Breakdown of Maður trúir oft á hjátrú.
oft
often
á
onto / on / in (static location) / on (a day of the week)
trúa
to believe
maður
one (impersonal pronoun)
hjátrúin
the superstition
Questions & Answers about Maður trúir oft á hjátrú.
The translation says "You often believe", but doesn't maður mean "a man"?
It does! However, maður is also widely used as an impersonal pronoun, similar to "one" or a general "you" in English (like in the phrase "you win some, you lose some"). Using maður is the most natural way in Icelandic to make general statements about what people do.
Does maður take a specific verb form?
Yes, because maður is grammatically a third-person singular noun, it always takes the "he/she/it" form of the verb. So here we use trúir (one believes), which is the third-person singular form of the verb trúa.
Why is the preposition á used instead of í for believing "in" superstition?
Prepositions rarely translate perfectly between languages! In Icelandic, the verb trúa strongly pairs with á when you talk about believing in something's existence or power. You just have to memorize the set phrase að trúa á (to believe in).
What case is hjátrú in after the preposition á?
It is in the accusative case here. When á is used with the verb trúa, it forces the following noun into the accusative. Hjátrú is a feminine noun that doesn't change its spelling in the accusative, so it looks exactly like its dictionary form.
Is hjátrú made up of two different words?
Yes, it is a compound word! It combines hjá (beside or by) and trú (belief, faith, or religion). So a superstition in Icelandic is literally a "side-belief".
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