Icelandic Alphabet (á ð é í ó ú ý þ æ ö): Sounds and Rules
Icelandic writes the Latin alphabet without c, q, w or z and adds á ð é í ó ú ý þ æ ö. The acute on á, é, í, ó, ú and ý marks neither stress nor length: each is a letter with a vowel of its own, so tál, deception, and tal, speech, are different words.
What are the letters of the Icelandic alphabet, in order?
The Unicode CLDR lists 32 letters for Icelandic, from a to ö. The 10 lit ones are letters English does not have: á ð é í ó ú ý þ æ ö. Tap a capital or a small letter to copy it.
The order is CLDR's collation for Icelandic, applied by ICU 78.3 (CLDR 48.0).
Which Icelandic letters go beyond a to z?
10 letters of the Icelandic alphabet are not in English; 7 carry a mark. Each one links to its own page with every shortcut.
- Á áa with acute; shortcuts and facts on the A with accent page
- Ð ðeth; shortcuts and facts on the Eth page
- É ée with acute; shortcuts and facts on the E with accent page
- Í íi with acute; shortcuts and facts on the I with accent page
- Ó óo with acute; shortcuts and facts on the O with accent page
- Ú úu with acute; shortcuts and facts on the U with accent page
- Ý ýy with acute; shortcuts and facts on the Y with accent page
- Þ þthorn; shortcuts and facts on the Thorn page
- Æ æae; shortcuts and facts on the Ae ligature page
- Ö öo with diaeresis; shortcuts and facts on the O with umlaut page
How do you type the Icelandic letters on each device?
Each row gives the method the vendor documents for one Icelandic letter. The help pages are linked at the end.
| Letter | Mac | Windows | Microsoft Word |
|---|---|---|---|
| á | Option+E, then A | Alt+0225 | Ctrl+', then A |
| ð | Fn/Globe+E, then search "latin small letter eth", then ð | Alt+0240 | Ctrl+', then D |
| é | Option+E, then E | Alt+0233 | Ctrl+', then E |
| í | Option+E, then I | Alt+0237 | Ctrl+', then I |
| ó | Option+E, then O | Alt+0243 | Ctrl+', then O |
| ú | Option+E, then U | Alt+0250 | Ctrl+', then U |
| ý | Fn/Globe+E, then search "latin small letter y with acute", then ý | Alt+0253 | Ctrl+', then Y |
| þ | Fn/Globe+E, then search "latin small letter thorn", then þ | Alt+0254 | 00fe, then Alt+X |
| æ | Option+' | Alt+0230 | Ctrl+Shift+&, then A |
| ö | Option+U, then O | Alt+0246 | Ctrl+Shift+:, then O |
| Guide | How to type accents on a Mac | How to type accents on Windows | How to type accents in Word |
- Google Docs: documented for every Icelandic letter here. For á: Insert, then Symbols, then Special characters, then search "latin small letter a with acute". How to type accents in Google Docs
- iPhone, iPad: documented for á, é, í, ó, ú, æ and ö. For á: Touch and hold A, then slide to á. None for ð, ý and þ.
- Android: documented for á, é, í, ó, ú, æ and ö. For á: Touch and hold A, then slide to á. None for ð, ý and þ.
- Chromebook: documented for á, é, í, ó, ú, ý and ö. For á: Switch to the US International keyboard, then ', then A. None for ð, þ and æ. How to type accents on a Chromebook
Sources:Mac (Apple) (opens in a new tab)Windows, Microsoft Word (Microsoft) (opens in a new tab)Microsoft Word (Microsoft) (opens in a new tab)Google Docs (Google) (opens in a new tab)iPhone, iPad (Apple) (opens in a new tab)Android (Google) (opens in a new tab)Chromebook (Google) (opens in a new tab)Mac (Apple) (opens in a new tab)Mac (Apple) (opens in a new tab)
Which languages use á, ð, é, í, ó, ú, ý, þ, æ or ö?
Between them, á, ð, é, í, ó, ú, ý, þ, æ and ö are part of the standard alphabet of 47 languages in the Unicode CLDR. Each letter's languages:
- á
- 23 languages:
- Afrikaans
- Anii
- Asturian
- Czech
- Dutch
- Ewe
- Faroese
- Galician
- Hungarian
- Icelandic
- Interlingue
- Irish
- Kaingang
- Nigerian Pidgin
- Occitan
- Portuguese
- Slovak
- Spanish
- Tongan
- Vietnamese
- Welsh
- Western Frisian
- Yoruba
- ð
- 2 languages: Faroese, Icelandic
- é
- 35 languages:
- Afrikaans
- Anii
- Asturian
- Catalan
- Czech
- Dutch
- Ewe
- French
- Galician
- Hungarian
- Icelandic
- Interlingue
- Irish
- Italian
- Javanese
- Kaingang
- Ligurian
- Luxembourgish
- Nigerian Pidgin
- Norwegian
- Occitan
- Piedmontese
- Portuguese
- Romansh
- Slovak
- Spanish
- Sundanese
- Swedish
- Tongan
- Venetian
- Vietnamese
- Welsh
- Western Frisian
- Wolof
- Yoruba
- í
- 22 languages:
- Anii
- Asturian
- Catalan
- Czech
- Dutch
- Ewe
- Faroese
- Galician
- Hungarian
- Icelandic
- Interlingue
- Irish
- Nigerian Pidgin
- Occitan
- Portuguese
- Slovak
- Spanish
- Tongan
- Vietnamese
- Welsh
- Western Frisian
- Yoruba
- ó
- 30 languages:
- Anii
- Asturian
- Catalan
- Czech
- Dutch
- Ewe
- Faroese
- Galician
- Hungarian
- Icelandic
- Interlingue
- Irish
- Kaingang
- Ligurian
- Lower Sorbian
- Nigerian Pidgin
- Norwegian
- Occitan
- Polish
- Portuguese
- Slovak
- Spanish
- Tongan
- Upper Sorbian
- Venetian
- Vietnamese
- Welsh
- Western Frisian
- Wolof
- Yoruba
- ú
- 22 languages:
- Anii
- Asturian
- Catalan
- Czech
- Dutch
- Ewe
- Faroese
- Galician
- Hungarian
- Icelandic
- Interlingue
- Irish
- Nigerian Pidgin
- Occitan
- Portuguese
- Slovak
- Spanish
- Tongan
- Vietnamese
- Welsh
- Western Frisian
- Yoruba
- ý
- 8 languages:
- Czech
- Faroese
- Icelandic
- Slovak
- Turkmen
- Vietnamese
- Welsh
- Western Frisian
- þ
- 1 language: Icelandic
- æ
- 6 languages:
- Danish
- Faroese
- French
- Icelandic
- Ligurian
- Norwegian
- ö
- 15 languages:
- Afrikaans
- Azerbaijani
- Dutch
- Estonian
- Finnish
- German
- Hungarian
- Icelandic
- Ligurian
- Low German
- Swedish
- Turkish
- Turkmen
- Welsh
- Western Frisian
What does the accent on an Icelandic vowel change?
The acute on an Icelandic vowel changes the vowel itself. Iceland's Ministry of Education says so in its booklet Íslenska – í senn forn og ný (opens in a new tab): the mark shows neither stress nor length, but a different sound. Its example is a, said [a], beside á, said [au].
Each row pairs two words that differ only in that mark. The transcriptions are from Wiktionary's entries for tal (opens in a new tab), tál (opens in a new tab), ver (opens in a new tab), vér (opens in a new tab), vin (opens in a new tab), vín (opens in a new tab), hor (opens in a new tab), hór (opens in a new tab), kul (opens in a new tab), kúl (opens in a new tab), byr (opens in a new tab) and býr (opens in a new tab).
| Without the mark | Said | With the mark | Said |
|---|---|---|---|
| tal, speech | [ˈtʰaːl] | tál, deception | [ˈtʰauːl] |
| ver, the sea (poetic) | [ˈvɛːr] | vér, we (formal) | [ˈvjɛːr] |
| vin, oasis | [ˈvɪːn] | vín, wine | [ˈviːn] |
| hor, snot | [ˈhɔːr] | hór, adultery | [ˈhouːr] |
| kul, a light breeze | [ˈkʰʏːl] | kúl, cool (informal) | [ˈkʰuːl] |
| byr, tailwind | [ˈpɪːr] | býr, lives | [ˈpiːr] |
Every vowel here carries the length sign ː, so length is not what the mark adds. It turns [a] into [au], [ɛ] into [jɛ] and [ɔ] into [ou]. In the last row, byr has the vowel of vin. Ritreglur § 18.1 spells y and ý by a word's origin, not by its sound. Strip the marks and the words change: tál becomes tal.
Why is langur spelled with an a but said with an á?
Icelandic spells langur with a plain a because its rule follows an older pronunciation. Ritreglur (opens in a new tab), the official spelling rules, say in § 4 that most speakers now use a broad vowel before ng and nk. The spelling keeps the older sound, still heard in parts of the Westfjords.
So before ng and nk you write a, e, i or y, u and ö, and say á, ei, í, ú and au. The examples come from § 4.2. The transcriptions come from Wiktionary's entries for langur (opens in a new tab), drengur (opens in a new tab), fingur (opens in a new tab), ungur (opens in a new tab), göng (opens in a new tab) and kóngur (opens in a new tab).
| Written before ng or nk | Said like | Example | Wiktionary |
|---|---|---|---|
| a | á | langur, long | [ˈlauŋkʏr] |
| e | ei | drengur, boy | [ˈtreiŋkʏr] |
| i or y | í | fingur, finger | [ˈfiŋkʏr] |
| u | ú | ungur, young | [ˈuŋkʏr] |
| ö | au | göng, tunnel | [ˈkœiŋk] |
| o, ó, æ | as written | kóngur, king | [ˈkʰouŋkʏr] |
The last row is the control: § 4.3 writes o, ó and æ as they sound. The accent stays when a word comes from one with the broad vowel, as jánka from já. Section 5 also keeps vowels apart before gi and gj, as in stigi and vígi, though few speakers still hear the difference.
When did z leave the Icelandic alphabet?
Z left Icelandic spelling in 1974. Vísindavefurinn (opens in a new tab), the University of Iceland's question site, explains in an answer by Guðrún Kvaran. Z once stood for a ts sound, where t, d or ð met s. The sound became a plain s, but rules from 1859 kept the letter.
| Spelling before 1974 | Meaning | Built from |
|---|---|---|
| beztur | best | bet + stur |
| elztur | oldest | eld + stur |
| hanzki | glove | hand + ski |
| þú veizt | you know | veit + st |
| við höfum hitzt | we have met | hitt + st |
Many found the rules hard to learn and to teach. Wiktionary now marks beztur (opens in a new tab) as a superseded spelling of bestur. The idea was old: the First Grammatical Treatise, from the 12th century, had already rejected z and x.
The 1974 notice kept z for proper names of foreign origin, such as Zakarías. It also kept it for family names such as Haralz and Eggerz, as another answer (opens in a new tab) quotes. Elsewhere, says a third answer (opens in a new tab), z in an Icelandic word is a spelling error.
Which letters can an Icelandic first name use?
An Icelandic first name may use the modern alphabet, and c, q, w or z only in a borrowed name. That is the working rule of mannanafnanefnd, the naming committee, which applies Article 5 of Act No. 45/1996 on personal names.
Article 5 asks four things. A new name must take an Icelandic genitive ending or be established in the language, fit the language system, follow the spelling rules unless tradition says otherwise, and not embarrass its bearer. Ruling 86/2026 (opens in a new tab), of 8 September 2026, tested Scarlet. It takes the genitive Scarletar, but c is not in the Icelandic alphabet, and no tradition was found. The committee approved it as a borrowed name spelled as in its source language.
| A name spelled with | What the working rules say |
|---|---|
| only the Icelandic alphabet letters at the top | the four conditions of Article 5 apply |
| c, q, w or z | allowed in a borrowed name spelled as in its source language |
| another letter, such as ø, ñ or ç | outside the rule, which names only the modern alphabet and c, q, w, z |
| a borrowed name respelled the Icelandic way | allowed by the same rule |
The ruling adds that these rules guide the committee and do not bind it. Still, the Icelandic alphabet is more than a classroom list. It is what a new first name is checked against.
How to type Icelandic letters, step by step
Step 1: Mac: Option+E for á, é, í, ó and ú
Press Option+E, then the vowel: Option+E and then A gives á. For ý, ð and þ, press Fn/Globe+E and search the letter's name, such as latin small letter thorn.
Step 2: Mac: æ and ö
Press and hold A, then choose æ. For ö, press Option+U, then O.
Step 3: Windows: Alt codes for þ, ð, æ and ö
Type Alt+0254 for þ, Alt+0240 for ð, Alt+0230 for æ and Alt+0246 for ö. Alt+0222 gives Þ and Alt+0208 gives Ð.
Step 4: Microsoft Word: Ctrl+' for the acute vowels
Press Ctrl+' and then the vowel to get á, é, í, ó, ú or ý. For þ, type 00fe and press Alt+X.
Step 5: iPhone and Android: touch and hold
Touch and hold A and slide to á or æ, or hold O and slide to ó or ö. For ð and þ, copy them from the alphabet at the top.
Which other letters does the CLDR list for Icelandic?
The Unicode CLDR lists these as auxiliary letters for Icelandic: characters that turn up in Icelandic text without being letters of its alphabet, in loanwords, foreign names or dictionary marks. c q w z
Which names and places are spelled with á, ð, é, í, ó, ú, ý, þ, æ or ö?
Given names come from Wikidata, the most widely covered first by the number of Wikipedia editions about them, and places come from the GeoNames list of cities, largest population first, kept only where an official language of the country writes the letter.
- á
- Given names:
- Zoltán
- András
- Václav
- Álvaro
- Kálmán
- Ciarán
- Sándor
- István
- Nándor
- Siobhán
- Károly
- Árpád
Places:- Bogotá (Colombia)
- Ciudad Juárez (Mexico)
- Naucalpan de Juárez (Mexico)
- Culiacán (Mexico)
- Álvaro Obregón (Mexico)
- Acapulco de Juárez (Mexico)
- Cuiabá (Brazil)
- Coyoacán (Mexico)
- ð
- Given names:
- Guðmundur
- Guðrún
- Friðrik
- Auður
- Guðjón
- Guðlaugur
- Þórður
- Valgerður
- Bárður
- Sigurður
- Hörður
- Þormóður
Places: Hafnarfjörður (Iceland)
- é
- Given names:
- René
- José
- André
- Géza
- Éder
- Andrés
- Aurélie
- Cécile
- Béla
- Étienne
- Aimée
- Aimé
Places:- Lomé (Togo)
- Montréal (Canada)
- Santiago de Querétaro (Mexico)
- Belém (Brazil)
- Yaoundé (Cameroon)
- Mérida (Mexico)
- Salé (Morocco)
- Bouaké (Côte d’Ivoire)
- í
- Given names:
- Joaquín
- Jiří
- Drahomíra
- Vigdís
- Antonín
- Vladimír
- Tímea
- Bohumír
- Rocío
- Sofía
- Kristína
- Benjamín
Places:- Brasília (Brazil)
- Medellín (Colombia)
- São Luís (Brazil)
- San Luis Potosí (Mexico)
- Maturín (Venezuela)
- Montería (Colombia)
- Jundiaí (Brazil)
- Xalapa de Enríquez (Mexico)
- ó
- Given names:
- Ildikó
- Józef
- Ólafur
- Jón
- József
- Óscar
- Cristóbal
- Zsófia
- Viktória
- Lóránt
- Miklós
- László
Places:- Córdoba (Argentina)
- León de los Aldama (Mexico)
- Asunción (Paraguay)
- Maceió (Brazil)
- Thanh Hóa (Vietnam)
- Kraków (Poland)
- Torreón (Mexico)
- Álvaro Obregón (Mexico)
- ú
- Given names:
- Raúl
- Núria
- Guðrún
- Lúcia
- Úna
- Artúr
- Júlia
- Júlio
- Ágúst
- Bendegúz
- Matúš
- Magnús
Places:- Cancún (Mexico)
- Cúcuta (Colombia)
- Maipú (Chile)
- Grajaú (Brazil)
- Phú Quốc (Vietnam)
- Phú Mỹ (Vietnam)
- Maracanaú (Brazil)
- Criciúma (Brazil)
- ý
Given names: Kristýna, Borgný, Dionýz
Places:- Phủ Lý (Vietnam)
- Frýdek-Místek (Czechia)
- Liptovský Mikuláš (Slovakia)
- Český Těšín (Czechia)
- Phú Quý (Vietnam)
- Starý Bohumín (Czechia)
- Nový Jičín (Czechia)
- Černý Most (Czechia)
- þ
- Given names:
- Þórunn
- Þorsteinn
- Þóra
- Þorlákur
- Þorvaldur
- Þórður
- Þormóður
- Þorgils
- Þórsteinn
- Þorbjörn
- Þórir
- æ
- Given names:
- Ælfflæd
- Lærke
- Æthelflæd
- Æthelfrith
- Ælfwald
- Æthelthryth
- Ægir
- Sævar
- Lætitia
- Æthelred
Places: Næstved (Denmark), Holbæk (Denmark), Reykjanesbær (Iceland), Vallensbæk (Denmark)
- ö
- Given names:
- Björn
- György
- Göran
- Özlem
- Torbjörn
- Gökhan
- Yrjö
- Sören
- Gyöngyi
- Gökalp
- Örjan
- Kyösti
Places:- Köln (Germany)
- Malmö (Sweden)
- Mönchengladbach (Germany)
- Arnavutköy (Türkiye)
- Linköping (Sweden)
- Gölbaşı (Türkiye)
- Neukölln (Germany)
- Örebro (Sweden)
Which English words keep á, ð, é, í, ó, ú, ý, þ, æ or ö?
Wiktionary lists these English words spelled with each letter, most common first by how often they appear in English subtitles:
- é
- fiancé
- fiancée
- café
- cliché
- résumé
- olé
- touché
- attaché
- séance
- protégé
- ó
- adiós
Wiktionary lists no English word with á, ð, í, ú, ý, þ, æ and ö that English subtitles use.
What are the Alt codes for the Icelandic letters?
Hold Alt and type the digits on the number pad with Num Lock on. The top row of digits does not work, and laptops without a number pad need the methods above.
| Letter | Alt code |
|---|---|
| á | Alt+0225 |
| Á | Alt+0193 |
| ð | Alt+0240 |
| Ð | Alt+0208 |
| é | Alt+0233 |
| É | Alt+0201 |
| í | Alt+0237 |
| Í | Alt+0205 |
| ó | Alt+0243 |
| Ó | Alt+0211 |
| ú | Alt+0250 |
| Ú | Alt+0218 |
| ý | Alt+0253 |
| Ý | Alt+0221 |
| þ | Alt+0254 |
| Þ | Alt+0222 |
| æ | Alt+0230 |
| Æ | Alt+0198 |
| ö | Alt+0246 |
| Ö | Alt+0214 |
Which AccentPad pages cover the Icelandic letters?
These letter pages each hold one or more Icelandic letters, with every shortcut and the facts for that letter:
Other alphabets that share Icelandic letters beyond a to z:
Every letter with the same mark, on one page, for á, é, í, ó, ú, ý and ö: Accent aigu, Umlaut.
Need a letter outside the Icelandic alphabet?
Frequently asked questions about Icelandic letters
Does Icelandic use the letter c?
Not as a letter of its alphabet. A 2026 ruling of Iceland's naming committee says c is not in the Icelandic alphabet. Vísindavefurinn notes that the spelling dictionary still has a C section, mostly names and terms such as C-vítamín.
Why is Jesús spelled with je and not é in Icelandic?
Ritreglur § 3 writes é for the je sound where older Icelandic had a long é, as in ég and mér. It writes je at the start of some words of foreign origin, such as Jesús and jeppi, and in plurals like byrjendur.
Is there a rhyme for learning the Icelandic alphabet?
Yes. Vísindavefurinn quotes a two-verse alphabet rhyme by the poet Þórarinn Eldjárn. It runs through the letters in order, from a, á, b, d to þ, æ, ö, with no c, q, w or z.
Is there an Icelandic keyboard layout for Windows?
Yes. Microsoft's list of Windows keyboard layouts includes Icelandic, file KBDIC, layout ID 0000040F, present since before Windows XP.
Who decides how Icelandic is spelled?
The Ministry of Education and Culture. The current rules, Ritreglur, are its notices no. 695/2016 and no. 800/2018, published online by the Árni Magnússon Institute.