Thanking Properly
You know takk. For thanking for something, use takk fyrir + accusative: Takk fyrir matinn — the fixed after-meal thanks every Icelandic household says.
| Thanks for the food! | Takk fyrir matinn! |
The reply when handing something over is gjörðu svo vel — here you are, please — and at the table verði þér að góðu — enjoy your meal. Both are fixed formulas.
When something is no trouble at all: ekkert mál — no problem — or the all-purpose allt í lagi — okay, all right.
| Is everything okay? | Er allt í lagi? |
Apologising
Fyrirgefðu is sorry — an apology, and also how you soften a question to a stranger. Afsakið is its slightly more formal sibling, excuse me. And því miður is unfortunately — the word for delivering bad news politely: Því miður er búðin lokuð.
| Sorry, I don't understand. | Fyrirgefðu, ég skil ekki. |
The Happy Formulas
Til hamingju is congratulations — with birthdays, til hamingju með afmælið or the very Icelandic til hamingju með daginn. Velkominn welcomes a man, velkomin a woman. Gaman is the noun fun, a joy — Það er gaman (it's fun), and Gaman að hitta þig (nice to meet you). And elskan — dear, darling — is what Icelanders call the people they love: elskan mín.
| Happy birthday! | Til hamingju með afmælið! |
Já or Jú?
Icelandic has TWO words for yes. Já answers an ordinary question. But when the question is NEGATIVE — Aren't you hungry? — and you want to contradict it, the word is jú:
| question | yes-answer |
|---|---|
| Ert þú svangur? | Já. |
| Ert þú ekki svangur? | Jú! (yes I am!) |
| Aren't you hungry? Yes I am! | Ert þú ekki svangur? Jú! |
