mis- / tor- / ör- / al-

Prefixes Mis-, Tor-, Ör- and Al-

Level 5

Ég misskildi þig. (I misunderstood you.) The prefix mis- adds wrongly to skilja (understand).

How It Works

mis-: wrongly, or not the same.

  • skilja (understand) → misskilja (misunderstand), noun misskilningur
  • nota (use) → misnota (misuse)
  • jafn (even) → misjafn (uneven, varying)
  • góður (good) → misgóður (of varying quality)

Write two s when the word starts with s: mis + skilja = misskilja.

tor-: hard to. This prefix is found in a small set of words, mostly in writing:

  • torskilinn (hard to understand)
  • torfær (hard to pass, rough), noun torfæra
  • torveldur (difficult)

ör-: tiny, or very.

  • örlítill (tiny), örsmár (minute)
  • örstuttur (very short), örfáir (very few)
  • örþreyttur (exhausted)

In a few old words, such as örvænta (lose hope), ör- means without instead. Learn those as whole words.

al-: fully, all.

  • alþjóðlegur (international: all nations)
  • alíslenskur (completely Icelandic)
  • almennur (general), alheimur (universe)
  • Alþingi, the parliament of Iceland

Endings stay the same. The prefix does not change how the word declines: misskilja goes like skilja (misskildi), and örlítill goes like lítill. For the opposite of a word, use ó-, not mis-: óánægður means unhappy, while mis- means done wrongly.

Examples (6)

  1. Ég misskildi þig.

    I misunderstood you.

    Word by Word: I mis-understood you.

  2. Veðrið er misjafnt eftir landshlutum.

    The weather varies from region to region.

    Word by Word: The weather is uneven after parts-of-country.

  3. Myndirnar eru misgóðar.

    The pictures vary in quality.

    Word by Word: The pictures are unevenly-good.

  4. Leiðin upp á fjallið er torfær.

    The way up the mountain is rough going.

    Word by Word: The way up on the mountain is hard-to-pass.

  5. Settu örlítið salt í súpuna.

    Put a tiny bit of salt in the soup.

    Word by Word: Put tiny-little salt in the soup.

  6. Keflavíkurflugvöllur er alþjóðlegur flugvöllur.

    Keflavík Airport is an international airport.

    Word by Word: Keflavík-airport is all-national airport.

Common Mistakes

  • Using ó- for a thing done wrongly.

    Ég óskildi þig.
    Ég misskildi þig.

    ó- means not, while mis- means wrongly. To understand something wrongly is misskilja.

  • Writing only one s in misskilja.

    Ég miskildi þig.
    Ég misskildi þig.

    The prefix mis- keeps its s and skilja keeps its own, so the word has two: misskilja, misskildi.

  • Writing the prefix as a separate word.

    Þetta er al íslenskur matur.
    Þetta er alíslenskur matur.

    A prefix is always joined to its word: alíslenskur, örlítill, misjafn.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

mis- / tor- / ör- / al-Level 5Prefixes Mis-, Tor-, Ör- and Al-

Learn This First

Prefixes build on ó-.

Words in This Pattern

mis-tor-ör-