Að leyfa og ráða — permission, decisions, meaning

Asking and allowing

biðja um is to ask for a thing — distinct from spyrja, to ask a question:

spyrjato ask (a question)
biðja umto ask for (a thing)
I ask for the bill.
Ég bið um reikninginn.

leyfa to allow takes the dative of the person, then + infinitive.

She allows me to go.
Hún leyfir mér að fara.

Deciding and mattering

ráða covers to decide, to be in chargeþú ræður, you decide, is one of the most-used sentences in the language. skipta máli is to matter.

Meaning, respecting, introducing

meina is to mean in the sense of intend: hvað meinarðu? virða is to respect, and kynna to introduce someone.

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