Family is one of the most common topics in everyday conversation. In this lesson, you’ll learn the Icelandic words for close family members and how to talk about your own family.
You’ll also be introduced to basic possessive pronouns, which help you say my, your, his, and her. By the end of this lesson, you’ll be able to introduce family members and describe simple family relationships in Icelandic.
In this lesson, you will learn:
| Icelandic | English | Gender |
|---|---|---|
| mamma / móðir (more formal) | mum / mom / mother | kvk |
| pabbi / faðir (more formal) | dad / father | kk |
| bróðir | brother | kk |
| systir | sister | kvk |
| sonur | son | kk |
| dóttir | daughter | kvk |
| amma | grandmother | kvk |
| afi | grandfather | kk |
| frænka | female relative* | kvk |
| frændi | male relative* | kk |
| fjölskylda | family | kvk |
| systkin | siblings | hk |
| foreldrar | parents | kvk |
💡 Note: The Icelandic words frændi and frænka do not have exact English equivalents. They can refer to several different relatives outside your immediate family. For example, they may refer to an aunt, uncle, cousin, niece, nephew or another male or female relative, depending on the context.
For example:
Frænka mín á flott hjól.
My female relative has a nice bicycle.
At this point, you don’t know whether she’s:
And that’s perfectly fine. The sentence still communicates exactly what it needs to.
Listen to the new vocabulary here. (Coming soon…)
Possessive pronouns tell us who something belongs to.
In Icelandic, the possessive pronoun changes to match the gender of the noun, not the person who owns it.
| Gender | “My” | “Your” |
| Masculine (kk) | minn | þinn |
| Feminine (kvk) | mín | þín |
| Neuter (hk) | mitt | þitt |
The possessive pronouns hans (his) and hennar (her) do not change.
Match the family members to the correct picture.
A) Dóttir/systir
B) Afi
C) Mamma
D) Sonur/bróðir
E) Amma
F) Pabbi
With close family members, Icelandic usually uses the possessive pronoun without the definite article.
Examples:
With most other nouns, Icelandic usually uses the definite form together with the possessive pronoun.
Examples:
Complete each phrase with the correct possessive pronoun.
Use:
minn · mín · mitt
* Konan mín actually means my wife.
Fill in the missing family members.
Make complete sentences using the words below.
Example:
er / mamma / mín / íslensk
Mamma mín er íslensk.
Answer the questions in complete sentences. If you don’t want to write about your own family, you can invent one.
Fill in the missing words.
búa, hennar, hennar, hennar, heima, er, eru, heitir, heitir, á, á, á, og
Þetta ____ Sigrún. Hún á _____ í Reykjavík og er íslensk. Mamma hennar ____ María og pabbi ____ heitir Gísli. Sigrún __ tvo bræður og eina systur. Bræður _____ heita Ólafur og Eiríkur. Systir hennar ____ Helga. Sigrún ___ litla frænku. Litla frænka ____ heitir Gerður. Gerður er dóttir hans Eiríks. Sigrún ___ ekki börn. Amma ___ afi Sigrúnar ___ gömul. Þau heita Finnbogi og Guðrún. Þau ___ í sveit.
Reading PracticeRead the text and answer the questions in complete sentences.
Þetta er Sigrún. Hún á heima í Reykjavík og er íslensk. Mamma hennar heitir María og pabbi hennar heitir Gísli. Sigrún á tvo bræður og eina systur. Bræður hennar heita Ólafur og Eiríkur. Systir hennar heitir Helga. Sigrún á litla frænku sem heitir Gerður. Gerður er dóttir hans Eiríks. Sigrún á ekki börn. Amma og afi Önnu eru gömul. Þau heita Finnbogi og Guðrún. Þau búa í sveit.
🎧 Listen to the recording.
As you listen, write the names of each family member in the correct place on the family tree.
Listen to the recording as many times as you need.
Here you can see how the names are spelled, if you are unsure: Arnar, Elín, Felix, Jón, Kristín, Magnús, Ragna, Rakel, Sara, Stefán.
Listen to the conversation.
Choose the correct answer for each question.
1. Hvað heitir systir Jóns?
☐ Elín
☐ Helga
☐ Sara
2. Hvað heitir systir Sigrúnar?
☐ Elín
☐ Helga
☐ Fríða
☐ Já
☐ Nei
4. Hvað heita börn Jóns?
☐ Arnar og Elín
☐ Sara og Stefán
☐ Ólafur og Helga
5. Hvað heita foreldrar Sigrúnar?
☐ Kristín og Magnús
☐ María og Gísli
☐ Guðrún og Finnbogi
6. Hver á ekki börn?
☐ Jón
☐ Sigrún
Good job! Vel gert!
Here you can find the answers to the written practices.
1 Practice: Learn the Vocabulary
1 – B, 2 – C, 3 – F, 4 – E, 5 – D, 6 – A
2 Practice: Choose the Correct Possessive Pronoun
Family: 1 mín, 2 minn, 3 minn, 4 mín, 5 mín, 6 minn, 7 mín, 8 minn
Objects: 1 mín, 2 mitt, 3 mín, 4 mín, 5 mitt, 6 mín, 7 minn, 8 mitt
3 Practice: Complete the Family Tree
1 – e, 2 – f, 3 – b, 4 – a, 5 – h, 6 – g, 7 – j, 8 – i, 9 – d, 10 – c
4 Practice: Build Sentences
5 Practice: Write About Your Family
Submit your answer to langcorrect.com for correction and feedback.
Possible answers:
Ég heiti Sara
Mamma mín heitir Fjóla.
Pabbi minn heitir Sebastian.
Já, ég á þrjú systkini.
Já, ég á tvö börn. Þau heita Thelma og Benjamín.
6 Practice: Complete the Story
er, heima, heitir, hennar, á, hennar, heitir, á, hennar, á, og, eru, búa
7 Reading Practice
8 Listening Practice 1: Build the Family Tree
a – Ragna
b – Felix
c – Tómas
d – Rakel
e – Kristín
f – Magnús
g – Arnar
h – Elín
i – Sara
j – Stefán
9 Listening Practice 2: Listen and Choose
This course is free for everyone.
If you’re learning and loving it, you can support it here:
Takk fyrir!