Learn Icelandic: Easy Words & Basic Phrases (From a Local!) 🇮🇸

DON'T MISS our foodie tour, Reykjavik Food Walk:
wakeupreykjavik.com/tour/the-...
To view are selection of awesome tours in Iceland:
wakeupreykjavik.com/tours
00:00 Intro
00:38 Best Tours & Activities in Reykjavik
01:38 Basic Greetings, Thank You & Cheers!
03:55 Yes & No
04:32 How Are You Doing?
05:11 Icelandic: Swear Words Edition
06:24 Tips & Trick with Icelandic Letters
08:15 Friendly Word "Champion"
08:56 Volcano Names?!?
10:50 Outro
I hope this video comes in handy! 🇮🇸❤️

Пікірлер: 116

  • @TNTnor
    @TNTnor4 ай бұрын

    I died laughing of the remembering rule for Good day in icelandic. "Go on dying"?????!!!! Hilarious!!

  • @greppurtorfason4216
    @greppurtorfason4216 Жыл бұрын

    Another great Icelandic swear line I taught all my friends in Montréal: "Þú ert drullusokkur" (Yo're a dirty sock!). It was funny well into happy hour, listening to them call each other dirty socks 😆

  • @WakeUpReykjavik.

    @WakeUpReykjavik.

    Жыл бұрын

    Haha that is a great one! 😅

  • @FrozenMermaid666

    @FrozenMermaid666

    9 ай бұрын

    The big superiority term Meistari only reflects me and cannot be misused by ppl and the words friend / friends only reflect my pure protectors aka the alphas, but the others are spot on! But the word einn should be used before the word drullusokkur because logically it makes no sense not using the word that means a / one, so the words einn / ein / eitt should always be used as indefinite articles in both Icelandic / Old Norse / Faroese like in Norwegian / Swedish / Danish and Dutch / German etc! So, one should say, þú ert einn drullusokkur!

  • @rafalkaminski6389

    @rafalkaminski6389

    7 ай бұрын

    Your sock is more dirty than mine! 😅

  • @skaulsaa

    @skaulsaa

    6 ай бұрын

    hálvítí is a classic, i think it meant dimwhitted or half-brained but my memory is foggy

  • @maryfaqih9403
    @maryfaqih94036 ай бұрын

    Persian here. Probably will never have the chance to visit iceland. But i'm learning iclandic PURELY due to my obsession with icelandic music and history!😌🙌🏻

  • @Zzzkimiya

    @Zzzkimiya

    3 ай бұрын

    Samurais' language is very difficult (🇯🇵⛩) so we learn the Vikings' language 🇮🇸😂

  • @yahyaakkusak7638

    @yahyaakkusak7638

    3 ай бұрын

    @@ZzzkimiyaI am from turkiye and i think japanese is very easy if we omit hiragana, katagana and kanji. :D

  • @rockymorgs8705
    @rockymorgs87054 күн бұрын

    Thank you for this video, I sell New Nordic patisserie and have a regular Icelandic customer, looking forward to greeting him in Icelandic at my next local market :)

  • @kaunas88
    @kaunas8810 ай бұрын

    Some of these Islandic letters also existed in old English.

  • @seiph80
    @seiph804 ай бұрын

    Every chance I had to thank someone, I always did it in Icelandic, and sure enough, I got many smiles and responses back. And on the plane, I read a phrase book on how to ask for a drink to the flight attendant, and she was so surprised and overjoyed that a passenger at least made an attempt to speak her language. Just got back from Iceland four days ago, and it definitely was an experience of a lifetime.

  • @FulmineNero
    @FulmineNero14 күн бұрын

    I am very happy and above all fortunate to come to Iceland, thanks to my company that allows every employee to go to a new country for three days every year.

  • @lexieslarksandcrafts
    @lexieslarksandcrafts10 ай бұрын

    I am visiting Iceland for the first time in November so this is very useful. Also if all the men are as handsome as you I might want to stay forever 😁

  • @algobo
    @algobo10 ай бұрын

    Ahaha! I love how the second volcano has an even more difficult name! Brilliant! 😂

  • @QoheletMentorship
    @QoheletMentorshipАй бұрын

    A few things I’ve observed as a native English speaker who is also familiar with a handful of other languages. You explained it, but yeah, I hear the Þ and Ð being pronounced like TH in English and the Æ sounding like “ai.” Like the other Uralic languages, your J’s are pronounced like Y’s in English, as are your soft G’s, usually occurring when succeeded by an E or I. The double L’s are most peculiar, and sound exactly like the last two letters of the word “macuahuitl,” an Aztec wooden weapon affixed with obsidian blades. Most English-speakers would probably pronounce it like, “mă-qua-heetle,” with the emphasis on the first syllable, but I remember learning somewhere that it’s actually pronounced more like, “mah-qua-wheat,” with the stress on the second syllable. The T-L sound is made by basically pushing air on either side on your tongue while making a flat shape with it and gently touching the roof of your mouth, making a gentle click of the tongue, followed by a sort of soft hiss. It’s hard to explain, but you can look up the word’s proper pronunciation. In Icelandic, double L’s seem to be pronounced the exact same way!

  • @Hava_Hadi
    @Hava_Hadi7 ай бұрын

    The stormtroopers helmet won me over. I need a refresher. Skal!

  • @hazyisdead
    @hazyisdead2 ай бұрын

    Takk takk!!

  • @jasonlove8733
    @jasonlove87339 ай бұрын

    LL in Icelandic is pronounced like the tl in the English word battle but faster. TL TL TL

  • @walterallen4069

    @walterallen4069

    2 ай бұрын

    Whenever I come across the Icelandic LL, I remember to say it like Sid the Sloth in the movie "Ice Age." It was a long difficult road trying to get it right until that mental image clicked. Now it's easy and fun. Jæja! Thanks, John Leguizamo!

  • @daphnefournier2392
    @daphnefournier23927 ай бұрын

    Well, that's mighty ironic, I'm going to Iceland very soon and my first day starts with Wake Up Reykjavik food tour.

  • @gigiscrafts1259
    @gigiscrafts12599 ай бұрын

    Lol “Go on dying” 🤣

  • @skaulsaa
    @skaulsaa6 ай бұрын

    having been born in iceland and having grown up there, i used to be fluent in icelandic, at the young age of 9 i moved to estonia and have since forgotten icelandic after 10 years not having spoken a single word of icelandic. its cool to me that i still have some proper pronounciation in me and i know a few words

  • @nataliegolemienko

    @nataliegolemienko

    Ай бұрын

    So icelandic wasn't your native language if you forgot it right?

  • @ajs11201
    @ajs11201 Жыл бұрын

    Thanks for this great lesson. Especially given the words you chose to teach us, it's a clear reminder that the Icelandic language has Germanic roots as does English. And of course when toasting a drink, the Skoal is ubiquitous Scandanavian--part of your Danish ancestry no doubt.

  • @jasonlove8733
    @jasonlove87339 ай бұрын

    Sæll og takk fyrir🎉

  • @alenalinevich6244
    @alenalinevich6244 Жыл бұрын

    Thank you for your video! I'm visiting Reyjkavik (it is my first time, I cannot wait!) at the end of April. I'm sure your survival courses help me to learn some Icelandic;)

  • @WakeUpReykjavik.

    @WakeUpReykjavik.

    Жыл бұрын

    Hey Alena! Awesome. I'm sure you'll love it! Glad these videos are coming in handy 🇮🇸

  • @brandonkohl6970
    @brandonkohl6970 Жыл бұрын

    preciate the vid brodie

  • @RaptorValen
    @RaptorValen8 ай бұрын

    Thank you!

  • @vikibobula8930
    @vikibobula893010 ай бұрын

    Great Clip, and fun to watch and learn!

  • @akwasiboateng
    @akwasiboateng4 ай бұрын

    Awesome 👏

  • @dianenichols5190
    @dianenichols51904 ай бұрын

    This is so awesome. Thank you.

  • @Colin3360
    @Colin3360 Жыл бұрын

    Thanks , that was fun and taught me a few words see you on Thursday

  • @eriks265
    @eriks265 Жыл бұрын

    Takk fyrir.❤

  • @rebeccamaher2932
    @rebeccamaher29323 ай бұрын

    Takk takk meistari 😁

  • @sigridvanosch1990
    @sigridvanosch199010 ай бұрын

    Soo, rassgatid is basically asshole. Good one to know. I have been exposed to Icelandic for a bit since I was little. We had Icelandic horses and when a foal was born the fun began. I would pick a name for the little one with the Icelandic horse name book. It was a book full of pronunciation and meanings to the names. It was always fun for me and my family to find the best name. One of my favorites was ''Flugar'' and ''Tyr''. Badass names for 2 badass horses, born and raised in the Netherlands but with a whole lot of amazing history behind their names.

  • @Jjk1a3Tb
    @Jjk1a3Tb11 ай бұрын

    Takk for the video. I love it. I'm traveling to Iceland this July and am super excited. Love the stormtrooper helmet in the background. My only question is how do you say, "May the force be with you" in Icelandic?

  • @WakeUpReykjavik.

    @WakeUpReykjavik.

    10 ай бұрын

    Hey there! So glad you enjoyed the video and how exciting to hear that you will be here in Iceland soon 🥳 May the force be with you = Megi mátturinn vera með þér ⚡️ You would pronounce it like: me-ghi mow-tur-inn ve-ra med ther Hope that helps!

  • @user-mrfrog
    @user-mrfrog Жыл бұрын

    Gott kvöld frá Québec-fylki! Þetta myndband var æðislegt. Takk fyrir.

  • @WakeUpReykjavik.

    @WakeUpReykjavik.

    Жыл бұрын

    Gott kvöld meistari! Frábært, Takk fyrir!

  • @youwillbeloved8069
    @youwillbeloved80693 ай бұрын

    Go on dying😂 thats brilliant, what a greeting

  • @stevenschilizzi4104
    @stevenschilizzi41044 ай бұрын

    Takk fyrir meistari!!

  • @sarahdouglas9119
    @sarahdouglas91197 ай бұрын

    Good teacher

  • @ramfontanilla5480
    @ramfontanilla5480 Жыл бұрын

    see you next year. will be studying in haskoli islands. takk

  • @jasonlove8733
    @jasonlove87339 ай бұрын

    Eth and thorn are very similar but not the same. Like the subtle difference between the “th” in the word “the” and the “th” in the word threw. Eth is a soft th sound and thorn is a hard th sound👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻😎😎😎Takk meistari😊😊😊😊

  • @Black_Dawn

    @Black_Dawn

    6 ай бұрын

    Other way around. Þ is "th" in "threw", and Ð is "th" in "the".

  • @martinkullberg6718
    @martinkullberg671820 күн бұрын

    I'm gonna visit Iceland with my mom and dad, the food tour sounds like fun! Further what does 'draumar getta raest' mean? It's from a song.

  • @ninnghizhidda93
    @ninnghizhidda93Ай бұрын

    This lenguaje is gorgeous!! It reminds me a little to feroes. Gonna learn both I think.

  • @RCon25
    @RCon253 ай бұрын

    I just got more interested in learning Icelandic after watching The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and you even mentioned the volcano's name that he long-boarded to in the movie. Awesome little surprise mention!

  • @saintgaby8133
    @saintgaby8133 Жыл бұрын

    very helpful! takk takk!

  • @WakeUpReykjavik.

    @WakeUpReykjavik.

    Жыл бұрын

    Takk takk meistari ❤️🇮🇸

  • @BlazeLeeDragon
    @BlazeLeeDragon3 ай бұрын

    This is a really solid video, I'm gonna drop a follow. I always felt like þú sounds like you. and even though "en" basically means but I like to think of it sounding similar to and "en þú?" "and you?". Not sure if that is exactly a trick though...just where my mind goes :D

  • @akjoseblessed7108
    @akjoseblessed71087 ай бұрын

    Thank you sir,am called Jessica and am here to learn Iceland language

  • @lowkeyliesmith3795

    @lowkeyliesmith3795

    6 ай бұрын

    As a a Scot I can totally relate to the swears 😂

  • @MariaAlice-kr2uf
    @MariaAlice-kr2uf6 ай бұрын

    Super cool this channel!! Thanks teacher!! You're so calm to explain the lesson. You make Icelandic easy 😊 . I've just found it. I love studying languages. Greetings from Brazil!

  • @WakeUpReykjavik.

    @WakeUpReykjavik.

    6 ай бұрын

    Thank you! 😃

  • @marisaflores-march7112
    @marisaflores-march7112 Жыл бұрын

    Tak tak!

  • @WakeUpReykjavik.

    @WakeUpReykjavik.

    Жыл бұрын

    Takk takk Marisa, you truly are a ... meistari ❤️🇮🇸

  • @SS-bg5hj
    @SS-bg5hjАй бұрын

    This is really helpful thank you!

  • @WakeUpReykjavik.

    @WakeUpReykjavik.

    Ай бұрын

    Glad it was helpful! 🧡

  • @headshotheadshot8526
    @headshotheadshot85265 ай бұрын

    Going to move to Iceland next year. Language is beautiful. I know a couple of words but want to speak fluently in the future.

  • @rickthibodeau9172
    @rickthibodeau9172 Жыл бұрын

    Great video! Thank you. We are visiting Reykjavik in June. Looking forward to it. Takk Takk

  • @anelisamorgan8590

    @anelisamorgan8590

    6 ай бұрын

    How was your visit?

  • @rickthibodeau9172

    @rickthibodeau9172

    6 ай бұрын

    @@anelisamorgan8590 our flight in was delayed by a couple of days, so we missed out on doing much in Reykjavik. We landed at 1:00 am the day the ship was supposed to sail. When the bus from the airport arrived in Reykjavik at 2am, we walked around the city a checked out a few sights before taking a nap in the hotel. Our first stop on the cruise was Akureyi. We loved the quaint town. The ship stayed there overnight, so we visited the Forest Lagoon hot spring spa there. We loved it! I highly recommend checking it out.

  • @baseer_vlogs
    @baseer_vlogsАй бұрын

    Pakistani and i am learning because i love iceland so much

  • @fredfullerton7662
    @fredfullerton76624 ай бұрын

    Love the tongue twisters, but reading and understanding is easier considering English and Germanic cognates.

  • @williamlingenfelter4989
    @williamlingenfelter49897 ай бұрын

    Great video! Thank you for adding the sounds of the non-English letters. Also, I like to try to be as exact as possible in my pronounciation, but the background music is distracting and makes it hard to hear the words well. Takk maesteri!

  • @jonkirk2118
    @jonkirk211810 ай бұрын

    Takk fyrir! In Britain we also say "ta" for thanks. Maybe it's related to takk.

  • @WakeUpReykjavik.

    @WakeUpReykjavik.

    10 ай бұрын

    Interesting! It very well could be :)

  • @brandonatoms
    @brandonatomsКүн бұрын

    I feel like you're setting me up with "Meistari" lol, but I am going to try to use it.

  • @WakeUpReykjavik.

    @WakeUpReykjavik.

    Күн бұрын

    Hahaha! I promise you that I am not 😅

  • @beserkman5809
    @beserkman58093 ай бұрын

    bro what is the background music its getting my hyped?

  • @carl0telli
    @carl0telli Жыл бұрын

    "go on dying"😂

  • @tasfyramusic3339
    @tasfyramusic33394 ай бұрын

    Takk meistari

  • @lardhead4935
    @lardhead49358 ай бұрын

    This guy is great! I’d watch him explain how to change a battery!😅 (it’d be informative AND funny!). Spectacular tips on how to remember words, phrases. We’re headed there in late May. Can’t wait for the next lesson.

  • @WakeUpReykjavik.

    @WakeUpReykjavik.

    7 ай бұрын

    hahah thank you my friend. I appreciate it! Best regards, Dan :)

  • @lardhead4935

    @lardhead4935

    6 ай бұрын

    Dan Am watching volcanic activity in SSE Iceland. Wishing the very best for all those people and animals in and around Grindavík. Dan, hope all goes well for you and your fellow Icelanders. We are arriving in late May. If things do go well there, we will meet you for a round of beer, wherever you are! Please stay safe.❤️. And we’ll buy!👍

  • @calummunn
    @calummunn8 ай бұрын

    Are you able to translate English to icelandic for an important tattoo to my heart? Any help would be amazing. Love from scotland

  • @polyglotwave
    @polyglotwave2 ай бұрын

    If you say 'crusader' quick enough with emphasis on the second syllable it sounds a bit like hvað segirðu

  • @WakeUpReykjavik.

    @WakeUpReykjavik.

    2 ай бұрын

    aah nice! That's a good one!

  • @a.90.a.todas.partes
    @a.90.a.todas.partes2 ай бұрын

    How long do you think it takes to learn the language? I am from Argentina, and Spanish is one of the languages with the most tenses and conjugations. My plan is to migrate to Iceland to work and thrive.

  • @UnivPA
    @UnivPA5 күн бұрын

    People that want to move to iceland here ⬇️

  • @3gge
    @3gge4 ай бұрын

    For me as a german some phrases are easy. Sounds like german. Dor example, we say Guten Tag. But that double L still confuse me. Is there any rule about it or is it always thath Chi/Ki Sound?

  • @timc5499
    @timc549910 ай бұрын

    Loved the lesson! Quick question...Can "meistari" be used when addressing females too, or just males? Takk Takk!

  • @WakeUpReykjavik.

    @WakeUpReykjavik.

    10 ай бұрын

    Yes, absolutely! Everyone can be a meistari 😎

  • @undertaken101

    @undertaken101

    10 ай бұрын

    ​​​​​@@WakeUpReykjavik.Funny enough we have a similar word in Romanian (meştere which sounds like meshtere, very close pronounciation to meistari) and it basically means the same (respectful and cheeky) thing but we address it to males only. Thanks for your useful tips, I just came back from beautiful Iceland determined to learn more of your musical language. I absolutely loved the nature and the people of course, just like everyone else, I presume:)

  • @nicholasdoyle7342
    @nicholasdoyle734210 ай бұрын

    As an American, if I were interested in learning the language correctly before studying abroad at UI, what would you recommend? (because I don’t have a lot of confidence in any translation apps when it comes to Icelandic 😅) Kær kveðja

  • @Darknie666

    @Darknie666

    5 ай бұрын

    As a native spanish i would say make á try but it will be hard for you. Icelandic has male, female and neutral nouns, which spanish does but english doesnt. Also english is soft, you need to roll your tong with strong rrrr and the doble ll is atl, but can sound like akl, very harsh. Verbs can also be confusing, as they have 3 person singular and plural, another thing spanish does and english does not. But in my class we are 20 stúdents living in reykjavik from all over the world, from 4 continents, and 2 americans are trying and doing it fine so.... what to loose?

  • @Rymomen
    @Rymomen4 ай бұрын

    Is English popular among native Icelanders? I would like to emigrate to Iceland to work and learn at least Icelandic to be able to have simple conversations. However, it is not as easy as I thought, even though I know German, English and a little Spanish.

  • @absgg7837
    @absgg7837 Жыл бұрын

    Do you have any winter promo codes? hehe

  • @WakeUpReykjavik.

    @WakeUpReykjavik.

    Жыл бұрын

    Heeeey! Yes the ‘december’ promo code is still active and will give a discount on all our tours ❤️🇮🇸

  • @Darknie666
    @Darknie6666 ай бұрын

    Hi! I've been living in iceland for 13 days now, (I'm from Spain) This country is amazing!!!! I've already have an appartment and a job. But one thing I must say, be ready with savings, 1st month you'll spend a ton of money. I have to say I love the energy that this island brings, and be carefull with the earthquaques!!. One thing to point out is that... Your Icelandic its pretty bad, and my icelandic is really bad. I know you're trying to teach the locals but... Native icelandics wont understand you. Godain and Takk Fyrir are the go to, but you have to practice them a lot. No once says Skal here.

  • @delnitap
    @delnitap5 ай бұрын

    Is it weird I was watching a movie that was in Icelandic and without subtitles I understand some of the words 😅

  • @relacionomia
    @relacionomia7 ай бұрын

    How to make a clickbait for swear words and make the swear so complicated that noone will speak and still be friendly: mastered

  • @womandela7225
    @womandela72256 ай бұрын

    I'll just say it in English! It's hilarious!

  • @appleyeoman
    @appleyeoman7 ай бұрын

    Ekkert mál fyrir Jón Pál.

  • @luzpintero1088
    @luzpintero108826 күн бұрын

    5:57. "Jump up your a**hole" is a COMPLIMENT on Rainbow Street, Reykjavik

  • @TheGrmany69
    @TheGrmany696 ай бұрын

    I'm freaking out, the prosody is like Venezuelan/Canarian Spanish or Galician/Catalonian... more conservative forms of Spanish, much more true to the original thing Cervantes spoke.

  • @vyrnius
    @vyrnius Жыл бұрын

    why does it sound like "thingvetlir"? there is no "t" at all T_T

  • @kaedromarks4834

    @kaedromarks4834

    Жыл бұрын

    It´s because the letter "Þ" makes the sound of "the" as in english. He explained that at the minute 6:24 in the video.

  • @BrokenNoseola
    @BrokenNoseola Жыл бұрын

    Are you a native speaker?

  • @WakeUpReykjavik.

    @WakeUpReykjavik.

    Жыл бұрын

    Born & raised in Iceland yes 🇮🇸

  • @BrokenNoseola

    @BrokenNoseola

    Жыл бұрын

    @@WakeUpReykjavik. I am shocked that your english accent is very much American.

  • @Marshmallow_theog

    @Marshmallow_theog

    10 ай бұрын

    My family and I just returned from vacationing in Iceland, and I was blown away by how much they sounded like Americans and Canadians when speaking English.

  • @iiTzLurks
    @iiTzLurksАй бұрын

    Probably won't use it yeah because I can't pronounce it at all right lol

  • @katesommerville7217
    @katesommerville7217 Жыл бұрын

    I think f… off translates in any language 😂 said to one’s self of course 😊

  • @seren48725
    @seren4872510 ай бұрын

    Not easy to find a penpal for icelandic.

  • @aspiebear
    @aspiebear3 ай бұрын

    What sortof person only wants to learn swear words in a langugae? Okay, learning them as well as regular words is fine , but only??!!!

  • @Orrei
    @Orrei19 күн бұрын

    videos begins at 2:13 ngl I HATE INTROS why not just begin instantly with the subject you made me 2 minutes wait mdrrrr. Just begin pal, I am only interested in the language don't need to listen all your stories

  • @relacionomia
    @relacionomia7 ай бұрын

    Yet, I only learn by associations. Don't ever use mnemonics and find it even harder to learn. Even for acronyms. But yeah, it's just me. One less subscriber, though

  • @MTB_Rider_96
    @MTB_Rider_964 ай бұрын

    The main problem with Icelandic, and many other languages, is that when you see it in writing, it IS NOT PROPERLY TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH!!! WTF Over? Why is it so damn difficult to translate the written words properly? Even a very simple word like Takk, the word for Thank in English, EVERYONE pronounces it Toc, or possibly Tock. But they spell it Takk. WTF? And it gets worse from there. Spell the damn words Phonetically. Yes, I know the English language is F-ed up also, so what? We're discussing translating INTO English.

  • @MannyBrum

    @MannyBrum

    4 ай бұрын

    Have you ever heard of IPA? When you say pronounce it phonetically, takk is phonetically. Modern English has wildly different phonemes from most of the world because it really is two languages mixed together (English and French). The phonetics for takk is literally /tak/. You want people in Iceland to spell their words so they make the sounds that English does? If they spelled it toc, it would be pronounced like English "toke". Old English, which is what was spoken before the Normans invaded and brought French to England uses the same phonemes as Icelandic for the most part. If you showed these Icelandic words to someone in 800s England they would pronounce them much the same as they are pronounced here, and they probably would understand a lot of them. For instance góðan daginn would be godne dæg in Old English. Plus, Old Norse, which was spoken in the same time period as Old English is extremely close to Icelandic. Takk is cognate with Old English þanc (thank) which is pronounced /θɑnk/ or as you would probably say it "thonk".

  • @walterallen4069

    @walterallen4069

    2 ай бұрын

    @MTB_Rider_96: Who is this person who writes with such righteous indignation? It's spelled takk in Icelandic. Because takk is an Icelandic word. Spelled with letters from the Icelandic alphabet. The ears of native English speakers hear "tock" when the Icelandic word takk is spoken. From the Icelandic language. And thanks is spelled correctly. In English letters. The Icelandic word takk translates closest to the English word thanks. Watch the video again. The man who is a native Icelandic speaker said it means thanks. Therefore, it is properly translated into English.

  • @leventevarga
    @leventevarga7 ай бұрын

    Funniest tutorial ever..is it typical Icelandic humour or is it you only? 😂😂