The Noun maður

Level 2

maður (man, person) is one of the most common nouns, and it is irregular. Its stem is mann-, and its plural is menn.

How It Works

All the forms
Forms in this order: Singular · Plural · Singular + the · Plural + the.

  • Nominative: maður · menn · maðurinn · mennirnir
  • Accusative: mann · menn · manninn · mennina
  • Dative: manni · mönnum · manninum · mönnunum
  • Genitive: manns · manna · mannsins · mannanna

What it means

  • A man: Þarna er maður. (There is a man over there.)
  • A person of any gender, especially in the plural and in compounds: Hún er góður maður. (She is a good person.) The word is also used to mean "one" or "you" in general statements. See One or You (maður).
  • With the article and a possessive, it means husband: maðurinn minn (my husband).

Compounds decline the same way
Many job and people words end in -maður, and they all use these forms: lögreglumaður (police officer) → lögreglumann, lögreglumanni; ferðamaður (tourist) → ferðamenn, ferðamönnum.

When you count people, Icelandic often uses the genitive manns: see Counting People (tuttugu manns).

Examples (6)

  1. Þarna er maður sem ég þekki.

    There is a man over there whom I know.

    Word by Word: There is man that I know.

    maður is the subject, so it is in the nominative.

  2. Ég þekki þennan mann.

    I know this man.

    Word by Word: I know this man.

    mann is the object, so it is in the accusative.

  3. Hún rétti manninum kortið.

    She handed the man the map.

    Word by Word: She handed man-the map-the.

    The man receives something, so he is in the dative: manninum.

  4. Veistu hvað maðurinn heitir?

    Do you know what the man's name is?

    Word by Word: Know-you what man-the is-called?

    maðurinn is the subject of heitir.

  5. Það voru margir ferðamenn í bænum.

    There were many tourists in town.

    Word by Word: It were many travel-men in town-the.

    ferðamaður has the same plural as maður: ferðamenn.

  6. Ég talaði við mennina í gær.

    I talked to the men yesterday.

    Word by Word: I talked with men-the in yesterday.

    við takes the accusative, and the accusative plural with the article is mennina.

Common Mistakes

  • Keeping maður when it is an object.

    Ég þekki þennan maður.
    Ég þekki þennan mann.

    The accusative of maður is mann. þennan also shows that the noun must be accusative.

  • Making a regular -ar plural.

    Það voru tveir maðar þarna.
    Það voru tveir menn þarna.

    The plural of maður is menn. It has no -ar ending.

  • Using menn in the dative plural.

    Ég borðaði með tveimur mennum úr vinnunni.
    Ég borðaði með tveimur mönnum úr vinnunni.

    The dative plural is mönnum, with ö. The same form appears in compounds: ferðamönnum.

How It Connects

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The Noun maðurLevel 2

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maður builds on hestur nouns and the article.

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Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

mannmannimennmönnummanna