# Icelandic: verb 'To Like'



## Seikun

Hi.
After so much searching on the internet I have failed to find the icelandic verb for To Like, so I come here to ask for your help, people.

Also, does it work the same way as the English verb?

I like apples. 
I like your car.

Thanks in advance^^


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## Ben Jamin

Seikun said:


> Hi.
> After so much searching on the internet I have failed to find the icelandic verb for To Like, so I come here to ask for your help, people.
> 
> Also, does it work the same way as the English verb?
> 
> Thanks in advance^^



According to the Norwegian - Icelandic on line dictionary:
to like:
•líka    
•meta mikils  
•þykja vænt um    
•elska    (?)


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## Daniel20

I´m just a beginner, but when learning how to say what you like or don´t like, you learn how to say it impersonally using the construction ´mér finnst´. So, in your examples:

Mér f*a*nnst epli góð [I find apples good; the finnst changes to fannst for the plural, and the góð reflects the gender of epli - neuter - and plural].

Mér finnst bíllinn þinn góður [I find your car good]

I'd be interested in more experienced people's comments, though, and corrections on the above.


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## Silver_Biscuit

I would say "mér finnst epli góð", but "mér finnst bíllinn þinn góður" sounds a bit odd to me. I would say rather "mér finnst bíllinn þinn flottur". Or you know, in real life I would just say "hey flottur bíll", assuming the person and the car are both present, but that's not helpful for you.

Basically there is no Icelandic verb that covers all the ways we use 'to like' in English, but "mér finnst [noun] [positive adjective]" is usually a pretty good bet. You can also say "mér líkar" or "mér líkar við" "mér líkar vel við". I would probably pick one of those over 'finnast' if I was going to tell a person that I liked them, for example.

Meta [mikils] is more like 'to [highly] value' / 'to [really] appreciate'.
Þykja vænt um is 'to love / to be fond of'
Elska is 'to love'


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## Daniel20

Silver_Biscuit said:


> Basically there is no Icelandic verb that covers all the ways we use 'to like' in English, but "mér finnst [noun] [positive adjective]" is usually a pretty good bet. You can also say* "mér líkar" or "mér líkar við" "mér líkar vel við".* I would probably pick one of those over 'finnast' if I was going to tell a person that I liked them, for example.



Would you mind putting them into sentences to show they're used - and context?


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## Seikun

Very interesting answers. I was struggling to find the way to say _to like_ in icelandic because there are not many sources to learn icelandic in more detail on the net.

When you use _mér finnst/líkar_, what case does the object being liked take? It seems to me they take the nominative case plus the definite article even when using a possesive, right? Is that the standard?

If I wanted to say that I like someone's abdominals, for example, I guess _mér líkar_ would be more appropiate than _mér finnst_, correct?
I would try this example in Icelandic myself, but I don't know what the icelandic word for abdominals is and what gender it is either.

Thank guys, you are helping me a lot so all you can teach me about this is very welcome^^


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## Alxmrphi

> Mér f*a*nnst epli góð [I find apples good; the *finnst* changes to *fannst* for the plural, and the góð reflects the gender of epli - neuter - and plural.]



_Finnst_ -> _f*a*nnst_ is a change of *tense*. It's present to *past*.
I think what you mean is _finnst_ ->_ finn*a*st_. Something to be noted here is that there isn't complete agreement on actually making it 'finnast' when you have a plural object. Most grammars list both options, some papers say it should be _finnast _while other people argue that it should still be_ finnst_ (and you find both in all registers of the language). This possibility for plural is also only valid in the third person. If you want to say _I think you (plural)_ ... then it should always be _finnst_. Basically, if in doubt, use _finnst _until you have the confidence to know when the plural would probably be appropriate.

To get back away from the technicalities (and if the above comments seem confusing, you will be fine to ignore them), just take home the basic answer, which is what Silver_Biscuit said.


> When you use mér finnst/líkar, what case does the object being liked take? It seems to me they take the nominative case plus the definite article even when using a possesive, right? Is that the standard?


Depends on the context, usually definite because you'd be referring to a specific thing.
Possessive and articles just behaves in the normal way (think of the default as possessive always requiring the article, then you can learn about when not to use it at a later stage).


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## Silver_Biscuit

Daniel20 said:


> Would you mind putting them into sentences to show they're used - and context?



Hmm I could, but I would recommend maybe just googling them inside quotation marks. That way you should get a wide variety of examples from native speakers. That's what I always do to see contexts, anyway.


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## Seikun

Thanks again for your replies.

By the way, what is the infinitive for finnst and what does it mean exactly?


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## Alxmrphi

Seikun said:


> Thanks again for your replies.
> 
> By the way, what is the infinitive for finnst and what does it mean exactly?



The verb is _finna _(infinitive) which means 'find' but it has a reflexive marker (st) on the end of it. When 'find' has this 'st' on it and the subject is in the dative case, it means 'think'. You can think of it like English's, "I find this interesting" (= I think this is interesting). It's similar.


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## Seikun

Thanks once again for that piece of information. I am learning a lot^^

Could you correct my sentences, please!

Mér líkar hesturinn.
Mér líkar við hestinn.


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## Silver_Biscuit

It's líkar* not líka. Otherwise it looks _grammatically_ correct at any rate.


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## Seikun

I didn't notice I didn't type final 'r' for _líka_.

The role of the word _við_ after _líka_ is a mystery to me, but thanks to what you guys have taught me I found a little text where it is taught that _mér líkar við_ takes the object in accusative as opposed to plain_ mér líkar_ which takes the object in the nominative case.

I have another question regarding _finnst_. Does _finnst_ always require an adjective to convey the meaning of "liking" something/someone?

Thanks.


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## Daniel20

From what I've found, not always, but nearly always. That's just from a google search. Everything that was returned followed the pattern of 

Mér finnst [noun] [positive adjective].

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but the pattern reverses with verbs.

Mér finnst [adverb] [verb]

Til dæmis: mér finnst gott að búa á íslandi eða mér finnst ekki skemmtilegt í vinnunni.

For example: I like living in Iceland or I don't like it at work. 

The only sentence I could find that deviates from that is "betra merki? Mér finnst það" => "Better signal? I like that". I'm not sure how that works to be honest, but I guess it shows it can be done.


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## NoMoreMrIceGuy

Daniel20 said:


> The only sentence I could find that deviates from that is "betra merki? Mér finnst það" => "Better signal? I like that". I'm not sure how that works to be honest, but I guess it shows it can be done.



_Finnast _means more to have an opinion or stance towards something. In this case 'Mér finnst það' simply means 'That's what I think'/'I feel that way'.

For whatever reason, when conveying that you like something in Icelandic people use finnst/þykir instead of líkar.

So when saying 'I like chocolate', the direct translation would be 'Mér líkar súkkulaði', but, even though it is perfectly grammatical, it somehow sounds... simple, weak? By saying 'Mér finnst/þykir súkkulaði gott', it becomes more of a firm statement.

Although it will probably never affect the meaning of the sentence, it's good to think on what the actual words mean:
Líka: like
Finnast: feel
Þykja: have the opinion


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## Daniel20

NoMoreMrIceGuy said:


> _Finnast _means more to have an opinion or stance towards something. In this case 'Mér finnst það' simply means 'That's what I think'/'I feel that way'.
> 
> For whatever reason, when conveying that you like something in Icelandic people use finnst/þykir instead of líkar.
> 
> So when saying 'I like chocolate', the direct translation would be 'Mér líkar súkkulaði', but, even though it is perfectly grammatical, it somehow sounds... simple, weak? By saying 'Mér finnst/þykir súkkulaði gott', it becomes more of a firm statement.
> 
> Although it will probably never affect the meaning of the sentence, it's good to think on what the actual words mean:
> Líka: like
> Finnast: feel
> Þykja: have the opinion



Interesting, could mér finnst be used in this way then?:

Ég ætla að djamma í kvöld. Viltu koma með mér?
Já, mér finnst það.

I'm simply running with the English comparison of 'yeah, I feel like that'. Here, I can imagine saying 'I feel up for that'.

This has been a really useful discussion. Takk fólk.


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## Silver_Biscuit

Daniel20 said:


> Interesting, could mér finnst be used in this way then?:
> 
> Ég ætla að djamma í kvöld. Viltu koma með mér?
> Já, mér finnst það.
> 
> I'm simply running with the English comparison of 'yeah, I feel like that'. Here, I can imagine saying 'I feel up for that'.
> 
> This has been a really useful discussion. Takk fólk.



Haha I don't think so. That would be a bit of a strange response. You could say it, but then it's like you _think_ you're going to go out, like it's a subjective opinion. You can't really have a subjective opinion on whether you're going to go out or not - you can be unsure, but it's not a matter of opinion, you either are or you aren't. I would say "Já ég er til í það" for "Yeah, I feel like doing that".


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## Daniel20

Thought it might sound odd, thanks!


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## Seikun

Interesting responses.

When it comes to things or attributes that you find attractive like hair, the face, bodyparts, etc, should _mér líkar_ be used instead of _mér finnst_?

Also, what is the way to say _I like to do_ something in Icelandic?
Ex: I like to write.

Thanks.


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## Silver_Biscuit

Like "I like your hair?". Mér finnst hárið þitt flott. I'm not sure about the others, I would never say such a thing in English or Icelandic, "I like your face"? That's an odd thing to say. I would rather say "You have a beautiful face" if I wanted to compliment someone's face, not that I _liked_ it.

"I like to write" would be "Mér finnst gaman að skrifa" "Ég hef gaman af að skrifa", something along those lines.


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## Seikun

Silver_Biscuit said:


> Like "I like your hair?". Mér finnst hárið þitt flott. I'm not sure about the others, I would never say such a thing in English or Icelandic, "I like your face"? That's an odd thing to say. I would rather say "You have a beautiful face" if I wanted to compliment someone's face, not that I _liked_ it.
> 
> "I like to write" would be "Mér finnst gaman að skrifa" "Ég hef gaman af að skrifa", something along those lines.



I will try some sentences myself now.

Thank you all for helping me.


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