First and Second
Ordinal numbers (1st, 2nd, 3rd) must match the gender of the noun they modify. Unlike English, Icelandic ordinal numbers are almost always paired with the definite ("the") form of the noun, rather than the indefinite form.
The word for 1st (fyrsti) follows a simple pattern in the nominative case. It ends in -i for masculine nouns, and -a for feminine and neuter nouns:
- Masculine: fyrsti
- Feminine / Neuter: fyrsta
The word for 2nd (annar) is irregular and has completely different forms for each gender in the nominative:
- Masculine: annar
- Feminine: önnur
- Neuter: annað
| The first car was red, but the second car was blue. | Fyrsti bíllinn var rauður, en annar bíllinn var blár. |
| Jon was the first guest here. | Jón var fyrsti gesturinn hérna. |
| The second floor is open. | Önnur hæðin er opin. |
Third to Tenth
From 3rd to 10th, ordinal numbers are highly predictable. Just like fyrsti, they simply end in -i when modifying a masculine noun, and -a when modifying a feminine or neuter noun.
| Number | Masculine (-i) | Feminine / Neuter (-a) |
|---|---|---|
| 3rd | þriðji | þriðja |
| 4th | fjórði | fjórða |
| 5th | fimmti | fimmta |
| 6th | sjötti | sjötta |
| 7th | sjöundi | sjöunda |
| 8th | áttundi | áttunda |
| 9th | níundi | níunda |
| 10th | tíundi | tíunda |
Notice how the endings change to match the noun's gender in the following examples:
| He was the third boy today. | Hann var þriðji strákurinn í dag. |
| The third floor is closed. | Þriðja hæðin er lokuð. |
| The fourth book is very good. | Fjórða bókin er mjög góð. |
| Fifth place is very good. | Fimmta sætið er mjög gott. |
| The sixth day is Saturday. | Sjötti dagurinn er laugardagur. |
| We need to see them, but the eighth child is sick. | Við þurfum að sjá þau, en áttunda barnið er veikt. |
| The ninth box is here, but the tenth box is there. | Níundi kassinn er hérna, en tíundi kassinn er þarna. |
Floors and Placements
Ordinal numbers are commonly used to talk about the floor of a building (hæðin, feminine) or placements in a contest or series (sætið, neuter). Since both of these nouns are feminine or neuter, the ordinal numbers will always use the -a ending (or önnur for 2nd).
| The first floor is open, but the tenth floor is closed. | Fyrsta hæðin er opin, en tíunda hæðin er lokuð. |
| The first seat is there, but the third seat is here. | Fyrsta sætið er þarna, en þriðja sætið er hérna. |