eða

Eða is a coordinating conjunction in Icelandic that expresses alternatives, meaning “or” in English. It links two or more options, phrases, or clauses and is widely used in everyday speech as well as in formal writing.

Common uses include connecting nouns, adjectives, or verb phrases to present choices, as in Viltu te eða kaffi? (Do you want tea or coffee?) or Við getum farið til Íslands eða Danmerkur. (We can go to Iceland or Denmark.) It also appears in questions and conditional constructions to outline possible options, and it can be used in more extended lists with commas, for example te, kaffi eða vatn. The word retains its primary sense of offering alternatives.

Grammatical notes: Or appears between items in simple lists and between clauses that present two or more possible states or actions. When the alternatives involve full clauses, eða connects them in the same way as between words, and punctuation follows Icelandic norms for coordinating conjunctions. In statements about choice or doubt, eða can be paired with phrases like hvort sem to emphasize “whether ... or ...” (for example, Hvort sem þú kemur eða sendir skilaboð, munum við sjá hvað gerist).

Etymology and relatives: eða/or is a traditional Icelandic word with roots in Old Norse and is related to similar Germanic forms that convey the notion of choice or alternative. It has remained a stable part of Icelandic grammar, distinguishing itself from other conjunctions by its primary function of presenting two or more options.