Icelandic→English

Translate Icelandic to English the way locals mean it.

Icelandic speakers often use softeners and idioms that make a reply sound more reassuring, casual, or noncommittal than its literal wording suggests.

Going the other way? English to Icelandic

474 local dialects

What locals actually say

Þetta reddast.

It'll work out.

Reddast is an impersonal form meaning that things will sort themselves out, usually offering reassurance rather than a concrete plan.

Ég kem bara eftir smástund.

I'll be there in a little while.

Bara literally means "only" or "just," but here it is a casual softener and does not limit the speaker to coming only after a short time.

Við sjáum til.

We'll see.

This idiom commonly signals uncertainty or noncommitment, and can politely avoid making a promise.

Ég er alveg blankur þangað til á morgun.

I'm completely skint until tomorrow.

Blankur is colloquial Icelandic for being broke, giving the sentence a casual, direct tone.

Hvar tek ég strætó niður í bæ?

Where do I catch the bus downtown?

Strætó is the everyday Icelandic shortening of strætisvagn, while niður í bæ is the local construction for going downtown.

Ég fæ mér bara eina með öllu.

I'll just have a hot dog with everything.

Eina is the feminine accusative numeral standing for pylsu, which Icelanders commonly omit when ordering a hot dog.

Ég kíki við hjá mömmu eftir vinnu.

I'll pop in to see Mum after work.

Kíkja við hjá means to drop in on someone, with hjá taking the dative, as in mömmu.

Það er rok úti.

It's blowing a gale outside.

Rok is a distinctly Icelandic everyday word for strong wind, used in the construction það er rok.

Notes like these come with every AIRTranslate translation, so you learn why locals phrase it that way as you go.

Icelandic. Þú universal (þérun is archaic); puristic vocabulary preferred over loanwords (tölva, sími); friendly direct register.

Every one of 474 dialects, with voice, camera, a keyboard for any app, and offline packs.