Noun Gender (M/F/N)
Three grammatical genders: masculine (karlkyn), feminine (kvenkyn), neuter (hvorugkyn)
Can identify the three grammatical genders of Icelandic nouns and predict gender from common endings
Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?
Hesturinn er hvítur.
The horse is white.
Bókin er góð.
The book is good.
Húsið er gamalt.
The house is old.
Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?
Öll íslensk nafnorð hafa eitt af þremur kynjum:
| Kyn | Skammstöfun | Dæmi |
|---|---|---|
| Karlkyn (masculine) | kk. | hestur (horse), maður (man), bíll (car) |
| Kvenkyn (feminine) | kvk. | kona (woman), bók (book), tölva (computer) |
| Hvorugkyn (neuter) | hk. | barn (child), hús (house), land (country) |
Algengar endingar:
| Ending | Kyn | Dæmi |
|---|---|---|
| -ur, -i, -ll, -nn | Karlkyn | dagur, penni, stóll, steinn |
| -a, -ing, -un | Kvenkyn | saga, þjálfun, reikning |
| consonant cluster, -leysi | Hvorugkyn | barn, kvöld, einleysi |
Af hverju skiptir kynið máli? Kynið ræður beygingarformum, lýsingarorðum og greinum: stórur hestur (big horse, m.) vs stór bók (big book, f.) vs stórt barn (big child, n.).
Hesturinn er hvítur.
The horse is white.
Hestur is masculine → -inn article, hvítur adjective form.
Bókin er góð.
The book is good.
Bók is feminine → -in article, góð adjective form.
Húsið er gamalt.
The house is old.
Hús is neuter → -ið article, gamalt adjective form.
Practice in course
Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises