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]
You can support this site by Buying Me A Coffee, and if you like what you see on this page, you can use the buttons below to share it with people you know.
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
[top]
