Learn Icelandic: Páll er stutthærður en Jón er síðhærður. - Páll is short-haired, but Jón is long-haired.

Páll er stutthærður en Jón er síðhærður.

Páll is short-haired, but Jón is long-haired.

Breakdown of Páll er stutthærður en Jón er síðhærður.

Questions & Answers about Páll er stutthærður en Jón er síðhærður.

How do we get the -hærður part of the adjectives from the word for hair (hár)?

In these compound adjectives, the noun stem often changes its vowel due to a historical sound change called i-shift. The á in hár changes to æ, and the adjectival suffix -ður is added, giving us -hærður (haired).

Why does the sentence use síð- for "long" instead of lang- in síðhærður?

In Icelandic, the adjective síður is specifically used to describe things that hang down naturally, like hair, beards, or long clothing. Because of this, someone with long hair is síðhærður, whereas langhærður sounds unnatural.

Would these compound adjectives change if we were talking about women instead of Páll and Jón?

Yes. Like all adjectives, they must agree in gender and number with the person they describe. For a woman, the masculine -ur ending is dropped to form the feminine nominative singular, making them stutthærð and síðhærð.

How do we know to use stutt- instead of the full adjective stuttur when building this compound?

When forming a compound adjective, the first part is stripped of its grammatical endings. You use the bare root of the adjective stuttur, which is stutt-, and attach it directly to the modified noun stem.