Føroyskt
Faroese
Germanic
Also known as: Faroese, Føroyskt
Faroese (Føroyskt) is a North Germanic language with ~70K speakers — official in the Faroe Islands (alongside Danish). Closest living relatives are Icelandic and extinct Norn (Shetland/Orkney). Standardized written form by V. U. Hammershaimb 1854 deliberately archaized to mirror Old Norse spelling. Strong literary tradition (William Heinesen) and active modern publishing.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Faroese
Water
vatn
/vahtn/
Fire
eldur
/ɛltʊɹ/
Sun
sól
/sɔuːl/
Moon
máni
/mɔaːnɪ/
Star
stjørna
/ˈtʃœdna/
Mother
móðir
/mɔuːɪɹ/
Father
faðir
/fɛaːjɪɹ/
I
eg
/eː/
You
tú
/tʉuː/
Name
navn
/naun/
Eye
eyga
/ɛiːja/
Hand
hond
/hɔnt/
Heart
hjarta
/jaɹta/
Love
kærleiki
/kɛaːɹlaiːtʃɪ/
Tree
træ
/tɹɛaː/
House
hús
/huːs/
Dog
hundur
/hʊntʊɹ/
Cat
ketta
/tʃɛhta/
Eat
eta
/eːta/
Drink
drekka
/tɹɛhka/
One
ein
/ain/
Two
tveir
/tvaɪɹ/
Hello
hey
/hɛi/
Thank you
takk
/tʰahk/
Good
góður
/kɔuːʊɹ/
Cuckoo
geykur
/ˈtʃɛiːkʊr/
Woof
voff voff
/vɔfː vɔfː/
Computer
telda
/ˈtʰɛlda/
Sushi
sushi
/ˈsuːʃi/
Dopamine
Dopamin
/doːpaˈmiːn/
At sign (@)
kurla
/ˈkʰʊɭa/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Germanic languages
| Meaning | Faroese | Icelandic | Norwegian Nynorsk | Swedish | Old Norse | Norwegian | Low German |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | vatn /vahtn/ | vatn /vahtn/ | vatn /vɑːtn/ | vatten /vatːɛn/ | vatn /vɑtn/ | vann /vɑnː/ | Water /vɑːtɐ/ |
| Fire | eldur /ɛltʊɹ/ | eldur /ɛltʏɹ/ | eld /ɛld/ | eld /ɛld/ | eldr /eldr/ | ild /ilː/ | Füer /fyːɐ/ |
| Sun | sól /sɔuːl/ | sól /souːl/ | sol /suːl/ | sol /suːl/ | sól /soːl/ | sol /suːl/ | Sünn /zʏn/ |
| Moon | máni /mɔaːnɪ/ | tungl /tʰuŋkl/ | måne /moːnə/ | måne /moːnɛ/ | máni /mɑːni/ | måne /moːnə/ | Maan /maːn/ |
| Star | stjørna /ˈtʃœdna/ | stjarna /ˈstjadna/ | stjerne /ˈʃæːɳə/ | stjärna /ˈɧæːɳa/ | stjarna /ˈstjarna/ | stjerne /ˈʂæːɳə/ | Steern /steːrn/ |
| Mother | móðir /mɔuːɪɹ/ | móðir /mouːðɪɹ/ | mor /muːr/ | mamma /mamːa/ | móðir /moːðir/ | mor /muːr/ | Moder /moːdɐ/ |
| Father | faðir /fɛaːjɪɹ/ | faðir /faðɪɹ/ | far /fɑːr/ | pappa /papːa/ | faðir /fɑðir/ | far /fɑːr/ | Vader /fɑːdɐ/ |
| I | eg /eː/ | ég /jɛːɣ/ | eg /eːɡ/ | jag /jɑːɡ/ | ek /ek/ | jeg /jæɪ/ | ik /ɪk/ |
| You | tú /tʉuː/ | þú /θuː/ | du /dʉː/ | du /dʉː/ | þú /θuː/ | du /dʉː/ | du /duː/ |
| Name | navn /naun/ | nafn /napn̥/ | namn /nɑmn/ | namn /namn/ | nafn /nafn/ | navn /nɑʋn/ | Naam /naːm/ |
| Eye | eyga /ɛiːja/ | auga /œyːɣa/ | auga /æʉɡɑ/ | öga /øːɡa/ | auga /ɑuɣɑ/ | øye /øjə/ | Oog /oːx/ |
| Hand | hond /hɔnt/ | hönd /hœnt/ | hand /hɑnd/ | hand /hand/ | hǫnd /hɔnd/ | hånd /hɔnː/ | Hand /hant/ |
| Heart | hjarta /jaɹta/ | hjarta /çaɹta/ | hjarte /jɑːrtə/ | hjärta /ˈjæʈːa/ | hjarta /hjɑrtɑ/ | hjerte /jæɾtə/ | Hart /haɐt/ |
| Love | kærleiki /kɛaːɹlaiːtʃɪ/ | ást /auːst/ | kjærleik /çæːrlɛik/ | kärlek /ɕæːɭɛk/ | ást /ɑːst/ | kjærlighet /çæːɾliheːt/ | Leev /leːf/ |
| Tree | træ /tɹɛaː/ | tré /tʰrjɛː/ | tre /treː/ | träd /trɛːd/ | tré /treː/ | tre /treː/ | Boom /boːm/ |
| House | hús /huːs/ | hús /huːs/ | hus /huːs/ | hus /hʉːs/ | hús /huːs/ | hus /hʉːs/ | Huus /huːs/ |
| Dog | hundur /hʊntʊɹ/ | hundur /hʏntʏɹ/ | hund /hʉnd/ | hund /hɵnd/ | hundr /hundr/ | hund /hʉnː/ | Hund /hʊnt/ |
| Cat | ketta /tʃɛhta/ | köttur /kʰœhtʏɹ/ | katt /kɑtː/ | katt /katː/ | kǫttr /kɔtːr/ | katt /kɑtː/ | Katt /kat/ |
| Eat | eta /eːta/ | borða /pɔrða/ | eta /eːtɑ/ | äta /ɛːta/ | eta /etɑ/ | spise /spiːsə/ | eten /eːtn̩/ |
| Drink | drekka /tɹɛhka/ | drekka /trɛhka/ | drikka /drɪkːɑ/ | dricka /drɪkːa/ | drekka /drekːɑ/ | drikke /drɪkːə/ | drinken /drɪŋkn̩/ |
| One | ein /ain/ | einn /eitn/ | ein /ɛɪn/ | en /eːn/ | einn /ɛinː/ | en /eːn/ | een /eːn/ |
| Two | tveir /tvaɪɹ/ | tveir /tʰveir/ | to /tuː/ | två /tvoː/ | tveir /tveir/ | to /tuː/ | twee /tveː/ |
| Hello | hey /hɛi/ | halló /halouː/ | hei /hɛɪ/ | hej /hɛj/ | heill /hɛilː/ | hei /hɛɪ/ | Moin /mɔɪn/ |
| Thank you | takk /tʰahk/ | takk /tʰahk/ | takk /tɑkː/ | tack /takː/ | þǫkk /θɔkː/ | takk /tɑkː/ | Dankschöön /daŋkʃøːn/ |
| Good | góður /kɔuːʊɹ/ | góður /kouːðʏr/ | god /ɡuːd/ | bra /brɑː/ | góðr /ɡoːðr/ | bra /brɑː/ | good /ɡoːt/ |
| Cuckoo | geykur /ˈtʃɛiːkʊr/ | gaukur /ˈɡœyːkʏr/ | gauk /ɡæʉk/ | gök /jøːk/ | gaukr /ˈɡɔukr̩/ | gjøk /jøːk/ | Kukuk /ˈkuːkuk/ |
| Woof | voff voff /vɔfː vɔfː/ | voff voff /vɔfː vɔfː/ | — | voff voff /vɔf vɔf/ | — | voff voff /vɔf vɔf/ | — |
| Computer | telda /ˈtʰɛlda/ | tölva /ˈtʰœlva/ | datamaskin /ˈdɑːtamaˌʃiːn/ | dator /ˈdɑːtɔr/ | — | datamaskin /ˈdɑːtamaˌʃiːn/ | Computer /kɔmˈpjuːtɐ/ |
| Sushi | sushi /ˈsuːʃi/ | sushi /ˈsuːsɪ/ | sushi /ˈsʉːʃi/ | sushi /ˈsʉːɧi/ | skreið /ˈskreið/ | sushi /ˈsʉːʃi/ | Sushi /ˈzuʃi/ |
| Dopamine | Dopamin /doːpaˈmiːn/ | dópamín /ˈtouːpaˌmin/ | dopamin /dʉpaˈmiːn/ | dopamin /dɔpaˈmiːn/ | — | dopamin /dʉpaˈmiːn/ | Dopamin /dopaˈmiːn/ |
| At sign (@) | kurla /ˈkʰʊɭa/ | atmerki /ˈaːtmɛrcɪ/ | — | snabel-a /ˈsnɑːbɛlɑː/ | — | krøllalfa /ˈkrœlːɑlfɑ/ | — |
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