Questions & Answers about Barnið er lítið.
Why is the word for "small" written as lítið here instead of its dictionary form lítill?
In Icelandic, adjectives change their endings to match the gender of the noun they describe. Because barn (child) is a neuter noun, the adjective takes the neuter singular form, becoming lítið. Lítill is the masculine form.
What does the -ið at the end of barnið mean?
That is the definite article, which means "the". Instead of using a separate word like we do in English, Icelandic attaches "the" directly to the end of the noun. So, barn means "a child", and barnið means "the child".
How would I say "small" if I were describing a masculine or feminine word instead?
For a masculine noun, you use the dictionary form lítill (for example, strákurinn er lítill - the boy is small). For a feminine noun, you drop the ending to make it lítil (for example, stelpan er lítil - the girl is small).
Both barnið and lítið end in the letter ð. How is that pronounced?
The letter ð (eth) makes a soft "th" sound, exactly like the "th" in the English words "the", "breathe", or "father". It is never used at the beginning of a word.
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