# Icelandic orthography

* EthThorn
* A handwriting extract; the Icelandic letters ⟨ð⟩ and ⟨þ⟩ are visible.
Icelandic orthography uses a Latin-script alphabet which has 32 letters. Compared with the 26 letters of English, the Icelandic alphabet lacks C, Q, W and Z, but additionally has Ð, Þ, Æ and Ö. Six letters have forms with acute accents to produce Á, É, Í, Ó, Ú and Ý.
The letters Eth (⟨ð⟩, capital ⟨Ð⟩), transliterated as ⟨d⟩, and Thorn (⟨þ⟩, capital ⟨Þ⟩), transliterated as ⟨th⟩, are widely used in the Icelandic language. Eth is also used in Faroese and Elfdalian, while thorn was used in many historical languages such as Old English. The letters ⟨æ⟩ (capital ⟨Æ⟩) and ⟨ö⟩ (capital ⟨Ö⟩) are considered as completely separate letters in Icelandic, and are collated as such, even though they originated as a ligature and a diacritical version respectively.
Icelandic words never start with ⟨ð⟩, which means its capital ⟨Ð⟩ occurs only when words are spelled in all capitals. The alphabet is as follows:
Majuscule forms (also called uppercase or capital letters) :
| A | Á | B | D | Ð | E | É | F | G | H | I | Í | J | K | L | M | N | O | Ó | P | R | S | T | U | Ú | V | X | Y | Ý | Z | Þ | Æ | Ö |
| Minuscule forms (also called lowercase or small letters) |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| a | á | b | d | ð | e | é | f | g | h | i | í | j | k | l | m | n | o | ó | p | r | s | t | u | ú | v | x | y | ý | z | þ | æ | ö |
The above table has 33 letters, including the letter Z which is obsolete but may be found in older texts, e.g. verzlun became verslun.
Names of letters :
| Letter | Name | Frequency |
| Aa | a | 10.11% |
| Áá | á | 1.8% |
| Bb | bé | 1.04% |
| Dd | dé | 1.58% |
| Ðð | eð | 4.39% |
| Ee | e | 6.42% |
| Éé | é | 0.65% |
| Ff | eff | 3.01% |
| Gg | ge | 4.24% |
| Hh | há | 1.87% |
| Ii | i | 7.58% |
| Íí | í | 1.57% |
| Jj | joð | 1.14% |
| Kk | ká | 3.31% |
| Ll | ell | 4.53% |
| Mm | emm | 4.04% |
| Nn | enn | 7.71% |
| Oo | o | 2.17% |
| Óó | ó | 0.99% |
| Pp | pé | 0.79% |
| Rr | err | 8.58% |
| Ss | ess | 5.63% |
| Tt | té | 4.95% |
| Uu | u | 4.56% |
| Úú | ú | 0.61% |
| Vv | vaff | 2.44% |
| Xx | ex | 0.05% |
| Yy | ufsilon y | 0.9% |
| Ýý | ufsilon ý | 0.23% |
| Zz | seta | ~0% |
| Þþ | þorn | 1.45% |
| Ææ | æ | 0.87% |
| Öö | ö | 0.78% |
The names of the letters are grammatically neuter (except the now obsolete ⟨z⟩ which is grammatically feminine).
The letters ⟨a⟩, ⟨á⟩, ⟨e⟩, ⟨é⟩, ⟨i⟩, ⟨í⟩, ⟨o⟩, ⟨ó⟩, ⟨u⟩, ⟨ú⟩, ⟨y⟩, ⟨ý⟩, ⟨æ⟩ and ⟨ö⟩ are considered vowels, and the remainder are consonants.
⟨c⟩ (sé,), ⟨q⟩ (kú,) and ⟨w⟩ (tvöfalt vaff,) are only used in Icelandic in words of foreign origin and some proper names that are also of foreign origin. Otherwise, ⟨c⟩, ⟨qu⟩, and ⟨w⟩ are replaced by ⟨k/s/ts⟩, ⟨hv⟩, and ⟨v⟩ respectively. (In fact, ⟨hv⟩ etymologically corresponds to Latin ⟨qu⟩ and English ⟨wh⟩ in words inherited from Proto-Indo-European: Icelandic hvað, Latin quod, English what.)
⟨z⟩ (seta,) was used until 1973, when it was abolished, as it was only an etymological detail. It originally represented an affricate [t͡s], which arose from the combinations ⟨t⟩+⟨s⟩, ⟨d⟩+⟨s⟩, ⟨ð⟩+⟨s⟩; however, in modern Icelandic it came to be pronounced, and since it was a letter that was not commonly used, it was decided in 1973 to replace all instances of ⟨z⟩ with ⟨s⟩. However, one of the most important newspapers in Iceland, Morgunblaðið, still uses it sometimes (although very rarely), a hot-dog chain, Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur, and a secondary school, Verzlunarskóli Íslands have it in their names. It is also found in some proper names (e.g. Zakarías, Haralz, Zoëga), and loanwords such as pizza (also written pítsa). Older people who were educated before the abolition of the ⟨z⟩ sometimes also use it.
While ⟨c⟩, ⟨q⟩, ⟨w⟩, and ⟨z⟩ are found on the Icelandic keyboard, they are rarely used in Icelandic; they are used in some proper names of Icelanders, mainly family names (family names are the exception in Iceland). ⟨c⟩ is used on road signs (to indicate city centre) according to European regulation, and cm is used for the centimetre according to the international SI system (while it may be written out as sentimetri). Many believe these letters should be included in the alphabet, as its purpose is a tool to collate (sort into the correct order), and practically that is done, i.e. computers treat the alphabet as a superset of the English alphabet. The alphabet as taught in schools up to about 1980 has these 36 letters (and computers still order this way): a, á, b, c, d, ð, e, é, f, g, h, i, í, j, k, l, m, n, o, ó, p, q, r, s, t, u, ú, v, w, x, y, ý, z, þ, æ, ö.

## History

The modern Icelandic alphabet developed from a standard established in the 19th century (primarily by Danish linguist Rasmus Rask). It is ultimately based heavily on an orthographic standard created in the early 12th century by a document referred to as The First Grammatical Treatise, author unknown. The standard was intended for the common North Germanic language Old Norse. It did not have much influence, however, at the time.
The most defining characteristics of the alphabet were established in the old treatise:
* Use of the acute accent (originally to signify vowel length).
* Use of ⟨þ⟩, also used in the Old English alphabet as the letter thorn.
The later Rasmus Rask standard was basically a re-enactment of the old treatise, with some changes to fit concurrent North Germanic conventions, such as the exclusive use of ⟨k⟩ rather than ⟨c⟩. Various old features, like ⟨ð⟩, had actually not seen much use in the later centuries, so Rask's standard constituted a major change in practice.
Later 20th century changes are most notably the adoption of ⟨é⟩, which had previously been written as ⟨je⟩ (reflecting the modern pronunciation), and the replacement of ⟨z⟩ with ⟨s⟩ in 1973.

## Spelling-to-sound correspondence

This section lists Icelandic letters and letter combinations and their phonemic representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet.

### Vowels

Icelandic vowels may be either long or short, but this distinction is only relevant in stressed syllables: unstressed vowels are neutral in quantitative aspect. The vowel length is determined by the consonants that follow the vowel: if there is only one consonant before another vowel or at the end of a word (i.e., CVCV or CVC# syllable structure), the vowel is long; if there are more than one (CVCCV), counting geminates and pre-aspirated stops as CC, the vowel is short. There are, however, some exceptions to this rule:
* A vowel is long when the first consonant following it is and the second, e.g. esja, vepja, akrar, vökvar, tvisvar.
* A vowel is also long in monosyllabic substantives with a genitive -s whose stem ends in a single following a vowel (e.g. ráps, skaks), except if the final is assimilated into the, e.g. báts.
* The first word of a compound term preserves its long vowel if its following consonant is one of the group, e.g. matmál.
* The non-compound verbs vitkast and litka have long vowels.
Vowels :
| Grapheme | Sound (IPA) | Sound (IPA) | Sound (IPA) | Sound (IPA) | Examples |
| Grapheme | Long | Short | Before ⟨gi⟩ | Before ⟨ng⟩ or ⟨nk⟩ | Examples |
| a | | | | | taska "handbag" kaka "cake" svangur "hungry" |
| á | | | | | fár "disaster" |
| au | | | | | þau "they" |
| e | | | | | skera "to cut" drekka "to drink" drengur "boy" |
| é | | | | | ég "I" |
| ei, ey | | | | | skeið "spoon" hey "hay" |
| i, y | | | | | sin "sinew" syngja "to sing" |
| í, ý | | | | | íslenska "Icelandic" |
| o | | | | | lofa "to promise" dolla "pot" |
| ó | | | | | rós "rose" |
| u | | | | | hundur "dog" munkur "monk" |
| ú | | | | | þú "you" |
| æ | | | | | læsa "lock" |
| ö | | | | | ör "scar" hnöttur "globe" öngull "hook" |

### Consonants

Consonants :
| Grapheme | Phonetic realization (IPA) | Examples |
| b | between ⟨m⟩ and ⟨d, t, s, g⟩: ∅ | kembt "combed [past participle]" |
| b | in most cases: unaspirated voiceless bilabial stop | bær "town" |
| d | between ⟨l⟩ or ⟨n⟩ and ⟨g, n, l, k, s⟩: ∅ | lands "land's [genitive]" |
| d | in most cases: unaspirated voiceless dental stop | dalur "valley" |
| ð | between vowels, between a vowel and a voiced consonant, word finally: voiced alveolar non-sibilant fricative | eða "or" bað "bath" |
| ð | before a voiceless consonant and before a pause: voiceless alveolar non-sibilant fricative | maðkur "worm" |
| ð | between ⟨r⟩ and ⟨n⟩, and between ⟨g⟩ and ⟨s⟩: ∅ | harðna "to harden" bragðs "trick's [genitive], flavour's [genitive]" |
| f | word initially or before a voiceless consonant, and when doubled: | fundur "meeting" haft "had [past participle]" |
| f | between vowels, between a vowel and a voiced consonant, or word finally: | lofa "to promise" horfa "look" |
| f | between ⟨ó⟩ and a vowel: ∅ | prófa "test" gulrófa "rutabaga" |
| f | before ⟨l⟩ or ⟨n⟩: | Keflavík "Keflavík" |
| fnd | | hefnd "revenge" |
| fnt | (voiceless) | nefnt "named" |
| g | word initially, before a consonant or ⟨a⟩, ⟨á⟩, ⟨o⟩, ⟨ó⟩, ⟨u⟩, ⟨ú⟩ or ⟨ö⟩; between a vowel and ⟨l⟩ or ⟨n⟩; or after a consonant: unaspirated voiceless velar stop | glápa "to stare" logn "windstill" borg "city" |
| g | word initially, before ⟨e⟩, ⟨é⟩, ⟨i⟩, ⟨í⟩, ⟨j⟩, ⟨y⟩, ⟨ý⟩, ⟨æ⟩, ⟨ei⟩ or ⟨ey⟩: unaspirated voiceless palatal stop | geta "to be able" |
| g | between a vowel and ⟨a, u, ð, r⟩; or word finally after a vowel: voiced velar fricative | fluga "fly" lag "layer" |
| g | before ⟨t⟩ or ⟨s⟩ or before a pause: voiceless velar fricative | dragt "suit" |
| g | between a vowel and ⟨j⟩ or ⟨i⟩: palatal approximant | segja "to say" |
| g | between ⟨á, ó, ú⟩, and ⟨a, o, u⟩: ∅ | fljúga "to fly" |
| gj | unaspirated voiceless palatal stop | gjalda "to pay" |
| h | voiceless glottal fricative | hár "hair" |
| hj | voiceless palatal fricative | hjá "next to" |
| hl | voiceless alveolar lateral approximant | hlýr "warm" |
| hn | voiceless alveolar nasal | hné "knee" |
| hr | voiceless alveolar trill | hratt "fast" |
| hv | ( among some older speakers in southern Iceland) | hvað "what" |
| j | | já "yes" |
| k | word initially, before a consonant or ⟨a⟩, ⟨á⟩, ⟨o⟩, ⟨ó⟩, ⟨u⟩, ⟨ú⟩ or ⟨ö⟩: | kaka "cake" |
| k | word initially, before ⟨e⟩, ⟨é⟩, ⟨i⟩, ⟨í⟩, ⟨y⟩, ⟨ý⟩, ⟨æ⟩, ⟨ei⟩ or ⟨ey⟩: aspirated voiceless palatal stop | keyra "to drive" |
| k | other contexts, before ⟨a⟩, ⟨á⟩, ⟨o⟩, ⟨ó⟩, ⟨u⟩, ⟨ú⟩ or ⟨ö⟩: | skarfur "cormorant" haka "chin" |
| k | other contexts, before ⟨e⟩, ⟨é⟩, ⟨i⟩, ⟨í⟩, ⟨y⟩, ⟨ý⟩, ⟨æ⟩, ⟨ei⟩ or ⟨ey⟩: unaspirated voiceless palatal stop | skip "boat" hroki "arrogance" |
| k | before ⟨l, m, n⟩: | miklir "great (pl.)" vakna "wake up" |
| k | before ⟨t⟩: voiceless velar fricative | október "October" |
| kj | word initially: aspirated voiceless palatal stop | kjöt "meat" |
| kj | other contexts: unaspirated voiceless palatal stop | þykja "to regard" |
| kk | , | þakka "to thank" ekki "not" |
| l | word finally, or next to a voiceless consonant: voiceless alveolar lateral approximant | sól "sun" stúlka "girl" |
| l | in most cases: | lás "lock" |
| ll | in loan words and pet names: | bolla "bun, bread roll" mylla "mill" |
| ll | in most cases: | bolli "cup" milli "between" |
| m | after and before voiceless consonants: | lampi "lamp" |
| m | in most cases: | mamma "mum" |
| n | after and before voiceless consonants: | planta "plant" hnífur "knife" |
| n | in most cases: | nafn "name" |
| ng | before ⟨d, l, s⟩: | kringla "disc" gangs "movement's [genitive]" |
| ng | in most cases: , | vængur "wing" engi "meadow" |
| nk | , | hönk "coil, loop" banki "bank" |
| nn | after accented vowels or diphthongs: | steinn "rock" fínn "fine" |
| nn | elsewhere: | finna "to find" |
| p | word initially: aspirated voiceless bilabial stop | par "pair" |
| p | other contexts: unaspirated voiceless bilabial stop | spara "to save" kápa "coat" |
| p | before ⟨s, k, t⟩: voiceless labiodental fricative | September "September" skips "ship's [genitive]" |
| p | before ⟨l, m, n⟩: | epli "apple(s)" vopn "weapon(s)" |
| pp | | stoppa "to stop" |
| r | word initially and between vowels: (voiced alveolar trill or tap) | rigna "to rain" læra "to learn" |
| r | before and after voiceless consonants and before a pause: (voiceless alveolar trill or tap) | svartur "black" |
| rl | , occasionally | karlmaður "man" |
| rn | , occasionally | þorn "the name of the letter Þ" |
| rn | before ⟨d⟩: | vernd "protection" |
| s | | sósa "sauce" |
| sl | | rusl "garbage" |
| sn | | býsna "extremes" |
| t | word initially: aspirated voiceless dental stop | taka "take" |
| t | before ⟨l, m, n⟩: | Atli "Attila" rytmi "rhythm" vatn "water" |
| t | elsewhere: unaspirated voiceless dental stop | stela "to steal" skutur "stern" |
| tt | | detta "to fall" |
| v | | vera "to be" |
| x | | lax "salmon" |
| z | | beztur "the best" (former orthography) Zakarías "Zachary" |
| þ | voiceless alveolar non-sibilant fricative | þú "you" Aþena "Athens" |
Simplified table :
| Grapheme | p | b | f | v | t | d | þ | ð | k | g | kj | gj | s | h | j | l | r | m | n | nk | ng | x |
| sometimes | (before ⟨s, k⟩) | ∅ (between ⟨m⟩ and ⟨d, t, s, g⟩) | ∅ (between ⟨ó⟩ and a vowel) | | | ∅ (between ⟨l⟩ or ⟨n⟩ and ⟨g, n, l, k, s⟩) | | ∅ (between ⟨r⟩ and ⟨n⟩, and between ⟨g⟩ and ⟨s⟩) | | ∅ (between ⟨á, ó, ú⟩, and ⟨a, o, u⟩) (between a vowel and ⟨a, u, ð, r⟩) (between a vowel and ⟨j⟩ or ⟨i⟩) (before ⟨s⟩ or before a pause) | | | | | | | | | | | (before ⟨d, l, s⟩) | |
| word initially, before a vowel | | | | | | | | - | , | , | | | | | | | | | | - | - | - |
| between vowels | | | | | | | | | , | , | | | | ? | | | | | | , | , | - |
| doubled | | - | | - | | - | - | - | , | - | - | - | | - | - | | | | , | - | - | | - |
| near voiceless consonants | | | | | | | | | , | , | | | | - | | | | | | - | - | - |
| near voiced consonants | | | | | | | | | , | , | | | | - | | | | | | - | - | - |
| before ⟨l⟩ | | - | | - | | - | - | - | | - | - | - | | - | - | - | | - | - | - | - | - |
| before ⟨n⟩ | | - | | - | | - | - | - | | - | - | - | | - | - | - | | - | - | - | - | - |
| before ⟨m⟩ | | - | - | - | | - | - | - | | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| before ⟨t⟩ | | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | | | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| word finally | | | | | | | | , | ? | | | | | - | | | , | | | , | , | |
| combined with h | - | - | - | | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | | | | - | | - | - | - |
| combined with nd, nt | - | - | , | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |

## Code pages

The alphabet is included in Unicode. Historically, ISO 8859-1 was the most used code page, followed by Windows-1252, which extends the Icelandic alphabet with e.g. the euro sign. ISO 8859-15 also extends the alphabet, but with the euro in a different place.