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Questions & Answers about Bíllinn er hér.
Why does the word for car have -inn attached to the end of it?
In Icelandic, there is no separate word for 'the'. Instead, you add an ending directly to the noun. Bíll means 'a car', and because it is a masculine word, we add the definite ending -inn to make bíllinn ('the car').
Would I use this same form to say 'This is a car'?
No! If you are pointing out a car for the first time, you use the plain version without the ending: Þetta er bíll ('This is a car'). You only use bíllinn when you are talking about a specific car that is already known, which means 'the car'.
I sometimes see this spelled with only one L (bílinn). Why does it have two Ls here?
That is a very common trap! The base word is bíll (with two Ls). When it is the subject of the sentence, like here, we just add -inn to get bíllinn. It only drops down to one L (bílinn) when it is the object of an action, like if you said 'I see the car'. Since the car is the subject here, we keep both Ls.
How do I pronounce the double L in bíllinn?
A double L in Icelandic makes a special sound that we don't have in English. It sounds a bit like a crisp 'tl' or a sharp little click at the roof of your mouth. So bíllinn is pronounced roughly like 'beetl-in'.