If you’re learning Faroese, you might wonder how it compares to its closest living relative: Icelandic.

Both Faroese and Icelandic are North Germanic languages.

Because they’re spoken on islands, linguists often call them “Insular Nordic” languages. They both come directly from Old Norse, the language spoken by the Vikings.

Because they share the same roots, Faroese and Icelandic look incredibly similar on paper. But when you hear them spoken aloud, they sound like two completely different languages!

In this guide, I’ll break down the key similarities and differences between Faroese and Icelandic so you can understand exactly how they compare.

A shared history

Over a thousand years ago, settlers from Norway (and other parts of Scandinavia) traveled across the ocean and settled in both the Faroe Islands and Iceland.

They brought their language, Old Norse, with them.

Over the centuries, mainland Scandinavian languages like Norwegian, Danish, and Swedish changed a lot. They simplified their grammar and borrowed heavily from German.

However, because the Faroe Islands and Iceland were so isolated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, their languages didn’t change nearly as much. Both Faroese and Icelandic held onto the complex grammar and old vocabulary of their ancestors.

Writing and the alphabet

If you look at a book written in Faroese and a book written in Icelandic, you might think they’re the same language at first glance.

However, there are a few key differences in their alphabets.

The most noticeable difference is the letter þ (thorn).

• Icelandic still uses þ, which makes a “th” sound (like in the English word thought).
• Faroese lost this sound over time. When Faroese created its written alphabet in the 1800s, they dropped the þ. Instead, Faroese usually replaces it with a t or an h.

Another difference is how they write the “ö” sound.

• Icelandic uses the letter ö.
• Faroese uses the letter ø (just like Danish and Norwegian).

Both languages use the unique letter ð (eth), but as we’ll see in the next section, they pronounce it very differently!

Pronunciation differences

Pronunciation is the biggest difference between Faroese and Icelandic.

Icelandic pronunciation is fairly straightforward. For the most part, words in Icelandic are pronounced exactly the way they’re spelled.

Faroese pronunciation, on the other hand, is famous for being tricky. When Venceslaus Ulricus Hammershaimb created the Faroese writing system in 1846, he wanted to show the language’s strong connection to Old Norse and Icelandic. So, he designed the spelling to look like Icelandic, rather than how Faroese actually sounded!

Here are two major pronunciation differences:

1. The letter ð (eth)

In Icelandic, ð is pronounced like the “th” in the English word this.

In Faroese, the letter ð is almost always completely silent! Sometimes it acts as a “glide” connecting two vowels (making a soft ‘y’, ‘v’, or ‘w’ sound), but it’s never pronounced as a “th”.

2. The letter combination “ll”

In Icelandic, “ll” is usually pronounced with a little click or puff of air, sounding a bit like “tl”.

In Faroese, “ll” is usually pronounced as a distinct “dl” sound.

Grammar similarities

Grammar is where Faroese and Icelandic are the most similar. While mainland languages like Swedish and Danish simplified their grammar, Faroese and Icelandic kept the complex rules of Old Norse.

Both languages have:

• Three genders: Nouns can be masculine, feminine, or neuter.
• Four cases: Nominative, accusative, dative, and genitive. This means the ending of a noun changes depending on its job in the sentence (like whether it’s the subject or the object).
• Adjective matching: Adjectives change their endings to match the gender, number, and case of the noun they describe.

If you already know Icelandic grammar, learning Faroese grammar will be a breeze, and vice versa!

Vocabulary and Danish influence

Because they share the same roots, many common words are nearly identical in both languages.

Here’s a quick comparison table of some basic words:

While the basic words are similar, modern vocabulary is where the two languages drift apart.

Iceland has a strict policy of “linguistic purism.” This means they try not to borrow words from English or other languages. Instead, they invent new words for modern technology using ancient Viking roots.

Faroese is much more relaxed. Because the Faroe Islands are part of the Kingdom of Denmark, Faroese has borrowed heavily from Danish.

For example, let’s look at the phrase “What is your name?”:

They look similar, but you can see the slight spelling shifts (like Faroese dropping the þ and using hvat instead of hvað).

When it comes to Danish loanwords in Faroese, you’ll often hear words like kanska (maybe) or biografur (cinema), whereas Icelandic uses older native roots for these concepts.

Can Faroese and Icelandic people understand each other?

This is the most common question language learners ask. The short answer is: Yes, but mostly in writing.

Because the spelling is so similar, an Icelander can usually read a Faroese newspaper and understand most of it, and a Faroese person can read Icelandic. It takes a little effort, kind of like an English speaker trying to read old Shakespearean English, but it’s entirely possible.

However, spoken communication is very difficult.

The pronunciation differences are just too big. If a Faroese person and an Icelander meet on the street and speak in their native languages at normal speeds, they’ll likely struggle to understand each other.

Often, they’ll switch to English. Sometimes, they might speak “Scandinavian” to each other (since Faroese people learn Danish in school, and Icelanders also traditionally learned Danish as a second language).

With a few weeks of practice and exposure, though, a Faroese speaker and an Icelandic speaker can easily tune their ears to understand one another!