Breakdown of Fjandinn! Ég missti af strætónum.
strætóinn
the bus
missa af
to miss
fjandinn
the devil; damn it (mild oath)
Questions & Answers about Fjandinn! Ég missti af strætónum.
Why is the preposition af used after missti? Doesn't missti already mean "missed"?
By itself, the verb missa usually means "to lose" or "to drop" something. When you want to say you "missed" a vehicle, a flight, or an opportunity, you have to use the phrasal verb missa af.
Why does strætó become strætónum here?
The preposition af forces the following word into the dative case. Strætó is a masculine word, and because we are saying "the bus" (rather than just "a bus"), we add the masculine dative definite article suffix -num to the end of the word.
I thought "to miss" was sakna. Can I use missa af for people too?
No, Icelandic uses two different verbs for "missing." You use sakna when you emotionally miss a person, a pet, or a place. You use missa af only when you are too late for an event or a ride, like a bus, a movie, or a meeting.
What does fjandinn literally mean?
It literally translates to "the devil" or "the fiend." It is formed from the noun fjandi (fiend) plus the definite article -nn. In everyday Icelandic, it's a very common, mild swear word used exactly like "Damn!" or "Damn it!" in English.
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