The Adjective Suffix -legur
To describe the general vibe, atmosphere, or appearance of a place, Icelandic frequently uses the highly productive suffix -legur. Much like the English suffixes "-y", "-ly", or "-like", adding -legur to a noun or verb creates a new adjective meaning "having the qualities of" that thing.
Because these are standard adjectives, their endings change depending on the gender of the noun they describe:
- Masculine: -legur
- Feminine: -leg
- Neuter: -legt
Indoor Ambiance
You can create adjectives to describe how inviting a space is. For example, from heimili (home) we get heimilislegur (homey), and related to hlýtt (warm) we get hlýlegur (welcoming, cozy).
Notice how the adjectives in the sentences below take the neuter (heimilislegt) for a general "it is" statement, and the feminine (hlýleg, kaldaleg) to match feminine nouns like stofa (living room) or skrifstofa (office).
Places and Atmosphere
The suffix is perfect for capturing the essence of an environment. By attaching it to nouns like sveit (countryside) or draugur (ghost), you get sveitalegur (rustic) and draugalegur (spooky).
Seasonal Vibes
Seasons are easily turned into adjectives to describe the weather or the look of a landscape: sumar becomes sumarlegur (summery), vetur becomes vetrarlegur (wintry), and haust becomes haustlegur (autumnal).
Events and Comfort
Abstract concepts also use this suffix. From hátíð (festival or holiday) comes hátíðlegur (festive). One of the most common adjectives in Icelandic, þægilegur (comfortable), is also formed this way.
