# Icelandic: dyr - always in plural?



## schnup

Just came across this while struggling along with Icelandic, is 'dyr' (door) in Icelandic always in plural? Does it also mean "door" as in the usual doors you find in a house or building, or a metaphorical one? 

How then do you say 'one door'?


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## Silver_Biscuit

I know that another word for door is *hurð* (feminine), so you could always use that. *Dyr* definitely can mean door in a building, but I've always wondered about why it is plural as well; I'll be interested to see what the Icelanders say.

Edit: There are a fair few google results for "einar dyr" so I assume it can be done like that. One example is 'Þegar einar dyr lokast, opnast aðrar' (When one door is closed, another is opened).


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## Alxmrphi

> Edit: There are a fair few google results for "einar dyr" so I assume it  can be done like that


That's so weird to get your head around, the_ plural form_ of _one_....

Wikipedia has this to say, I can't read a lot of it but I'll give a translation a go in the hope someone can better it and therefore make the information more relevant:



> *Dyr* eru manngengt op inn í hús eða  milli herbergja,  oftast með umbúnaði til að hurð geti fallið fyrir. Dyrum má ekki rugla  saman við hurð,  en hurð er flekinn sem fellur að dyrum. Enska orðið _door_  getur aftur á móti þýtt hvortveggja, hurð og dyr, en ekki í íslensku.  Orðið dyr er fleirtöluorð.



*Dyr *is the main opening into a house or between rooms, often with <>. "*Dyr*" can be confused with "*hurð*", but* hurð* is <> what you come through doors. On the other hand, the English word_ door_ can mean both* hurð* and *dyr*, but not in Icelandic. The word *dyr* is a plural word.


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## sindridah

dyr in english basicly means: entry -  entrance - doorway or you know how to say it in english, gap into houses or something like that and because of that it's basic to say open or close "dyrunum" so basicly dyr in singular never happens in icelandic. Hope i make some sens 

Best regards Sindri.


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## Silver_Biscuit

So *dyr* is the opening, and *hurð* is the actual piece of wood (or whatever)? That is very interesting, I always assumed that the words were interchangable. My best effort with the Wikipedia explanation:


> *Dyr* is the opening into a house or between rooms that people go through, most often prepared so that a *hurð* can go in front of it. *Dyr* may not be confused with *hurð*; *hurð* is the piece of wood* that goes in the *dyr*. On the other hand, the English word *door* can be translated as both *hurð* and *dyr*, but not in Icelandic. The word *dyr* is a plural word.


 
* Translation for *fleki* was *raft*, but I assumed that it could also mean a large sheet of wood, or some other material you might make a door of.


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## schnup

Thanks for the informative answers! This forum is really great =oD


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## Silver_Biscuit

I found an article about dyr and hurð at Vísindavefurinn, which can be found here. In case you are a beginner at Icelandic and can't read it (and also to practice my own Icelandic), I have translated it for you and put it on googledocs here.


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## Alxmrphi

Þér finnst gaman að flotta þér?? 
(Ég er bara að spauga  Takk fyrir þýðingu!!)


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## Silver_Biscuit

I honestly did it for my own practice! And because I found this topic interesting. I know you all could read it if you went through it, but since I already spent some time on it with a dictionary, I thought might as well share. Hopefully I didn't make too many mistakes. If you haven't discovered it yet, by the way, Vísindavefurinn is a really good website with lots of interesting articles about the Icelandic language (and loads of other topics).


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## Alxmrphi

I was only joking by the way! 

I've seen you quote that website few times, but I just get annoyed when I try to read it (frustration)... I perhaps should try a bit harder..


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## sindridah

Alxmrphi said:


> Þér finnst gaman að flotta þér??
> (Ég er bara að spauga  Takk fyrir þýðingu!!)



whaaat alex, what was "flotta þér" suppose to mean?
and also my dear friend "Takk fyrir þýðingu*na*"

Ohh my im always soo boring with my corrections heheh sorry alex! hope you can forgive


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## Alxmrphi

sindridah said:


> heheh sorry alex! hope you can forgive



Hmmmmmm.. see my PM


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## schnup

Wow thanks again! yeah it's a great site, i just checked it out.

@sindridah: corrections are good, that's the only way to get rid of all the mistakes that you´d never notice on your own! i wish people would correct me more often when i'm speaking a foreign language =oD *hint*


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