Breakdown of Villan í lykilorðinu var auðséð.
vera
to be
í
in / into / to (before the hour, in telling time) / per (in frequency expressions)
villan
the mistake / the error
lykilorðið
the password
auðséður
easily seen
Questions & Answers about Villan í lykilorðinu var auðséð.
How does the prefix work in auðséð?
It combines the prefix auð- (meaning easily or easy to) with séð, which is a past participle form of the verb sjá (to see). This creates the adjective auðséður, meaning easily seen or obvious.
Why is the form auðséð instead of the dictionary form auðséður?
These prefix-participle combinations decline exactly like regular adjectives to match the noun they describe. Because it describes villan (the error), which is a feminine singular noun in the nominative case, the adjective drops the masculine -ur ending to take the feminine nominative form auðséð.
Why is lykilorðinu in the dative case here?
The preposition í governs the dative case when indicating a static location, such as being located inside the password. Lykilorð (a compound of lykill meaning key and orð meaning word) becomes lykilorði in the dative, and adding the definite article suffix makes it lykilorðinu.
Does auðséð only refer to things you can physically see?
No. While it translates literally as easily seen, it is heavily used in a figurative sense to mean obvious, evident, or clear. Just like in English, finding an error in a password might mean spotting a visible typo or realizing an obvious logical flaw.
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