Hættuleg

Hættuleg is an Icelandic adjective meaning dangerous or perilous. It describes something that poses a risk to safety or well-being, such as a hazardous situation, risky activity, or a dangerous object. The feminine singular form is hættuleg, while the masculine singular is hættulegur and the neuter singular is hættulegt. In use, it commonly accompanies nouns to express danger, for example hættuleg staða (dangerous situation) or hættulegar aðstæður (dangerous conditions).

Etymology and forms: the word is built from the noun hætta, meaning danger or risk, combined with the adjectival suffix -ulegur to form an adjective meaning “dangerous.” This construction is typical in Icelandic morphology, allowing the word to agree with gender and number in phrases and sentences.

Usage: hættuleg appears across many registers, including everyday speech, journalism, and safety-focused writing. It commonly occurs in contexts such as road safety, weather advisories, and descriptions of potentially harmful activities. The adverbial form is hættulega, used to describe actions done in a dangerous manner, as in performing something hættulega.

See also: related concepts include the noun hætta (danger, risk) and verbs related to danger or risk. The opposite of hættuleg is öruggur/öruggt, meaning safe or secure, depending on gender and number. In Icelandic, adjectives such as hættuleg agree with the nouns they modify in gender, number, and definiteness, forming a flexible part of safety-oriented expression.