Icelandic for beginners: the words you'll actually use on a road trip

Magnús Jóhann Björnsson
09 Feb. 2018

Icelandic looks intimidating on paper, long compound words, letters like ð and þ, place names such as Eyjafjallajökull. But you don't need fluency to enjoy Iceland. A handful of words will help you read road signs, understand place names, and get by politely in shops, cafés, and at the rental desk.

Short answer: what do you actually need to know?

You need roughly a dozen words and phrases, not a language course. Words like foss (waterfall), jökull (glacier), and vík (bay) appear in hundreds of place names and instantly tell you what you're looking at on a map. A few polite phrases, hello, thank you, excuse me, do you speak English, cover almost every everyday interaction, since most Icelanders speak English fluently and switch to it as soon as they hear an accent.

Is Icelandic actually hard to learn?

Icelandic has a reputation for being difficult, and grammatically it is, the case system and irregular verbs take years to master properly. But for a traveller, the language is surprisingly logical rather than arbitrary. Many words are literal, descriptive compounds, which makes them easier to guess than they first appear.

A few examples that show the pattern:

• Nashyrningur (rhinoceros) literally means "nose-horned."
• Leðurblaka (bat) literally means "leather flap", blaka is the verb "to flap" or "flutter," which is exactly what a bat does.
• Farsími (mobile phone) literally means "travel phone."

Once you notice this, long Icelandic words stop looking random and start looking like small puzzles. That doesn't mean you'll be having conversations by day two of your trip, but it does mean you'll start recognising patterns on signs and maps faster than you'd expect.

Which words help you read Icelandic road signs and maps?

A short list of geographic terms lets you decode most place names in Iceland without needing a translation app. These words repeat constantly across the country's roads, rivers, and coastline, so learning them is one of the more useful pieces of basic Icelandic for a self-drive trip.

A couple of exceptions are worth knowing so you're not caught out: Dynjandi is a waterfall without "foss" in its name, and Ok is a (former) glacier without "jökull" in its name. Iceland's naming logic is consistent, but not perfectly so.

Understanding these terms is also handy for trip planning. If a sign or map mentions a jökull, you're near glacier country, which often means gravel or seasonal roads, worth knowing before you commit to a route. If you're weighing up whether your itinerary needs an F-road-capable vehicle, the Iceland highlands F-roads guide and the 4x4 vs 2WD comparison go into which routes actually require it.

Basic greetings and phrases for everyday situations

You only need a small set of phrases to be polite and understood almost anywhere in Iceland. Icelanders generally respond warmly to visitors attempting even a word or two, and will switch to English the moment they sense you're more comfortable there.

A quiet relief for most visitors: Icelandic doesn't really have a direct word for "please" the way English does. Politeness is expressed through tone and phrasing rather than a specific word, so you won't sound rude by leaving it out. Gerðu svo vel is used more like "here you go" or "do so well" when handing something over, not as a general "please."

Do Icelanders speak English?

Yes, English is widely spoken across Iceland, especially in Reykjavik, at petrol stations, hotels, and anywhere tourism-related, including car rental desks. Basic Icelandic phrases are a nice gesture and genuinely useful for reading signs and place names, but they're not a requirement for getting around comfortably.

This is also true when you pick up your rental car. If you'd like to try a few words with the staff, most people at the counter are happy to hear it, Icelandic isn't often practised by visitors, so it tends to get a friendly response rather than confusion. If you've completed online check-in before arriving at Keflavik, the pickup itself is quick regardless of which language you use.

Mistakes to avoid when using basic Icelandic

A few small missteps come up often enough to be worth flagging:

• Assuming every long word is a place name to fear. Compound words look long because Icelandic builds words by joining smaller ones together, not because they're especially complex to pronounce once broken down.
• Overusing "please." As noted above, there's no direct equivalent, so translating it literally can sound stilted. Simple, direct requests are normal and not considered impolite.
• Mispronouncing ð and þ as a hard "d" or "th" sound interchangeably. They're different sounds, but Icelanders will understand you either way, so don't let this hold you back from trying.
• Relying on place names alone for road conditions. Knowing that jökull means glacier or á means river is useful context, but it doesn't tell you whether a route is currently passable. For that, check umferdin.is (Vegagerðin) and safetravel.is before driving, particularly in winter, see the winter driving guide for how conditions shift by season.

A few words go a long way

None of this requires study, memorising the phrases above is enough to navigate signs, greet people, and ask for help if you need it. For more on planning the practical side of a self-drive trip, from route-and-vehicle basics to parking in Reykjavik and choosing the right car for your itinerary, the rest of the practical info section covers the logistics once the language part feels less daunting.

Sjáumst á Íslandi, see you in Iceland.