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Learn Hardcore Icelandic: Framhliðin er blá. - The front side is blue.

Hardcore Icelandic
/Having a board-game evening
/Framhliðin er blá.

Framhliðin er blá.

Word

Framhliðin er blá.

Meaning

The front side is blue.

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

Hardcore Icelandic

Lesson

Having a board-game evening

Breakdown of Framhliðin er blá.

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Questions & Answers about Framhliðin er blá.

Why is there no separate word for the in framhliðin?

Because Icelandic usually puts the definite article on the end of the noun instead of using a separate word.

framhlið = front side / front
framhliðin = the front side / the front

So the ending -in here is doing the job that the does in English.

A separate article (hinn / hin / hið) does exist, but in ordinary sentences like this, the suffixed article is the normal choice.

What is the dictionary form of framhliðin?

The dictionary form is framhlið.

When you remove the definite ending -in, you get the basic noun form. So if you wanted to look this word up, you would usually search for framhlið, not framhliðin.

Also, framhlið is a compound word, which is very common in Icelandic.

Is framhlið a compound word?

Yes. It is built from:

fram- = front, forward
hlið = side

So Icelandic is combining smaller parts into one noun. English often does something similar, but Icelandic does it very freely and very often.

What gender is , and does that matter?

framhliðin

In this sentence, framhliðin is feminine singular.

Yes, that matters a lot in Icelandic, because adjectives have to agree with the noun (or with the subject, when the adjective comes after to be).

This is grammatical gender, not biological gender. So a thing can be feminine, masculine, or neuter even though it is not a person.

Why is the adjective blá?

Because the adjective has to match framhliðin.

The basic dictionary form is usually blár (masculine singular nominative), but the forms change:

blár = masculine singular
blá = feminine singular
blátt = neuter singular

Since framhliðin is feminine singular, the correct form here is blá.

Why is it blá, not bláa?

Because this adjective is being used predicatively: it comes after er and describes the subject.

In Icelandic, adjectives used after vera (to be) normally appear in the strong form:

Framhliðin er blá. = The front side is blue.

If the adjective were placed directly before a definite noun, you would normally get the weak form instead:

bláa framhliðin = the blue front side

So:

after er -> blá
before a definite noun -> bláa

What does er mean here?

Er is the present-tense singular form of vera, which means to be.

So here it means is.

A few useful forms are:

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

In this sentence, the subject is singular, so er is the right form.

Is the word order the same as in English?

In this sentence, yes. It follows the very common pattern:

subject + verb + adjective/complement

So:

Framhliðin = subject
er = verb
blá = complement/adjective

That makes it feel quite natural to an English speaker.

However, Icelandic word order is not always identical to English. In main clauses, Icelandic often follows a verb-second pattern, so if another element comes first, the verb still tends to stay in second position.

How do you pronounce Framhliðin er blá?

A rough learner-friendly guide would be:

Framhliðin ≈ FRAM-hlith-in
er ≈ ehr
blá ≈ blau, with á sounding roughly like ow in cow

A few helpful points:

Icelandic stress usually falls on the first syllable of the word.
ð is like the th in this.
á is not like English a in day; it is closer to ow in cow.
The hl sound does not have a perfect English equivalent, so beginners often approximate it at first.

The best next step is to hear it spoken by a native speaker, because Icelandic spelling is regular, but some of the sounds are unfamiliar to English speakers.

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