Veðrið Weather · Vocabulary & phrases · Cheat sheet

veður · sól · snjór · vindur

Vocabulary for talking about the weather

In brackets — gen. sg. and nom. pl. forms; “=” means the form matches nom. sg.

Basics Weather and temperature

WordFormsGenderMeaning
veður(-s, =; with art. veðrið)nweather
stig(-s, =)ndegree
gráða(-u, -ur)fdegree (less common)
hitastig(-s, =)ntemperature
frost(-s, =)nfrost; sub-zero temperature
hiti(-a, -ar)mheat; above-zero temperature
hlýja(-u, -ur)fwarmth
kuldi(-a, -ar)mcold
svalimcoolness

Seasons The four seasons

WordFormsGenderMeaning
vetur(vetrar, vetur)mwinter
vor(-s, =)nspring
sumar(-s, sumur)nsummer
haust(-s, =)nautumn

Sky and precipitation What's happening outside

WordFormsGenderMeaning
himinn(-ins, -nar)msky
ský(-s, =)ncloud
sól(-ar, -ir; usually with art. sólin)fsun
snjór(snjós, snjóar)msnow
rigning(-ar, -ar; dat/acc sg. -u)frain
él(-s, =)nbrief snowstorm, flurry; (less often) hail
hagl(-s, högl); also haglél nnhail (heavy hail)
hálka(-u, -ur)ficy roads, glaze ice
slydda(-u, -ur)fsleet, wet snow
rok(-s, =)ngale, storm
sólskin(-s, =)nsunshine
þoka(-u, -ur)ffog
vindur(-s, -ar)mwind
úrkoma(-u; sg. only)fprecipitation

What the weather is like and what it does

Adjectives are given in three genders (m, f, n); verbs — in impersonal constructions with hann/það.

Adjectives Describing the weather

masc.fem.neut.Meaning
hlýrhlýhlýttwarm
heiturheitheitthot
kaldurköldkaltcold
svalursvölsvaltcool
bjarturbjörtbjartclear; bright (of daylight/night light)
heiðskír (declined like stór)clear (of the sky)
skýjaðurskýjuðskýjaðcloudy
dimmurdimmdimmtdark (of daylight/night light)
hállhálháltslippery (of ice)
Keep a pair of nouns nearby: birta f. — light (incl. daylight), dimma f. — darkness.

Verbs What the weather does

VerbPresentPastMeaning
skína (strong)það skínþað skeinto shine
blása (strong)það blæsþað blésto blow: vindurinn blæs / það blæs vindurinn
rignahann [það] rignirhann [það] rigndi [riŋdi]it rains / it rained
snjóahann [það] snjóarhann [það] snjóaðiit snows / it snowed
Icelandic talks about weather impersonally: the subject is hann or það — “he rains”, “it snows”.

Talking about the temperature

Degrees are counted in the genitive: “a frost of two degrees”.

Phrases Asking about the weather

Hvernig er veðrið í dag?What's the weather like today?
Hvernig/hvað er hitastigið?What's the temperature?
frostmark n.the freezing point of water = 0°

Grammar Genitive of the numerals 1–4

NumberGenitive
1eins (m/n), einnar (f)
2tveggja
3þriggja
4fjögurra
Full declension tables for numbers live in the numerals cheat sheet.

Examples How many degrees is it outside

TemperatureIn Icelandic
+1°Það er eins stigs hiti
−2°Það er tveggja stiga frost
+13°Það er þrettán stiga hiti
−21°Það er tuttugu og eins stigs frost
núll stig, við frostmark
With 1 and compounds in …og eins — singular stigs; with all other numbers — plural stiga.