Íslenska · A1 til C2
Learn Icelandic
saman — together.
A free, plain-English path through Icelandic, built level by level — the alphabet and the sounds, the grammar that trips everyone up, and the words to go with them. Written by someone learning it too.
A1 — byrjaðu hér
The first level, and the only one finished so far. It runs in four blocks, in order: get the sounds right, learn to say who you are, then the grammar underneath it, then the words to fill it with.
I · Hljóðin · Sounds
- Stafrófið — the alphabet
- Áherslan — stress
- Framburður — pronunciation
- Hljóð sem hverfa — silent letters
- Nefhljóð og munnhljóð
II · Að tala · Speaking
- Ég heiti… — my name is
- Hvaðan ertu? — where from
- Sagnir — verbs
- Spurnarorð — question words
III · Málfræði · Grammar
- Kyn nafnorða — noun gender
- Greinirinn — the article
- Eignarfornöfn — minn, þinn
- Lýsingarorð — adjectives
IV · Orðin · The words
- Tölur — numbers
- Orðaforði — vocabulary
- Hversdagsleg orð — everyday
Stigin · The levels
Frá A1 til C2
Six levels in three bands, the same ladder every European language is measured on. A is finding your feet, B is managing on your own, C is real command of the language. This site is being built one level at a time — A1 is open, the rest are on the way.
Fyrstu kynni af tungumálinu
First contact with the language — the sounds, saying who you are, and the grammar that everything else stands on.
- Hljóðin · the sounds and the alphabet
- Að tala · introducing yourself
- Málfræði · gender, the article, adjectives
- Orðin · numbers and everyday vocabulary
Millistig og notkun tungumálsins
Getting things done — the cases, the plural, the past, and enough of the language to hold up your end of a simple conversation.
Efni væntanlegt · Coming
Sjálfbjarga á tungumálinu
Standing on your own feet — handling most of what comes up day to day, and explaining yourself when it does not go to plan.
Efni væntanlegt · Coming
Lengra kominn
Further along — following a real conversation at speed, reading without a dictionary at your elbow, and arguing a point.
Efni væntanlegt · Coming
Sjálfstæði á tungumálinu
Independence — using Icelandic for work and study without translating in your head first, and catching what is meant as well as what is said.
Efni væntanlegt · Coming
Fullt vald á tungumálinu
Full command — the top of the ladder, where the language stops being a subject you study and becomes one you simply use.
Efni væntanlegt · Coming
Heimildir · Sources
- The three bands — A byrjandi, B sjálfstæður, C fær notandi — as set out in the Icelandic glossary of the Fræðslumiðstöð atvinnulífsins curriculum terms.
- The Icelandic wording for A1, A2, B1, B2 and C1 follows the level names used by Alliance Française de Reykjavík. C2 is written here in the same pattern.
- The framework itself — Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, Council of Europe.
Hvernig þetta virkar · How this works
Built the way I wanted to be taught
Plain English first
Every rule is explained the way you would explain it to a friend, then shown in a table you can come back to.
Small, finishable steps
One page, one idea — grouped into levels so you always know where you are and what comes next.
Practice on every page
You get to try the thing you just read about while it is still fresh, not three lessons later.
Athugið · Note
I am a learner, not a native speaker or a certified teacher. Everything here is written from study and checked against standard references — but if you spot something wrong, I want to hear about it.
Áfram · Keep going
Twenty minutes a day beats three hours on Sunday.
Start at A1 and work down the list in order. The levels above it get built as this one gets finished — and the practice page is there whenever you have a spare minute.