In English, we use "which" whether we are choosing between two options or a hundred. Icelandic makes a strict grammatical distinction: use hvor when there are exactly two options, and hver when there are three or more.
Which of Two (Hvor)
When you are presented with only two possibilities—such as choosing between your left (vinstri) and right (hægri) hand—use the dual interrogative hvor.
| Which hand is left and which is right? | Hvor höndin er vinstri og hvor er hægri? |
It is used for any scenario where the options are strictly paired or limited to two, such as evaluating an option (valkosturinn):
| Which option is better? | Hvor valkosturinn er betri? |
One and the Other
When discussing two specific items, you will often want to contrast them by saying "one... but the other...". Icelandic pairs the word annar (one) with hinn (the other).
For example, out of two choices, one might be correct (réttur) and the other wrong (rangur).
| One option is correct, but the other is wrong. | Annar valkosturinn er réttur, en hinn er rangur. |
You can also use hinn on its own whenever you simply mean "the other" of a known pair.
| The other car is much bigger. | Hinn bíllinn er mikið stærri. |
Neither of Two (Hvorugur)
If the answer to "which of the two?" is "neither", Icelandic has a specific pronoun for that: hvorugur. It is formed by adding a negative suffix directly to hvor. Use it when rejecting both options in a pair.
| Neither of them is the doctor. | Hvorugur þeirra er læknirinn. |
| Neither of the boys knows the answer. | Hvorugur strákanna veit svarið. |
Which of Many / Who (Hver)
If your pool of choices is three or more, or if you are asking about an open group, you must switch to the plural interrogative hver.
When applied to people, hver is also the standard word for "who". Notice how it is used below to ask who in a group is making a decision (ákvörðunin) or who holds a certain opinion (skoðunin).
| Which of the kids makes the decision? | Hver krakkanna tekur ákvörðunina? |
| Who has a different opinion? | Hver hefur aðra skoðun? |
