Learning how to say “hello” in Icelandic is a small effort with a big impact. While most Icelanders speak excellent English, greeting someone in their native language shows respect and friendliness. It also makes your travels feel more immersive and personal.
Whether you’re traveling to Reykjavík, meeting Icelandic friends, or just curious about the language, learning some common phrases in Icelandic is a great place to start.
The most widely used way to say hello in Icelandic is: Hæ
This is short, sweet, and perfect for informal situations. It’s basically the Icelandic version of “hi” in English.
Another very common greeting is: Halló
This is slightly more formal than hæ, but still casual and friendly. Use it with people you don’t know well or in professional settings.
Some Icelandic letters and accents might look intimidating at first, especially if you're new to the language. To help you feel more confident and ensure locals understand you, we’ve put together a quick pronunciation guide:
Once you’ve mastered hæ and halló, here are some more ways to greet in Icelandic depending on the time of day or situation:
Locals also use some other greetings that are more old-fashioned and formal. While these are less common today, you might still hear them in the countryside, or sometimes in the city, either to be humorous or to show extra politeness. So, it’s worth knowing them just in case.
One example literally means “happy and blessed” and is said differently depending on the person’s gender:
Sæl og blessuð (to a woman)
You might see words like blessaður and wonder how to say them. The letter ð sounds like the th in “this” or “that.”
So:blessaður → BLEH-sah-thur (for men)blessuð → BLEH-suth (for women)
One great thing about Icelandic is that you don’t need to learn tons of variations for formal and informal speech like you do in French or German. In general, you can use hæ and halló with most people, but you may want to learn some of the formal greetings for very polite conversations, elders, or professional settings.
When learning a new language, it’s just as important to understand the culture behind the words. Icelandic greetings carry meaning beyond the phrases themselves; they reflect Iceland’s values of respect, simplicity, and warmth. Following these cultural tips can help you connect more genuinely with locals during your visit:
Icelanders don’t typically hug or kiss when they greet strangers. A smile and a nod (or a handshake in formal situations) are usually enough.
Since there’s no Icelandic word for "please," tone and phrasing go a long way. Saying hello with a warm tone helps you come across as friendly and respectful.
Icelanders are polite but not overly chatty with strangers. A simple greeting and smile are enough—no need to go overboard!
Want to go beyond “hello”? Here are some more nuanced everyday greetings to sprinkle into your conversations, and some Icelandic phrases for saying goodbye:
Ready to keep going beyond “hello” in Iceland? Explore more vocabulary and phrases with our curated Icelandic resources and check out other useful blog posts, such as learn a language before you travel.
If you really want to get conversational, download Drops for free to learn essential Icelandic words and phrases with fun, game-based exercises. With as little as 5 minutes a day, you can make steady progress to get your Icelandic ready for travel, making friends, or connecting with family.
The most common greetings are hæ and halló. For mornings, use góðan daginn. More traditional greetings include sæll og blessaður.
Takk means “thanks.” It’s short for takk fyrir (“thank you”). Learn more ways to say thank you in Icelandic.
It’s a traditional greeting meaning “happy and blessed.” Sæll is masculine; sæl is feminine.
It sounds like the th in “this” or “that.” For example, blessaður → “BLEH-sah-thur.”
“Skál!” is the Icelandic word for cheers. Pronounced “sk-owl.”
"Love my fun language learning and practice with daily Drops sessions, and monthly Challenges to participate in, and quiz mode to test contextual learning - brilliant! So much thought, consideration and inclusivity has gone into the design and function of this app, I can't praise it highly enough."
"Great little learning app! I've learned at least 5-10 new words in Spanish in my first 5 minutes. Easy to pick up and thorough."
"Great language learning app! It helps you get daily words done in a short amount of time. I would highly recommend using drops to learn whatever language you want to learn."
"What an amazing app! I’ve tried several apps for language learning and I cannot recommend Drops enough. I don’t know how a short Drops session can teach me as much as 1 hour+ of focused use of other apps, it’s like magic."
"Amazing language learning tool. Excellent app for increasing vocabulary in your foreign language of choice. Useful for beginner, intermediate, and advanced learners. The repetition of the words makes them much easier to remember, and without the hassle of making your own flash cards. I have used Drops for two years now and have seen great results."
"Very engaging way of learning Yoruba in a stimulating way. Will be using to learn myself and to teach my child!"
"Less than a week in but using this alone with the popular one babbel working on German. When using just one app I got bored, babbel is not as fun. So using both at once actually let's my adhd do its thing but I still focused since I can switch easily between both apps and work in different areas. Also I like the quick little sessions makes me feel like I actually did something."
"So engaging. I speak Spanish well, but often forget words in conversation that I know I should know. This game is fun and quickly brings back vocabulary I may have put in the back of my brain after not using it for awhile. Case in point: I spent 11 years in construction, then went back to teaching in English and/or Spanish depending on the teacher/student"
"Amazing app"
"I have been desperate to find an app that really helps me learn Japanese and this is the best by far"
"I like that you can switch between different subjects and topics constantly and it’s really easy to learn a lot of vocabulary very quickly! This works perfect for me because I can learn a lot of words but then practice sentence structure with my grandmother whose from Croatia"
"Fantastic app great opportunity to learn languages on your spare time. Drops makes it easy to learn and retain words to formulate sentences."
"Best of the best. Awesome app in every sense"
"This app us the best and how I am doing Learning Ukraine is Helping me alot tnx"
"Definitely recommend! I'm using this to learn mandarin 10/10"
"Fun and interactive. Great for repetition!"
"Very engaging way of learning Yoruba in a stimulating way. Will be using to learn myself and to teach my child!"
"Amazing language learning tool. Excellent app for increasing vocabulary in your foreign language of choice. Useful for beginner, intermediate, and advanced learners. The repetition of the words makes them much easier to remember, and without the hassle of making your own flash cards. I have used Drops for two years now and have seen great results."
"Great little learning app! I've learned at least 5-10 new words in Spanish in my first 5 minutes. Easy to pick up and thorough."
"I have been desperate to find an app that really helps me learn Japanese and this is the best by far"
"I like that you can switch between different subjects and topics constantly and it’s really easy to learn a lot of vocabulary very quickly! This works perfect for me because I can learn a lot of words but then practice sentence structure with my grandmother whose from Croatia"
"Fantastic app great opportunity to learn languages on your spare time. Drops makes it easy to learn and retain words to formulate sentences."
"What an amazing app! I’ve tried several apps for language learning and I cannot recommend Drops enough. I don’t know how a short Drops session can teach me as much as 1 hour+ of focused use of other apps, it’s like magic."
"Love my fun language learning and practice with daily Drops sessions, and monthly Challenges to participate in, and quiz mode to test contextual learning - brilliant! So much thought, consideration and inclusivity has gone into the design and function of this app, I can't praise it highly enough."
"Definitely recommend! I'm using this to learn mandarin 10/10"
"This app us the best and how I am doing Learning Ukraine is Helping me alot tnx"
