is a good word to learn as a context-sensitive particle rather than trying to force one exact English translation every time.

Rétt is the neuter singular form of the adjective réttur (right, correct).

It is neuter singular because it matches þetta, which is also neuter singular.

Adjective forms:

• réttur = masculine
• rétt = neuter
• rétt can also be feminine in some forms, but here it is specifically neuter singular

Since the structure is:

• Þetta = subject
• er = is
• rétt = predicate adjective

the adjective agrees with the subject in gender and number.

Here it is an adjective, not an adverb.

That is because it describes þetta:

• Þetta er rétt. = This is correct.

If it were an adverb, it would describe a verb, like doing something correctly. But here it describes what this is like, so it is an adjective used after to be.

This is the same basic idea as in English:

• This is correct → adjective
• He answered correctly → adverb

Because víst modifies the whole statement, not just the adjective by itself.

The structure is:

• Þetta = subject
• er = copula verb
• víst = sentence adverb / modal particle
• rétt = predicate adjective

So víst comes in the normal position for this kind of adverb, between the verb and the predicate.

Compare:

• Þetta er rétt. = This is correct.
• Þetta er víst rétt. = This is apparently correct.

That word order is very natural in Icelandic.

Yes, absolutely.

• Þetta er rétt. = a direct statement: This is correct.
• Þetta er víst rétt. = a more cautious statement: This is apparently correct / This seems right.

So adding víst changes the speaker’s attitude:

• without víst: more certain, more straightforward
• with víst: less direct certainty, more inference/hearsay/assumption

It is in the nominative, because it is the subject of the sentence.

In Þetta er víst rétt:

• Þetta = subject, nominative
• er = verb
• rétt = predicate adjective agreeing with the subject

This is a basic subject + verb + complement sentence.

A rough guide:

Þetta er víst rétt
≈ THET-ta er veest ryekht

A few key sounds:

• Þ = like th in thing
• é/í are long vowel sounds, but here í in víst is the most noticeable: roughly ee
• tt in þetta is pronounced distinctly
• r is typically trilled or tapped
• tt in rétt is followed by a special Icelandic sound pattern that may sound unusual to English speakers

A more learner-friendly approximation:

• Þetta ≈ THET-ta
• er ≈ er
• víst ≈ veest
• rétt ≈ something like ryeht or ryetht

The exact pronunciation of rétt is hard to capture in English spelling, so it is best learned by listening.

Yes, it is completely natural.

It sounds like a normal everyday sentence someone might say when:

• cautiously agreeing
• reacting to information
• admitting that something seems true
• confirming something without sounding 100% categorical

For example, it could be used in a conversation like:

• Someone says something factual.
• Another person responds: Þetta er víst rétt.

That gives the sense of Yes, that does seem to be correct rather than a blunt That is correct.

They can overlap, but they are not identical.

• víst often suggests apparently, it seems, as I understand it, or I gather
• líklega = likely / probably
• sennilega = probably

So:

• Þetta er víst rétt. = This is apparently right / This seems to be right.
• Þetta er líklega rétt. = This is probably right.
• Þetta er sennilega rétt. = This is probably right.

Víst often feels a bit more tied to reported information, inference, or the speaker’s impression, while líklega/sennilega are more straightforward probability words.