Level A1

Lesson 2 – Basic Greetings and Words

Learn how to greet others in Icelandic, introduce yourself briefly, and respond with yes/no. Practice pronunciation and get used to simple Icelandic sentence rhythm.

New Vocabulary

Hæ – Hi

Halló – Hello

Góðan dag – Good morning (lit. good day)

Gott kvöld – Good evening

Takk – Thanks

Já – Yes

Nei – No

Og – and

Bæ – Bye

Bless – Bye

Hvað segirðu? – How are you? (lit. what do you say?)

Allt fínt – Everything’s fine

Hvað heitir þú? – What’s your name? 

Ég heiti… – My name is…

Gaman að kynnast þér – Nice to meet you

Sömuleiðis – Likewise

Hear how the words are pronounced here!

Listen to each new word spoken by a native speaker. Repeat aloud several times.

Audio Practice

Listen to the audio and write what you hear.

1) _____________  2) _____________  3) _____________  4) _____________

5) _____________  6) _____________  7) _____________  8) _____________ 

9) _____________  10) _____________  11) _____________  12) _____________

13) _____________  14) _____________  15) _____________  16) _____________

🎧 You can find the Audio Practice here! 🎧

Writing Practice

Let’s practice writing Icelandic.

1. Vocabulary Table

Fill in the blanks.

IcelandicEnglish
 
 Hello
Góðan dag 
 Good evening
Takk 
 Yes
Nei 
 Bye
Bless 
 How are you?
Allt fínt 
 What’s your name?
Ég heiti… 
 And you?
Gaman að kynnast þér 
 Likewise
2. Dialogue Completion

Complete the dialogue in these simple conversations with missing words.

A: Góðan dag! Hvað ______ þú?

B: Hæ, ég heiti _______. En _____?

A: ________ heiti Anna. Gaman að __________ þér.

B: Já, ______________!

A: Bless.

B: __________!

D: Hæ Einar, ______________ segirðu?

E: Halló Dagmar, ________ fínt. En þú?

D: Allt ______. Takk.

3. Matching Exercise

Match the correct words in Icelandic to the English ones.

1 Góðan dag

2 Ég heiti

3 Nei

4 Sömuleiðis

5 Halló

6 Allt fínt

7 Takk

8 Gaman að kynnast þér

a Thanks

b No

c Nice to meet you

d Good morning

e My name is

f I’m fine

g Hello

h Likewise

4. Writing Task

Write a dialogue in Icelandic with the words you have learnt.

Speaking Practice

Practice with this simple dialogue. Try reading it aloud with a friend or to yourself.

   A: Hæ! Hvað heitir þú?
   B: Hæ, ég heiti [Anna]. En þú?
   A: Ég heiti [Jón]. 
   B: Gaman að kynnast þér!
   A: Sömuleiðis!
   B: Hvernig segirðu?
   A: Allt fínt, takk. En þú?
   B: Allt fínt. Bless.
   A: Bæ.

Grammar tips

Icelandic yes/no questions often start with a verb:


Heitir þú Jón? = “Are you called Jón?”

Culture Note: Greetings in Iceland

Icelanders don’t usually say “How are you?” as a formality like in English — if they ask, they really want to know.


Góðan dag” is very common during the day, even between strangers. This is the standard greeting in shops and in the workplace first thing in the morning.

Good job! Vel gert!

Here you can find the answers to the written practices.

Answers

1 Audio Practice

1 – bæ, 2 – takk, 3 – hæ, 4 – nei, 5 – gott kvöld, 6 – bless, 7 – ég heiti, 8 – hvað segirðu?, 9 – sömuleiðis, 10 – góðan dag, 11 – og, 12 – gaman að kynnast þér, 13 – allt fínt, 14 – já, 15 – Hvað heitir þú?, 16 – halló

2 Vocabulary Table

Hæ – hi, hello – halló, góðan dag – good morning (good day), takk – thanks, yes – já, nei – no, bye – bæ, bless – bye, how are you? – hvað segirðu?, what’s your name? – hvað heitir þú?,  ég heiti – my name is / I am called, and you? – en þú?, gaman að kynnast þér – nice to meet you, likewise – sömuleiðis

3 Dialogue Completion

heitir, (any name), þú, Ég, kynnast, sömuleiðis, bless/bæ
hvað, allt, fínt

4 Matching Exercise

1 – d | 2 – e | 3 – b | 4 – h | 5 – g | 6 – f | 7 – a | 8 – c

5 Writing Task

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