Below are a curated list of resources. Please feel free to suggest an additional resource using the form below.
Quick Start, basic Icelandic and Polish phrases
| English 🇺🇸 | Icelandic 🇮🇸🔊 | Pronunciation | Polish 🇵🇱🔊 | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hello | Halló | ha-low | Cześć | cheshch |
| Good day | Góðan dagin | go-than da-yin | Dzień dobry | jen do-bri |
| Goodbye | Bless | bless | Do widzenia | do vee-dze-nya |
| Thank you | Takk | tahk | Dziękuję | jen-koo-yeh |
| Excuse me | Afsakið | af-sa-kith | Przepraszam | pshe-pra-sham |
| Yes | Já | yow | Tak | tak |
| No | Nei | nay | Nie | nye |
| I don’t understand | Ég skil ekki | ye skil ek-ki | Nie rozumiem | nye ro-zoo-myem |
| How much is this? | Hvað kostar þetta? | kva-th kos-tar thet-ta | Ile to kosztuje? | ee-leh to koshtoo-ye |
| Where is the toilet? | Hvar er klósettið? | kvar er klo-set-tith | Gdzie jest toaleta? | gje-yest toa-leta |
| I would like … | Mig langar … | mig lown-gar | Chciałbym … | htyaw-bim |
In Person Language Practice
Chicago Language Cafe (Chicago, Evanston)
The INT’L CAFE Chicago group on Meetup is a beneficial platform for language learners. It provides an opportunity to practice speaking different languages in a real-world context, which can greatly enhance language fluency and comprehension. Additionally, it allows learners to make new friends and join a community of language enthusiasts, which can be motivating and enriching. This kind of immersive and interactive learning environment can significantly accelerate language acquisition.
Icelandic Association of Chicago (us!)
Events, open to members, offers a chance to practice the language and build community locally in Chicago. See our calendar, FaceBook Events, or become a member.
Classes
Iceland (online and in person)
- Speak Viking speakvikingcourses.com
Recorded courses designed by Óskar Bragi that divide lessons into digestible chunks. CEFR levels A1, A2, and B1. - Múlti Kúlti
Multikulti Language Centre is a language school in Reykjavik, Iceland that teaches Icelandic and other languages for adults. The school has six levels of Icelandic courses, from beginner to advanced, that cover all language skills and include a test and a book. - Learn Icelandic learn-icelandic.com
Recorded courses designed by Max Naylor that run in 10 week sessions. - The Tin Can Factory
This is a language school offering a variety of Icelandic courses, including morning, evening, and online classes. It provides a unique learning environment, focusing on culture and history, making it beneficial for language learners who want to immerse themselves in Icelandic culture. - Mímir
Mímir offers a variety of courses, including Icelandic language courses, which can be taken in-person or remotely. This flexibility makes it beneficial for language learners who want to improve their Icelandic skills regardless of their location. - Icelandic Online
This platform offers free online Icelandic courses at different levels, from beginners to advanced. It’s beneficial for language learners as it provides flexibility to learn at their own pace and convenience. - Háskólasetur Vestfjarða
Study in the West Fjords – This is an independent educational institution located in Ísafjörður, Iceland, offering international master’s programs and Icelandic courses for exchange students. It’s beneficial for language learners who want to pursue higher education while learning Icelandic. - Símey’s Íslenskuþjálfarinn
This is an online Icelandic course that focuses on spoken communication. It’s beneficial for language learners as it provides personalized training based on conversations and interaction, helping participants to adjust to Icelandic society. - Fernan Icelandic Courses fernan.eu
Offers structured Icelandic courses for different proficiency levels. Focuses on building practical language skills for everyday use. - LOA Language School loalanguageschool.is
US/Canada (online)
- INLUS, language classes
- Icelandic Club of Toronto, Language classes
The Icelandic Canadian Club of Toronto offers online Icelandic language classes for beginners and intermediate learners, taught by a native speaker from Iceland
Online Language Partners and Tutors
iTalki (ios, android, web)
Online tutoring platform with several Icelandic tutors. View tutor profiles and schedule a tutoring session over online using Zoom/Skype.
HelloTalk (ios, android, web)
Online chat platform with individuals practicing various languages through chats.
Slowly (ios, android, web)
A pen-pal application in many languages used for practice. The system delays messages to match that of real world letters sent through international post.
Podcasts
English language podcast about Icelandic culture and politics
- Viðtöl
Discussion of Icelandic culture and language from one curious mind. A project of the Iceland Association of Chicago. - Icelandic Immersion
Immersive episodes encompassing diverse subjects, featuring in-depth Icelandic lessons, and ranging from 6 to 12 minutes in length. - All Things Iceland
This podcast is about All Things Iceland, a show hosted by Jewells Chambers, an expat who shares her insights and experiences of living in and traveling around Iceland. You can learn about Icelandic culture, nature, history, language, and more through interviews, facts, tips, and stories. - Stories Of Iceland
A podcast that explores the history, culture and folklore of Iceland, a small island in the North Atlantic. - That Icelandic Guy
The host, Haukur Emil Kaaber, talks to people from different backgrounds and professions, such as a poet, a theosophist, a musician, a museum manager, and a singer-songwriter.
“The 100 Most Popular Podcasts Right Now” – a curated page by PodTail sourced from Íslenskunaman in Icelandic
News
- Auðskilið RÚV – News in a simpler language style.
- Norður Ameríka | RÚV – Icelandic language articles about North America. Read with existing context.
- Lögberg-Heimskringka – bi-weekly in English from Winnipeg, MB
- Iceland Review – daily excerpts in English from multiple sources
Forums
- Reddit r/Learn Icelandic
Open Source Projects
- Greynir – Málgreining fyrir íslensku
A natural language processing (NLP) knowledge engine - GitHub – mideind/Embla_iOS
The Embla voice assistant app for iOS
Video
- Rúv – TV shows English Subtitles
Collection of shows and movies that have English subtitles and Icelandic audio tracks. As a bonus, this section typically doesn’t require a VPN and can be watched in most countries. - Strumparnir • Íslenska – YouTube
The smurfs in Icelandic. - Viltu læra íslensku?
Educational videos series about a Canadian visiting Iceland
E-books and Reading
- Útgefið efni | Menntamálastofnun – Collection of ebooks from the education ministry. Different books at various levels.
- Ylhyra, books guide – A listing of Icelandic E-books with descriptions and links. The page also conveniently lists CEFR level of each publication.
- GISP! Archive
- Internet Archive’s Open Library (Icelandic language material) – a presaved search of Icelandic language material in the public domain
Dictionaries and Other Resources (Misc)
- https://bin.arnastofnun.is/DMII/ – The website “Beygingarlýsing íslensks nútímamáls | DMII” is a multipurpose linguistic resource that provides a comprehensive database of Icelandic Morphology, including detailed information on grammatical categories, paradigms from all word classes, and an analysis of word structure, primarily for linguistic research and language technology.
- https://icelandicgrammar.com – a comprehensive reference for modern Icelandic grammar, offering detailed explanations and examples, and is constantly updated and expanded by Max Naylor, a Teaching Fellow in Icelandic at the University of Edinburgh.
- Vélþýðing.is – Icelandic translation tool feature
- Icelandic noun cases and declensions – Everything2.com
- Icelandic Nouns – ielanguages.com
- The Language Learning Hub – Medium
- https://bin.arnastofnun.is/ – Shows noun declension patterns
- sagnavefur – 100 verbs, meanings, conjugations, and voices
- Explore new words in Icelandic! – The Drops app Icelandic visual database.
- https://islenzka.is/aefingar/ – Noun, verb, and adjective exercises
- https://snara.is/ – used to be ordabok.is, you do need to pay to use it, but I’ve found it very helpful.
- https://islex.arnastofnun.is/is/ – another good resource, but doesn’t have an English translation
- Malid.is
- Icelandic Made Easi(er) – A collection of articles written in English explaining various aspects of the language.
- https://icelandicgrammar.com/ – A site devoted to explaining Icelandic grammar
Mobile Applications and helpful websites
- ÍTM App (ios)
An app that demonstrates basic signs in Íslenskt Táknmál (Icelandic Sign Language) - Tvík (android, ios)
Have a chat based conversation with a robotic helper and practice focused skills. - Label Icelandic (android, ios, web)
A digital text book broken into various categories with quizzes and games. - Clozemaster (android, ios, web)
Gamified fill in the blank of real sentences. - Memrise (android, ios, web)
Flashcard vocabulary builder. Also has a large list of community built decks of varying quality. - Rúv (ios, android, web)
Icelandic language news, television, and radio. Public broadcaster. Use the web for Icelandic subtitles. - Mango (ios, android)
Audio based language learning application. Includes Icelandic. Free subscription available through most libraries and universities. - KrakkaRúv (ios, android, web)
Children’s news. The web version has Icelandic subtitles. Use the web for Icelandic subtitles. - Ylhýra (web)
An interactive reader with CEFR grade texts. - Forvo (ios, android, web)
Native speakers record words to help learners with pronunciation. - Drops (android, ios, web)
Flashcard vocabulary - Íslenska (android, ios, web)
Noun declension practice - Verbix Conjugator (web)
The website Verbix is a resource for conjugating Icelandic verbs, providing detailed information about the Icelandic language, and classifying Icelandic verbs into various categories with examples. - Embla – (iso)
An Icelandic language digital assistant. It is more useful in Iceland but it may be useful to test your pronunciation when asking questions.
Netflix, search “Audio in Icelandic”
When you’re in Netflix, search for the phrases “Audio in Icelandic” and “Subtitles in Icelandic“. These results should provide a good listing of programs with Icelandic audio and/or subtitles.
A list of shows that have audio or captions in Icelandic
Íslenskt Táknmál / Icelandic Sign Language
Icelandic Organizations
Icelandic Media Houses
| Name | Main URL | Description |
|---|---|---|
| RÚV (Icelandic National Broadcasting Service) | www.ruv.is | Principal television station in Iceland, state-owned. Operates the public network Sjónvarpið. |
| 365 corporation | www.365.is | Private network running numerous television stations including Stöð 2, which broadcasts mostly American programming but also original Icelandic programming and news programs. |
| Skjár einn | www.skjareinn.is | Subscription-free principal channel that mainly broadcasts American programming and original Icelandic programming. |
| AP Media | www.apmedia.is | Media company based in Reykjavík. |
| NorthStar Media Investments ehf | www.northstar.is | Media investment company based in Gardabae. |
| Fréttablaðið | www.visir.is | A daily newspaper, distributed free-of-charge. |
| Morgunblaðið | www.mbl.is | A morning daily newspaper. |
| DV | www.dv.is | An evening daily newspaper. |
| Viðskiptablaðið | www.vb.is | A business newspaper. |
| Bæjarins besta | www.bb.is | A West Fjords local news outlet. |
| icelandreview.com | www.icelandreview.com | An English-language site with news. |
| Stundin | www.stundin.is | A news site, known for investigative reporting. |
| Kjarninn | www.kjarninn.is | A website known for news analysis. |