æ / au / ei / ey
The Sounds Æ, AU, EI and EY
æ sounds like eye, ei and ey both sound like ay in day, and au is an ö sound that glides into i.
How It Works
- æ is a single letter that sounds like the English word eye: æfa (practice), bær (town, farm), ætla (intend).
- ei and ey both sound like ay in day: nei (no), heima (at home), eyja (island), Reykjavík. The difference is only in the spelling. See y spelling.
- au starts with the rounded vowel ö and glides toward i, with rounded lips the whole time. English has no exact match, and it is not the ow in cow: auga (eye), þau (they), haust (autumn), sundlaug (swimming pool).
Like other vowels, these are long before a single consonant or at the end of a word (nei, bær) and short before a double consonant or a cluster (ætla, haust). See long and short vowels.
The ei and au sounds also appear without these spellings. Before ng and nk, e is said like ei and ö like au: lengi, söngur. See vowels before ng and nk.
Examples (5)
- Ég ætla að æfa mig í kvöld.
I am going to practice tonight.
Word by Word: I intend to practice myself in evening.
Both æ sounds are like the English word eye.
- Nei, takk.
No, thanks.
Word by Word: No, thanks.
ei in nei sounds like ay in day.
- Við búum á eyju.
We live on an island.
Word by Word: We live on island.
ey in eyju has the same sound as ei.
- Þau fara í sundlaugina.
They are going to the swimming pool.
Word by Word: They go into the-swimming-pool.
au in þau and sundlaugina starts as ö and glides into i.
- Bærinn er lítill.
The town is small.
Word by Word: The-town is small.
æ in bærinn sounds like eye.
Common Mistakes
Writing ei where the word is spelled with ey.
Við búum á eiju.Við búum á eyju.ei and ey sound the same, but each word has one fixed spelling. eyja (island) is always written with ey.
Spelling the æ sound as ai.
Ég aitla að fara.Ég ætla að fara.Icelandic writes the eye sound with the single letter æ.
How It Connects
Learn This First
These vowel sounds come right after the alphabet.
Related Patterns
- á / é / í / ó / ú / ýThe Accented Vowels
Covers the accented vowels, including á, which has the ow sound.
Level 1 - Spelling y, ý and ey
Explains when to write ey instead of ei.
Level 5 - Vowels Before These Clusters: ng / nkVowels Before NG and NK
e and ö take the ei and au sounds before ng and nk.
Level 1 - Long and Short Vowels
Gliding vowels are also long or short depending on what follows.
Level 1
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Practice æ / au / ei / ey in Bubblegum
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