Icelandic writes the two th sounds of English with two letters of their own: þrír (three) starts with one, and maður (man) has the other in the middle.
What Do Þ, Ð and Æ Sound Like?
| Letter | Name | How to Say It | Words |
|---|---|---|---|
| Þ þ | thorn | The th in think | þrír (three), þú (you) |
| Ð ð | eth | The th in this | maður (man), veður (weather) |
| Æ æ | ash | The word eye | hæ (hi), læra (to learn) |
| Ö ö | ö | Say the e in bed with your lips rounded | önd (duck), hönd (hand) |
Þ can start a word, as in þú. Ð never does, so you'll find it in the middle or at the end, as in veður.
Which Letters Look Alike?
The capital Ð has a look-alike from other languages, Đ, which is a different letter.
- Þcapital thornU+00DEþsmall thornU+00FEThe small þ has a tall stem with a bump on the side, like a b and a p joined together.
- Ðcapital ethU+00D0ðsmall ethU+00F0The small ð is a round letter with a crossed stem that leans back over it.
- ÐIcelandic ethU+00D0ĐD with strokeU+0110Đ is a letter in Croatian, Serbian and Vietnamese, and its small form is đ. Icelandic words never use it.
- Æcapital ashU+00C6æsmall ashU+00E6Æ is one letter, so a dictionary lists it near the end of the alphabet, after þ.
How Do You Type Þ, Ð and Æ?
Copy þ, ð or æ from the box above, or add an Icelandic keyboard to type them yourself.
- iPhone and iPadIn Settings, tap General, Keyboard, Keyboards and Add New Keyboard, then choose Icelandic.
- Word on WindowsType 00FE for þ, 00F0 for ð or 00E6 for æ, select just those four characters, and press Alt and X together.
- MacPress the Fn or globe key and E to open the Character Viewer. Search for thorn, eth or ae and click the letter.
Where Did These Letters Come From?
English used these letters too, more than a thousand years ago. Old English writers borrowed þ from the runes, and they wrote the th sound with both þ and ð. The letter æ had the name ash. English later replaced þ with th. Icelandic still uses all three.
How Can You Learn These Sounds?
The Icelandic Alphabet course plays every word in the table, then moves on to the vowels with accent marks, like á and ó. After the course, Poppy, your AI tutor in the Bubblegum app, writes Icelandic lessons at your level, so you meet þ and ð in real sentences. Then read the best way to learn Icelandic to plan your next steps.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Many Letters Does the Icelandic Alphabet Have?
It has 32 letters. Besides þ, ð, æ and ö, it counts each accented vowel as a letter of its own: á, é, í, ó, ú and ý. C, q, w and z aren't among the 32.
Do the Accent Marks Change the Sound?
Yes. In Icelandic, the mark gives the vowel a new sound, so á sounds like the ow in cow, while plain a is close to the a in father.
Which Icelandic App Should a Beginner Choose?
If you are serious about learning Icelandic, start with Bubblegum. Poppy writes lessons at your level about things you like. Its Icelandic Alphabet course begins with þ, ð and æ, each with two short words to hear. Our Icelandic app comparison covers more choices and what each one is good for.
Is Bubblegum Free?
Yes. The lesson library is free for everyone, because we believe everyone should be able to learn. It holds lessons that other learners asked Poppy for. A new custom lesson costs us real money to make, so your first one is free, and Bubblegum Pro gives you unlimited custom lessons.
Sources
- Unicode CLDR, Icelandic locale data (the 32 letters in alphabet order, ending þ æ ö)
- Unicode Character Database, NamesList (U+00DE and U+00FE thorn, a runic letter borrowed into Latin script and replaced by th in modern English; U+00D0 and U+00F0 eth; U+00C6 and U+00E6 ash; U+0110 D with stroke)
- King's College London, Langscape Old English tutorial, The Old English alphabet (þ borrowed from runes; þ and ð both wrote the th sound; æ called ash)
- Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies, Ritreglur (the official Icelandic spelling rules, Ministry notices no. 695/2016 and 800/2018)
- Apple, iOS and iPadOS feature availability (keyboards include Icelandic)
- Apple Support, Add or change keyboards on iPhone
- Microsoft Support, Insert ASCII or Unicode character codes in Word (type the code, then press Alt+X)
- Apple Support, Use emoji and symbols on Mac (the Character Viewer)
