The 50 Most Common Icelandic Verbs Every Beginner Needs To Know
Author
Learning verbs is the most important step in mastering Icelandic.
Every single sentence needs a verb to make sense.
Focusing on the most common verbs gives you a massive shortcut to basic conversation.
If you want a structured way to practice these words, Talk In Icelandic is the absolute best platform available for beginners.
Table of contents:
How Icelandic verbs work
Icelandic verbs in their dictionary form always use the word að before them. This is called the infinitive form.
It translates directly to the word “to” in English.
Almost all Icelandic verbs end in the letter -a or -á in their infinitive form.
When you use these verbs in a sentence, they change their endings depending on who is doing the action. This process is known as verb conjugation.
You’ll notice slight pronunciation differences between the North and South of Iceland for certain verbs.
For example, northerners might pronounce the consonants in words like að kaupa (to buy) slightly harder than southerners.
However, the vocabulary and spelling remain exactly the same across the entire country.
The top 10 essential Icelandic verbs
These are the absolute most important verbs you’ll use every single day in Iceland.
You should memorize these ten words before moving on to anything else.
| Icelandic Verb | English Meaning |
|---|---|
| að vera | to be |
| að hafa | to have |
| að gera | to do / to make |
| að fara | to go |
| að koma | to come |
| að segja | to say |
| að sjá | to see |
| að vilja | to want |
| að geta | to be able to / can |
| að vita | to know (a fact) |
Examples of common verbs in action
Seeing these verbs in context will help you understand how they function. Here are a few basic examples of the top verbs used in simple sentences.
Ég er frá Íslandi.
Ég vil kaffi.
Hvað ert þú að gera?
Ég þarf að fara.
40 more common Icelandic verbs
Once you master the top ten, you can expand your vocabulary with these highly common verbs.
These words cover the vast majority of everyday actions you’ll need to describe.
| Icelandic Verb | English Meaning |
|---|---|
| að eiga | to own / to have to |
| að þurfa | to need |
| að hugsa | to think |
| að tala | to speak / to talk |
| að taka | to take |
| að fá | to get / to receive |
| að gefa | to give |
| að borða | to eat |
| að drekka | to drink |
| að læra | to learn / to study |
| að vinna | to work / to win |
| að sofa | to sleep |
| að finna | to find / to feel |
| að halda | to hold / to believe |
| að spyrja | to ask |
| að svara | to answer |
| að kaupa | to buy |
| að borga | to pay |
| að lesa | to read |
| að skrifa | to write |
| að hlusta | to listen |
| að horfa | to watch / to look |
| að skilja | to understand |
| að muna | to remember |
| að gleyma | to forget |
| að þekkja | to know (a person) |
| að búa | to live / to reside |
| að elska | to love |
| að líka | to like |
| að nota | to use |
| að byrja | to begin / to start |
| að hætta | to stop / to quit |
| að reyna | to try |
| að kalla | to call |
| að standa | to stand |
| að sitja | to sit |
| að bíða | to wait |
| að spila | to play (a game/instrument) |
| að leika | to play (like a child) |
| að trúa | to believe |
The best way to practice Icelandic verbs
Memorizing lists of verbs will only get you so far. You need to actively use them to make them stick in your memory.
The absolute best resource to practice speaking and listening to these verbs is Talk In Icelandic.
Our platform guides you through the exact vocabulary you need without wasting time on useless words.
We prioritize practical, everyday language that native speakers actually use in real life.
Consistency is the only way to achieve fluency in Icelandic.
Start with the top 10 verbs today and try writing your own simple sentences.
Then, practice listening to how native speakers pronounce them using our audio tools.
