gott kvöld
gott kvöld is the Icelandic way to say good evening.
This greeting is used when arriving or meeting someone during the evening hours.
Meaning: greeting said in the evening (intj)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of the neuter adjective gott (good) and the neuter noun kvöld (evening).
How does it change in a sentence?
The adjective gott is in the neuter nominative singular form to agree with the neuter noun kvöld.
Did you know?
- Because of the extreme latitude, an Icelander might say gott kvöld while the sun is still blindingly bright during the summer solstice.
- Because Icelandic is so conservative, the word kvöld is almost identical to the Old Norse kveld used by Vikings over a thousand years ago.
- While you might expect a formal greeting like 'gott kvöld' to be the standard, many Icelanders will simply say 'hæ' or 'halló' even in the evening, as Icelandic social culture is remarkably informal compared to many other European nations.
Examples in context
- Gott kvöld.Good evening.This is useful for practicing a simple greeting with gott kvöld.Tatoeba #3838980 by arnarsmata, translation #333156 by Aurix
- Gott kvöld. Hvernig gengur?Good evening. How's it going?This shows how to use gott kvöld when asking how things are going.Tatoeba #794381 by Swift, translation #9675478 by ravensfeather
- Gott kvöld. Hvernig hefurðu það?Good evening. How are you?This demonstrates using gott kvöld followed by a question about how someone is doing.Tatoeba #794384 by Swift, translation #6985178 by Eccles17
- Góða kvöldið!Good evening!
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Gunnar and Sigríður meet at a community event.
- GunnarGott kvöld, Sigríður!Good evening, Sigríður!
- SigríðurGott kvöld, Gunnar. Gaman að sjá þig.Good evening, Gunnar. Nice to see you.
- GunnarTakk, það er gaman að sjá þig líka.Thanks, it is nice to see you too.
- SigríðurHvað segirðu?How are you doing?
Sources
- Wiktionary, “good evening” translations and entries gott kvöld, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
