Þessi bíómynd er leiðinleg en þetta myndband er fyndið.
This movie is boring but this video is funny.
Breakdown of Þessi bíómynd er leiðinleg en þetta myndband er fyndið.
þetta
this
vera
to be
en
but
bíómyndin
the movie
Questions & Answers about Þessi bíómynd er leiðinleg en þetta myndband er fyndið.
Why do we use þessi for the movie but þetta for the video if they both mean "this"?
In Icelandic, the word for "this" changes based on the gender of the noun it points to. Because bíómynd (movie) is a feminine noun, we use þessi. Because myndband (video) is a neuter noun, we use þetta. (For masculine nouns, you also use þessi in this specific form).
Why do the adjectives end differently (leiðinleg vs. fyndið)?
Adjectives must match the gender of the noun they describe. Since bíómynd is feminine, we use the feminine form leiðinleg. myndband is neuter, so we use the neuter form fyndið (the masculine form would be fyndinn).
Both bíómynd and myndband contain the word mynd. What does it mean on its own?
mynd means "picture" or "image". Icelandic loves combining words to make new ones: bíómynd literally means "cinema picture" (movie), and myndband means "picture tape" (video). The gender of these combined words always comes from the last part of the word.
The word en means "but" here. Doesn't it also mean "than"?
Yes, it does! When you are comparing two things (like "bigger than"), en translates to "than". However, when connecting two contrasting ideas like we are in this sentence, it translates to "but".