Breakdown of Viðkvæmnin er vandamálið, ekki harðleikinn.
vera
to be
ekki
not
vandamálið
the problem
harðleikinn
the hardness
viðkvæmnin
the fragility
Questions & Answers about Viðkvæmnin er vandamálið, ekki harðleikinn.
How is the noun viðkvæmnin formed from its base adjective?
It comes from the adjective viðkvæmur (sensitive or fragile). By dropping the masculine ending -ur and adding the suffix -ni, it becomes the abstract noun viðkvæmni. Nouns formed with the -ni suffix are always feminine, so adding the definite article gives us viðkvæmnin.
The sentence uses harðleikinn. Is there a difference between the suffixes -leiki and -leikur?
Both are masculine suffixes used to create abstract nouns from adjectives (here, from harður meaning hard). They are often interchangeable. Generally, -leiki (as in harðleiki) strongly emphasizes a property or quality, whereas -leikur can sometimes imply a more established concept or an action. Here, harðleikinn focuses specifically on the quality of harshness or hardness.
Why do viðkvæmnin and harðleikinn have definite articles when the English translation usually drops them for general concepts?
Icelandic uses the definite article much more frequently for abstract concepts than English does. When speaking generally about a quality like fragility or hardness, particularly as the subject of a sentence, Icelandic requires the definite article attached to the noun.
Does vandamálið use the neuter -i suffix taught in this lesson to form an abstract noun?
No, vandamál is not derived using those adjective suffixes. It is a compound noun combining vandi (difficulty) and mál (matter or issue). Since the final root (mál) is a neuter noun, the entire compound is neuter, which is why it takes the neuter definite article -ið.
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