Breakdown of Komdu sæl! Ert þú læknirinn?
vera
to be
þú
you
læknirinn
the doctor
komdu sæl
hello (greeting a woman)
Questions & Answers about Komdu sæl! Ert þú læknirinn?
Why does the greeting Komdu sæl specifically mean it's being said to a woman?
In Icelandic, adjectives in greetings change depending on the gender of the person you are talking to! sæl is the feminine form of a word meaning "happy" or "blessed". If you were saying hello to a man, you would add an extra 'l' and say Komdu sæll.
What does Komdu sæl literally translate to?
It literally translates to "come happy" or "come glad". Komdu is a command form of the verb "to come". Even though the literal translation sounds a bit formal in English, in Iceland it's just a very normal, everyday way to say "hello" or "welcome".
Why does the sentence use Ert þú instead of Þú ert?
To turn a statement into a question in Icelandic, you usually just swap the verb and the subject, exactly like you do in English! Þú ert is the statement "You are", so flipping it to Ert þú creates the question "Are you?".
Where is the word for "the" in læknirinn?
In Icelandic, "the" isn't a separate word like it is in English. Instead, it gets attached to the end of the noun. The base word for "doctor" is læknir, and adding the ending -inn turns it into læknirinn, meaning "the doctor".
Learn Komdu sæl! Ert þú læknirinn and more in Icelandic
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free