Learn Icelandic: Hundurinn vegur tuttugu og tvö kíló.

Hundurinn vegur tuttugu og tvö kíló.

The dog weighs twenty-two kilos.

Breakdown of Hundurinn vegur tuttugu og tvö kíló.

Questions & Answers about Hundurinn vegur tuttugu og tvö kíló.

How is "twenty-two" formed here, and does tuttugu change its form?

In Icelandic, compound numbers in the twenties are formed using og (and), making it literally "twenty and two" (tuttugu og tvö). Unlike the numbers 1 through 4, the number 20 (tuttugu) is indeclinable, meaning it never changes its form regardless of the gender or case of the noun it counts.

Why is the number two written as tvö instead of tveir?

When building compound numbers, the last part of the number still has to agree with the noun being counted if it's a number from 1 to 4. Since kíló is a neuter noun, we must use the neuter form tvö rather than the masculine tveir or feminine tvær.

Wait, doesn't vegur mean "road"?

Yes, vegur is a very common masculine noun meaning "road" or "way". But here, it is the verb vega (to weigh) conjugated in the present tense for "he/she/it". It is just a tricky coincidence that this verb form looks exactly the same as the noun!

Why doesn't kíló have a plural ending like -ar or -ir after the number 22?