Breakdown of Rottan er óþrifalegt meindýr.
vera
to be
rottan
the rat
óþrifalegur
unhygienic
meindýrið
the pest
Questions & Answers about Rottan er óþrifalegt meindýr.
How does the prefix ó- work in the word óþrifalegt, and what is the base word?
The prefix ó- is highly productive and acts exactly like "un-" or "in-" in English to give a word the opposite meaning. The base adjective here is þrifalegur (clean or tidy), which comes from the verb þrífa (to clean). Adding ó- gives us óþrifalegur, meaning "unclean" or "unhygienic".
Why does óþrifalegt end in -t when Rottan is a feminine noun?
The adjective isn't directly agreeing with Rottan. Instead, it is modifying the noun it is attached to: meindýr (pest). Since meindýr is a neuter noun, the adjective takes the neuter singular ending -t.
How does the compound word meindýr break down?
It is composed of mein (meaning harm, damage, or disease) and dýr (animal). So, a "harm-animal" is the Icelandic way of saying "pest".
Why do we use the definite article in Rottan (The rat) instead of just saying Rotta?
In Icelandic, when making a general statement about an entire species or class of things, you typically use the definite article. While English sometimes does this ("The rat is a pest"), you will see this pattern much more consistently in Icelandic.
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