If you're trying to learn the Icelandic Alphabet you will find some useful resources including a course about pronunciation, and sound of all letters... to help you with your Icelandic grammar. Try to concentrate on the lesson and memorize the sounds. Also don't forget to check the rest of our other lessons listed on Learn Icelandic. Enjoy the rest of the lesson!
Learning the Icelandic alphabet is very important because its structure is used in every day conversation. Without it, you will not be able to say words properly even if you know how to write those words. The better you pronounce a letter in a word, the more understood you will be in speaking the Icelandic language.
Below is a table showing the Icelandic alphabet and how it is pronounced in English, and finally examples of how those letters would sound if you place them in a word.
| Icelandic Alphabet | English Sound | Pronunciation Example |
|---|---|---|
| A a | [a] | as in cat |
| Á á | [au̯] | 'ow' as in cow |
| B b | [pjɛ] | as in Panama |
| D d | [tjɛ] | as in Tim |
| Ð ð | [ɛð̠] | as in this |
| E e | [ɛ] | as in end |
| É é | [jɛ] | as in yeah |
| F f | [ɛfː] | as in Finland |
| G g | [cɛ] | as in Germany, gold |
| H h | [hau̯] | as in house |
| I i | [ɪ] | as in win |
| Í í | [i] | 'e' as in west |
| J j | [jɔð̠] | as in year |
| K k | [kʰau̯] | as in Canada |
| L l | [ɛtl̥] | as in life |
| M m | [ɛmː] | as in moon |
| N n | [ɛnː] | as in nice |
| O o | [ɔ] | 'our' as in four |
| Ó ó | [ou̯] | as in oh |
| P p | [pʰjɛ] | as in Pakistan |
| R r | [ɛr] | as in Roma |
| S s | [ɛs] | as in small |
| T t | [tʰjɛ] | as in Tamara |
| U u | [ʏ] | as in ultimate |
| Ú ú | [u] | 'ou' as in you |
| V v | [vafː] | as in village |
| X x | [ɛxs] | khs as in bach's collection |
| Y y | [ʏfsɪlɔn ɪ] | as in ink |
| Ý ý | [ʏfsɪlɔn i] | as in we |
| Z z | [sɛːta] | as in smile |
| Þ þ | [θ̠ɔrn̥] | th as in thing |
| Æ æ | [ai̯] | 'eye' as in icecream |
| Ö ö | [œ] | 'e' as in end |
You saw how a letter is written and might be pronounced, but there is nothing better than hearing the sound of the letters in a video or audio. Below you will be able to hear how the letters above are pronounced, just press the play button:
| Icelandic Pronunciation |
|---|
The alphabet and its pronunciation have a very important role in Icelandic. Once you're done with Icelandic alphabet, you might want to check the rest of our Icelandic lessons here: Learn Icelandic. Don't forget to bookmark this page.
Menu: | |||
The links above are only a small sample of our lessons, please open the left side menu to see all links.