Voiceless hl, hr and hn

Level 1

At the start of a word, hl, hr and hn are a breathy, voiceless l, r or n: hlaupa (run), hratt (fast), hnífur (knife). hj sounds like the h in huge: hjálp (help).

How It Works

  • hl: hlaupa (run), hlusta (listen), hlýr (warm), hljóð (sound). Compare ljóð (poem).
  • hr: hratt (fast), hrós (praise), hræddur (afraid), Hrafn (a name meaning raven). Compare rós (rose).
  • hn: hnífur (knife), hné (knee). Compare né (nor). Some children and younger speakers now say hn with a voiced n, but the breathy n is the standard sound.
  • hj is a breathy y sound, like the h in huge: hjálp (help), hjá (at, with), hjól (bike), hjarta (heart).

The same breathy sounds appear elsewhere in the word too. A double ll at the end of a word, as in fjall, ends in a breathy l. See ll nn rl rn. Icelandic has another h cluster that works differently: hv is said kv. See hv.

Examples (5)

  1. Ég fer út að hlaupa.

    I am going out for a run.

    Word by Word: I go out to run.

    hl in hlaupa is a breathy l.

  2. Hlustaðu á mig!

    Listen to me!

    Word by Word: Listen on me!

    Hl in Hlustaðu is a breathy l.

  3. Hann keyrir of hratt.

    He drives too fast.

    Word by Word: He drives too fast.

    hr in hratt is a breathy r.

  4. Ertu með hníf?

    Do you have a knife?

    Word by Word: Are-you with knife?

    hn in hníf is a breathy n.

  5. Getur þú hjálpað mér?

    Can you help me?

    Word by Word: Can you help me?

    hj in hjálpað sounds like the h in huge.

Common Mistakes

  • Dropping the h in spelling.

    Ég fer út að laupa.
    Ég fer út að hlaupa.

    The h is written even though you do not hear a separate h sound. It is what makes the l breathy.

  • Confusing a word with hr and a word with plain r.

    Hann fékk rós fyrir verkefnið.
    Hann fékk hrós fyrir verkefnið.

    The sentence means he got a rose for the project. To say he got praise, use hrós. The breathy hr is the only difference, in sound and spelling.

How It Connects

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

Voiceless hl, hr and hnLevel 1

Learn This First

Voiceless hl, hr and hn follow the alphabet.