Starfsmaðurinn er óvinnufær.

Starfsmaðurinn means the employee or the worker.

It is made up of:

• starfsmaður = employee, worker
• -inn = the attached to the noun

Icelandic very often puts the definite article at the end of the noun instead of using a separate word like English the.

So:

• starfsmaður = an employee
• starfsmaðurinn = the employee

That is a normal feature of Icelandic. The definite article is usually a suffix.

For example:

• maður = man
• maðurinn = the man

So in this sentence, starfsmaðurinn is not unusual at all. It is just the standard way to say the employee.

Icelandic can use a separate definite word in some special contexts, but for everyday noun phrases like this one, the attached article is the usual pattern.

Er means is.

It is the present tense, third-person singular form of the verb vera, which means to be.

So:

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

In this sentence:

• Starfsmaðurinn er óvinnufær = The employee is unable to work

Óvinnufær means unable to work, unfit for work, or incapacitated for work.

It often has a formal, medical, or administrative feel. You may see it in contexts involving:

• illness
• injury
• sick leave
• work capacity assessments
• official documents

So it does not usually mean simply that someone does not have a job. It means they cannot work, not that they are merely unemployed.

It is a compound word:

• ó- = a negative prefix, like un- or in- in English
• vinnu- = work
• fær = able, capable

So the idea is literally something like:

• not-work-able
• in more natural English, unable to work

This kind of word-building is very common in Icelandic.

No, they are different.

• óvinnufær = unable to work
• atvinnulaus = unemployed

This is an important distinction.

Someone who is óvinnufær may still have a job, but because of illness or injury they cannot currently work.

Someone who is atvinnulaus does not have a job, but may be perfectly able to work.

The ending matches the noun it describes.

Starfsmaðurinn is:

• masculine
• singular
• nominative

So the adjective also appears in the masculine singular nominative form:

• óvinnufær

This is a normal Icelandic pattern: adjectives agree with the nouns they describe in gender, number, and case.

For example, if the noun changed, the adjective form would also change.

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

In a basic sentence with to be, the subject is normally nominative:

• Starfsmaðurinn = the employee
• er = is
• óvinnufær = unable to work

So the sentence structure is:

• subject + verb + complement

No, this is a very straightforward Icelandic sentence.

The order is:

• Starfsmaðurinn = subject
• er = verb
• óvinnufær = predicate adjective

So it follows the simple pattern:

• The employee is unable to work

Icelandic word order can become more flexible in longer sentences, but this example is very basic and natural.

A yes/no question is usually formed by putting the verb first:

• Er starfsmaðurinn óvinnufær? = Is the employee unable to work?

This verb-first pattern is very common in Icelandic questions.

A helpful learner-friendly approximation is:

STARFS-ma-thur-inn

A few notes:

• ð in maður sounds like the th in this
• -inn is the attached definite article
• the rfsm cluster in starfsmaðurinn can feel heavy, so it helps to say it slowly at first:
  • starfs
  • maður
  • inn

Then combine them:

• starfs-maður-inn

A rough approximation is:

OH-vin-nu-fye-r

A few notes:

• ó is a long o sound
• vinnu has a clear v and n sound
• æ is not pronounced like English a; it is closer to the vowel sound in eye for many learners' purposes
• fær is one syllable

It is best learned by listening to native audio, but this approximation can help you get started.

Yes. Depending on context, starfsmaður can mean:

• employee
• worker
• staff member

The best translation depends on the situation.

For example:

• in a company context, employee or staff member may fit best
• in a general labor context, worker may fit better

So Starfsmaðurinn er óvinnufær could be translated in slightly different ways depending on context, even though the core meaning stays the same.