A collection of idiomatic expressions in Icelandic with English equivalents and translations.
Icelandic idioms | English equivalents |
---|---|
Allt er gott sem endar vel | All's well that ends well |
Alveg út að aka | To act crazy lit. "Totally out driving" |
Bera kápuna á báðum öxlum | To blow hot and cold (to change one's opinion often) lit. "To bear the coat on both shoulders" |
Bæta gráu ofan á svart | To add insult to injury, to make matters worse lit. "To add gray on top of black" |
Deila um keisarans skegg | To dispute about trivialities lit. "To quarrel about the emperor's beard" |
Ég borga bara með reiðufé | Okay, but I don't have to like it lit. "I only pay with an angry sheep" |
Ég kem alveg af fjöllum | I have no idea what's going on lit. "I come completely from mountains" |
Enginn verður óbarinn biskup | Practise makes perfect, nothing comes without hard work lit. "No one becomes a bishop without a beating" |
Fyrr skal ég dauður liggja | Over my dead body |
Gera úlfalda úr mýflugu | To make a mountain out of a molehill lit. "To make camels out of the sky" |
Kaupa köttinn í sekknum | To be sold a pig in a poke lit. "To buy the cat in the sack" |
Peningar vaxa ekki á trjám | Money does not grow on trees |
Rúsínan í pylsuendanum | The cherry on the cake lit. "The raisin at the end of the sausage" |
Á milli steins og sleggju | Between a rock and a hard place Between the devil and the deep blue sea lit. "Between the stone and the sword" |
Áfram með smjörið | Carry on, Get to work, Keep going lit. "On with the butter" |
Úr öskunni í eldinn | Out of the frying pan into the fire lit. "From the ash into the fire" |
Það er betra að hafa vaðið fyrir neðan sig | Better safe than sorry lit. "It's better to have the ford beneath oneself" |
Þetta er hebreska fyrir mér | It's all Greek to me (I don't understand) lit. "This is Hebrew to me" |
Collections of Icelandic idioms
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Category:Icelandic_idioms
http://maryrobinettekowal.com/journal/icelandic-idioms/
http://mentalfloss.com/article/64451/11-delightful-icelandic-words-and-phrases
https://www.voyagingviking.com/blog/funny-icelandic-phrases
http://icelandreview.com/stuff/views/2007/09/12/raisin-my-wiener
Information about Icelandic | Phrases | Numbers | Colours | Family words | Time | Terms of endearment | Idioms | Tongue twisters | Tower of Babel | Learning materials
If you would like to make any corrections or additions to this page, or if you can provide recordings, please contact me.
It's all Greek to me | It's raining cats and dogs | As easy as falling off a log | A sandwich short of a picnic | It's small world | When pigs fly | Out of sight, out of mind | Crystal-clear | Penny Pinching | Practice makes perfect | The grass is always greener | As Snug as a Bug in a Rug
Czech | French | Greek | Icelandic | Lithuanian | Manx | Russian | Slovak | Spanish | Swedish | Welsh
Useful phrases | Silly phrases | Numbers | Numerals | Colours | Telling the time | Dates | Weather words | Family words | Terms of endearment | Language names | Country names | Idioms | Proverbs | Tongue twisters | Signs | Compass directions | UDHR | Tower of Babel | Songs | Omniglot | Seven dwarfs | Zodiac signs | Computer parts | Compass directions | Animal sounds
[top]
Why not share this page:
If you like this site and find it useful, you can support it by making a donation via PayPal or Patreon, or by contributing in other ways. Omniglot is how I make my living.
Note: all links on this site to Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk
and Amazon.fr
are affiliate links. This means I earn a commission if you click on any of them and buy something. So by clicking on these links you can help to support this site.
Get a 30-day Free Trial of Amazon Prime (UK)
If you're looking for home or car insurance in the UK, why not try Policy Expert?
[top]