Náttúran og dýrin — nature and animals

Icelandic nature

himinninn is the sky, grasið the grass, rokið the gale — the wind so strong it has its own noun. The gale is dangerous in the mountains.

Rokið er hættulegt á fjöllum.

Animals

word	meaning
björninn	the bear
kýrin	the cow
kanínan	the rabbit

Iceland has no wild bears — a björn that swims over from Greenland makes the national news. kýrin has an irregular plural: kýr, like the English cow/kine.

Animal verbs

éta is to eat, of animals — using it of people is crude, which is exactly why you will hear it: The cows eat grass all day.

Kýrnar éta gras allan daginn. ríða (+ dative) is to ride a horse — ríða út is the standard term for going riding. renna is to flow or slide: The river flows through the valley.Áin rennur í gegnum dalinn.