Føroyskt

Faroese

Germanic

FamilyGermanic Speakers~70K ScriptLatin CountriesFaroe Islands (Denmark) Official inFaroe Islands (co-official with Danish) Vitalityvulnerable ISO 639-3fao

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

20 core words in Faroese

Water

vatn

/vahtn/

Fire

eldur

/ɛltʊɹ/

Sun

sól

/sɔuːl/

Moon

máni

/mɔaːnɪ/

Mother

móðir

/mɔuːɪɹ/

Father

faðir

/fɛaːjɪɹ/

Eat

eta

/eːta/

Drink

drekka

/tɹɛhka/

Love

kærleiki

/kɛaːɹlaiːtʃɪ/

Heart

hjarta

/jaɹta/

Tree

træ

/tɹɛaː/

House

hús

/huːs/

Dog

hundur

/hʊntʊɹ/

Cat

ketta

/tʃɛhta/

Hand

hond

/hɔnt/

Eye

eyga

/ɛiːja/

Hello

hey

/hɛi/

Thank you

takk

/tʰahk/

One

ein

/ain/

Good

góður

/kɔuːʊɹ/

Sources

Words compared

Compared with related Germanic languages

Meaning FaroeseIcelandicNorwegian NynorskSwedishNorwegianOld NorseLow German
Water vatn /vahtn/ vatn /vahtn/ vatn /vɑːtn/ vatten /vatːɛn/ vann /vɑnː/ vatn /vɑtn/ Water /vɑːtɐ/
Fire eldur /ɛltʊɹ/ eldur /ɛltʏɹ/ eld /ɛld/ eld /ɛld/ ild /ilː/ eldr /eldr/ Füer /fyːɐ/
Sun sól /sɔuːl/ sól /souːl/ sol /suːl/ sol /suːl/ sol /suːl/ sól /soːl/ Sünn /zʏn/
Moon máni /mɔaːnɪ/ tungl /tʰuŋkl/ måne /moːnə/ måne /moːnɛ/ måne /moːnə/ máni /mɑːni/ Maand /mɑːnt/
Mother móðir /mɔuːɪɹ/ móðir /mouːðɪɹ/ mor /muːr/ mamma /mamːa/ mor /muːr/ móðir /moːðir/ Moder /moːdɐ/
Father faðir /fɛaːjɪɹ/ faðir /faðɪɹ/ far /fɑːr/ pappa /papːa/ far /fɑːr/ faðir /fɑðir/ Vader /fɑːdɐ/
Eat eta /eːta/ borða /pɔrða/ eta /eːtɑ/ äta /ɛːta/ spise /spiːsə/ eta /etɑ/ eten /eːtn̩/
Drink drekka /tɹɛhka/ drekka /trɛhka/ drikka /drɪkːɑ/ dricka /drɪkːa/ drikke /drɪkːə/ drekka /drekːɑ/ drinken /drɪŋkn̩/
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Word order compared

Compare with major world languages

I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
Faroese
Eg vil prøva ein klæðnadrátt sum eg í einari búð yvir fyri hotellinum
Ich möchte einen Anzug anprobieren den ich in einem Geschäft gegenüber vom Hotel gesehen habe
أنا أريد أن أجرب بدلة رأيتها في محل مقابل الفندق
试穿 酒店 对面的 商店 看到的 那套西装
मैं होटल के सामने एक दुकान में देखा सूट को पहनकर देखना चाहता हूँ
私は ホテルの 向かいの お店 見た スーツを 試着 したいです
Я хочу примерить костюм который я увидел в магазине напротив отеля

Compare with closely-related languages

Ek wil 'n pak aanpas wat ek gesien het ‌in 'n winkel oorkant die hotel
Jeg vil prøve et jakkesæt som jeg i en butik overfor hotellet
Ik wil een pak passen dat ik zag ‌in een winkel tegenover het hotel
I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
Faroese
Eg vil prøva ein klæðnadrátt sum eg í einari búð yvir fyri hotellinum

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