Adjective Suffixes (-samur, -ugur, -rænn)

Level 5

Hún er mjög hjálpsöm. (She is very helpful.) hjálp (help) + -samur gives an adjective.

How It Works

-samur: having a lot of something, or tending to do it.

  • hjálp (help) → hjálpsamur (helpful)
  • vinna (work) → vinnusamur (hard-working)
  • friður (peace) → friðsamur (peaceful)
  • lán (luck) → lánsamur (lucky)

-ugur: full of something.

  • kraftur (strength) → kröftugur (powerful)
  • máttur (might) → máttugur (mighty)
  • blóð (blood) → blóðugur (bloody)

The u in the ending changes a to ö in the stem, as in u-umlaut: kraftur → kröftugur.

-rænn: having to do with something. This suffix began with the directions and is now used for many new words:

  • norður (north) → norrænn (Nordic), suður (south) → suðrænn (southern)
  • líf (life) → lífrænn (organic)
  • rafmagn (electricity) → rafrænn (electronic)
  • stafur (digit, letter) → stafrænn (digital)

-skur: countries and places. Ísland → íslenskur, Danmörk → danskur, Noregur → norskur, Frakkland → franskur, Þýskaland → þýskur. These adjectives are written with a small letter.

Endings. The new words decline like any adjective. Watch three spots:

  • -samur has ö in the feminine: hjálpsamur, hjálpsöm, hjálpsamt.
  • In the nominative, -rænn has nn only in the masculine: norrænn (m), norræn (f), norrænt (n).
  • -skur adds t in the neuter: íslenskur, íslensk, íslenskt.

Other adjective suffixes have their own entries: -legur (fallegur) and the prefix ó- (ólífrænn, inorganic).

Examples (6)

  1. Hún er mjög hjálpsöm.

    She is very helpful.

    Word by Word: She is very helpful.

    hjálpsamur has ö in the feminine: hjálpsöm.

  2. Kröftugur jarðskjálfti varð á Reykjanesi í nótt.

    A powerful earthquake happened on Reykjanes last night.

    Word by Word: Powerful earthquake happened on Reykjanes in night.

  3. Norræna húsið er í Reykjavík.

    The Nordic House is in Reykjavík.

    Word by Word: Nordic the-house is in Reykjavík.

    With the attached article the adjective takes the weak form: norræna.

  4. Við borðuðum íslenskan mat í kvöld.

    We ate Icelandic food tonight.

    Word by Word: We ate Icelandic food in evening.

  5. Ertu með rafræn skilríki?

    Do you have an electronic ID?

    Word by Word: Are-you with electronic IDs?

    skilríki is a neuter plural, so the adjective is rafræn.

  6. Þetta er lífrænt grænmeti.

    These are organic vegetables.

    Word by Word: This is organic vegetables.

    grænmeti is a neuter singular word, so the adjective is lífrænt.

Common Mistakes

  • Leaving out the ö in the feminine of -samur.

    Hún er mjög hjálpsam.
    Hún er mjög hjálpsöm.

    The feminine of hjálpsamur is hjálpsöm, with ö and no ending.

  • Writing a country adjective with a capital letter.

    Við borðuðum Íslenskan mat.
    Við borðuðum íslenskan mat.

    Adjectives of countries and languages begin with a small letter: íslenskur, danskur, enskur.

  • Keeping nn in the feminine of -rænn.

    Þetta er norrænn samvinna.
    Þetta er norræn samvinna.

    samvinna is feminine, and the feminine of norrænn is norræn with one n. In the nominative, only the masculine has nn.

How It Connects

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Adjective Suffixes (-samur, -ugur, -rænn)Level 5

Learn This First

Adjective suffixes build on -legur.

Words in This Pattern

-samur-skur