The fastest words to learn are the ones you see most. This deck lists the 60 most common Icelandic words, each with a clear English meaning and a real example sentence. Study them below, or download the deck for Anki or Quizlet.
The best Icelandic flashcards to learn first are the words you meet most often. This free deck pairs the 60 most common Icelandic words, like ég, þú, hann, with a plain English meaning and a real example sentence for each. Download it as a CSV for Anki or Quizlet, or learn the words in context by reading.
CSV columns are word, translation, example (with a header row). Ready to import into Anki, Quizlet, or any spaced-repetition app.
60 most common Icelandic words · Updated July 2026
| Icelandic | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ég | I | Ég bý á Íslandi. |
| þú | you (singular) | Þú ert vinur minn. |
| hann | he | Hann er læknir. |
| hún | she | Hún er kennari. |
| það | it | Það er kalt í dag. |
| við | we | Við búum á Íslandi. |
| þið | you (plural) | Hvaðan eruð þið? |
| þeir | they | Þeir eru í skólanum. |
| og | and | Ég og þú erum vinir. |
| en | but | Ég vil fara en ég get það ekki. |
| eða | or | Viltu te eða kaffi? |
| ekki | not | Ég er ekki þreyttur. |
| já | yes | Já, ég skil. |
| nei | no | Nei, takk. |
| hér | here | Ég bý hér. |
| þar | there | Bókin er þar. |
| núna | now | Ég er upptekinn núna. |
| líka | also; too | Ég vil líka koma. |
| í | in | Bókin er í töskunni. |
| á | on; at | Bókin er á borðinu. |
| með | with | Ég fer með þér. |
| til | to | Ég fer til Íslands. |
| maður | man; person | Þessi maður er vingjarnlegur. |
| kona | woman | Konan vinnur í búð. |
| barn | child | Barnið sefur. |
| hús | house | Húsið er stórt. |
| bók | book | Ég er að lesa bók. |
| matur | food | Maturinn er góður. |
| vatn | water | Get ég fengið vatn? |
| dagur | day | Í dag er góður dagur. |
| land | country; land | Ísland er fallegt land. |
| borg | city | Reykjavík er stór borg. |
| bíll | car | Bíllinn er rauður. |
| hundur | dog | Hundurinn er vinur minn. |
| vinur | friend | Hann er besti vinur minn. |
| fjölskylda | family | Fjölskyldan mín er stór. |
| skóli | school | Börnin eru í skólanum. |
| tími | time | Ég hef ekki tíma núna. |
| vera | to be | Ég er glaður. |
| eiga | to have; to own | Ég á bíl. |
| gera | to do; to make | Hvað ertu að gera? |
| fara | to go | Ég fer heim. |
| koma | to come | Hann kemur á morgun. |
| sjá | to see | Ég sé þig. |
| segja | to say; to tell | Hvað sagðir þú? |
| vita | to know (a fact) | Ég veit það ekki. |
| vilja | to want | Ég vil kaffi. |
| geta | to be able to; can | Ég get hjálpað þér. |
| borða | to eat | Við borðum kvöldmat klukkan sjö. |
| drekka | to drink | Hann drekkur vatn. |
| tala | to speak; to talk | Talar þú íslensku? |
| skilja | to understand | Ég skil ekki. |
| góður | good | Þetta er góður matur. |
| stór | big; large | Bíllinn er stór. |
| lítill | small | Húsið er lítið. |
| nýr | new | Þetta er nýr bíll. |
| gamall | old | Hann er gamall maður. |
| fallegur | beautiful; pretty | Hún er falleg. |
| heitur | hot | Kaffið er heitt. |
| kaldur | cold | Vatnið er kalt. |
Flashcards fix words in memory; reading teaches you to use them. Lingo7 lets you read real books in Icelandic with sentence-aligned translation and native-narrated audio, and save any word to review later. Free to start.
The deck is built from high-frequency words, the ones that make up most of everyday Icelandic. Learning them first gives you the biggest return per card, because you will meet them again and again the moment you start reading or listening.
Flashcards work best with spaced repetition: review a card, and if you knew it, wait longer before seeing it again. Anki and Quizlet both do this automatically. Download the CSV, import it, and review a few minutes a day. Keep the example sentence on the card so you learn how the word actually behaves, not just its dictionary gloss.
One honest limit: flashcards build recognition, but you learn to use a word by meeting it in real context. Pair this deck with reading. When a word you drilled shows up in a story, it stops being a flashcard and becomes part of the language. That pairing is what reading in Lingo7 is built for.
Best Icelandic books for your level (A1 to C1) →
Not sure of your level? Take the Icelandic CEFR test (A1 to C2) →
How long does it take to learn Icelandic? See the timeline →
Start with the most frequent words. A few thousand high-frequency Icelandic words cover the majority of everyday text, so each of those cards pays off far more than a rare one. This deck gives you the top 60 to begin with, each with a meaning and an example sentence, so you learn the word in context rather than in isolation. When a card sticks, meet the word again in a real book to lock it in.
Click Download CSV to save the deck, then in Anki choose File, Import and select the file. Map the first column to the front (the Icelandic word) and the second to the back (the meaning); the third column holds an example sentence you can add to the back too. The first row is a header, so tell Anki to ignore it or delete that one card. For Quizlet, use Copy for Quizlet and paste into the import box with Tab between term and definition.
Flashcards are excellent for building recognition and drilling the first few thousand words, but on their own they teach words out of context. You learn to use Icelandic, not just recognize it, by reading and hearing the words in real sentences. The efficient combination is flashcards for raw vocabulary plus reading for context, collocation and grammar. That is exactly what Lingo7 is built around.
Roughly 2,000 to 3,000 common words cover most everyday Icelandic text, and around 5,000 gets you comfortably through many novels. You do not need all of them before you start: with sentence-aligned translation you can begin reading real Icelandic at a couple of thousand words and pick up the rest from context. This deck is a fast way to front-load the most useful 60.