á / é / í / ó / ú / ý

The Accented Vowels

Level 1

The accent makes a new vowel sound: á like ow in cow, é like ye in yes, í and ý like ee in see, ó like the o in go, and ú like oo in too.

How It Works

Compare each accented vowel with its plain partner:

  • á sounds like ow in cow: á (on), ást (love), já (yes). Plain a is an open a, between the vowels of fat and father: tala (speak).
  • é sounds like ye in yes: ég (I), sé (I see). Plain e is the e in bet: hestur (horse).
  • í and ý both sound like ee in see: ís (ice, ice cream), ýsa (haddock). Plain i and y both sound like i in sit: vinur (friend), yfir (over). See y spelling for choosing between y and i.
  • ó sounds like the o in go: sól (sun), skór (shoe). Plain o is an open o, like the o in British hot but held longer in koma (come).
  • ú sounds like oo in too: hús (house), þú (you). Plain u has no English match. Say the i in sit with rounded lips: hundur (dog).

Because the accent changes the sound, it also changes the word. Leave it off and you have misspelled the word or written a different one. The accent is never a stress mark: Reykjavík is stressed on the first syllable, not on vík. See first-syllable stress.

The same sounds show up without an accent in one place: before ng and nk, plain a, i and u take on the sounds of á, í and ú, while e and ö take on the sounds of ei and au. See vowels before ng and nk.

Examples (5)

  1. Ég á hús á Íslandi.

    I own a house in Iceland.

    Word by Word: I own house in Iceland.

    á sounds like ow, ú like oo and Í like ee.

  2. Sólin skín í dag.

    The sun is shining today.

    Word by Word: The-sun shines today.

    ó in sólin is the o in go, and í in skín is ee.

  3. Mig langar í ís.

    I want some ice cream.

    Word by Word: Me longs for ice-cream.

    Both í and ís have the ee sound.

  4. Ég sé fjöllin.

    I see the mountains.

    Word by Word: I see the-mountains.

    é in ég and sé starts with a y sound, like ye in yes.

  5. Hún keypti ýsu í búðinni.

    She bought haddock at the shop.

    Word by Word: She bought haddock in the-shop.

    ý in ýsu sounds just like í, and ú in búðinni is oo.

Common Mistakes

  • Dropping the accents in writing.

    Eg a hus.
    Ég á hús.

    The accents are part of the spelling. Without them, eg, a and hus are not the Icelandic words you mean.

  • Writing je for the sound of é.

    Jeg tala íslensku.
    Ég tala íslensku.

    The letter é already includes the y sound at the start, so Icelandic writes ég, not jeg as in Danish or Norwegian.

How It Connects

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

á / é / í / ó / ú / ýLevel 1The Accented Vowels

Learn This First

The accented vowels come right after the alphabet.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.