Learn Icelandic: Þetta er lítill hundur.

Þetta er lítill hundur.

This is a small dog.

Breakdown of Þetta er lítill hundur.

small / a little (small amount)

Questions & Answers about Þetta er lítill hundur.

Why does the adjective lítill end in -ill here?

Lítill (small) is describing hundur (dog), which is a masculine noun. Because this is the subject of the sentence, the adjective takes its masculine singular strong form, which is lítill. If we were talking about a feminine word, it would be lítil, and for a neuter word, lítið.

Since hundur is masculine, why does the sentence start with the neuter pronoun þetta?

In Icelandic, when you use the phrase 'This is...' to introduce or point something out, you always use the neuter form þetta, regardless of the gender of the noun that follows it. You only match the gender if you are directly saying 'this dog' (þessi hundur).

Is there a way to guess that hundur is a masculine noun?

Yes! A very handy rule for beginners is to look at the end of the word. Nouns that end in -ur in their basic dictionary form are almost always masculine in Icelandic.

Where is the Icelandic word for 'a' in 'a small dog'?

Icelandic does not have an indefinite article like the English words 'a' or 'an'. The word hundur simply means both 'dog' and 'a dog' depending on the context.