Weak noun

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In the Icelandic language nouns are considered weak, if they fulfill the following conditions:

Masculines:

The nominative singular ends in -i, the other singular cases end in -a or -ja.

The noun is derived from the present participle of a verb, in which case the plural ends in -ur (but the singular follows the -i-a rule).

Feminines:

The nominative singular ends in -a, the other singular cases end in -u.

The singular ends in -i in all cases. (If there is a plural, it may end in either -ir or -ar.)

Neuters:

They end in -a in the singular in all cases. The plural ends in -u (but the genitive plural in -na) without further alterations with the exception of hjarta (heart) which becomes hjörtu in the plural through u-breaking. Some borrowings may exhibit similar behaviour, e.g, singular drama, plural drömu. Most of these are words for organs.

An almost exhaustive list follows:

auga (eye)

bjúga (a type of sausage)

eista (testicle)

eyra (ear)

hjarta (heart)

hnoða (a woollen ball, most often encountered in fairy-tales)

lunga (lung)

milta (spleen)

nýra (kidney)

Then there are a small number of borrowings like firma, drama, þema etc. none of which require translation.

[edit] References

• Björn Guðfinnsson (1958). Íslensk málfræði.