Ég get ekki andað.

• Ég = I
• get = can / am able to
• ekki = not
• andað = breathe in the form used here after get

So the sentence is literally I can not breathe, which matches English I can’t breathe very closely.

Because get is from the Icelandic verb geta, which usually means can or be able to.

So:

• ég get = I can
• þú getur = you can
• hann/hún/það getur = he/she/it can

Even though it looks like English get, it is a different word with a different meaning.

In a normal Icelandic statement, ekki usually comes after the finite verb.

So:

• Ég get ekki andað = correct, normal order

This is actually fairly similar to English, where not also comes after an auxiliary verb:

• I can not breathe
• I can’t breathe

This is one of the patterns learners have to get used to with geta.

The dictionary form of the verb is að anda = to breathe, but after geta, Icelandic uses andað here. This form is often called the supine (sagnbót) in Icelandic grammar.

So the natural pattern is:

• ég get andað = I can breathe
• ég get ekki andað = I can’t breathe

An English speaker might expect something more like can breathe with a plain infinitive, but Icelandic does not build it the same way here.

No.

You should say:

• Ég get ekki andað

not:

• Ég get ekki að andað

With geta in this kind of sentence, you do not add að before the following verb form.

A rough English-friendly approximation is:

yegh kyet EHK-ki AN-dath

A few useful notes:

• Ég starts with a y sound.
• get has a fronted g/k sound; it is not like English get.
• ekki is often pronounced with a kind of hk sound in the middle by many speakers.
• ð in andað is like th in this, though it can sound weaker at the end.

As always, the English approximation is only rough, because the Icelandic sounds do not match English exactly.

In normal speech and writing, yes, Ég is usually included.

Icelandic does not normally drop subject pronouns the way Spanish or Italian often can. So learners should usually say the full sentence:

• Ég get ekki andað

Yes. It is completely natural and very common.

It works both:

• literally, in a medical or emergency situation
• figuratively, if someone is joking about smoke, laughter, panic, tight clothing, and so on

A softer alternative is:

• Ég á erfitt með að anda = I have difficulty breathing

But Ég get ekki andað is the direct, normal sentence.

You mainly change the form of geta:

• Ég get ekki andað = I can’t breathe
• Þú getur ekki andað = You can’t breathe
• Hann getur ekki andað = He can’t breathe
• Hún getur ekki andað = She can’t breathe
• Það getur ekki andað = It can’t breathe
• Við getum ekki andað = We can’t breathe
• Þið getið ekki andað = You (plural) can’t breathe
• Þeir geta ekki andað = They can’t breathe

So get changes with the subject, while ekki andað stays the same here.

Yes.

In Icelandic, letters like é and ð are real letters, not optional decorations.

So:

• Ég should be written with é
• andað should be written with ð

If you leave them out, people may still guess what you mean, but it is not correct spelling.