øy
[ˈœ̼ʏ̯]feminine, masculine
The Norwegian word for island is øy.
An øy refers to an area of land completely surrounded by water. If you need to describe a group of islands, you can use øygruppe and to describe an area that is full of islands, you can use øyrike.
Meaning: area of land completely surrounded by water (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
The word øy can be either masculine or feminine. The plural form is øyer, and the definite form (the island) is øya.
Did you know?
- The Norwegian term øyrike describes an archipelago, but literally translates to 'island kingdom', where rike means 'realm' or 'kingdom'.
- While øy is the general word, Norwegians often use holme for a very small, uninhabited island, often one that is just a rocky outcrop.
- The Norwegian øy is a distant relative of the rare English words 'eyot' and 'ait', which both refer to small islands in a river.
Examples in context
- Island er ei øy.Iceland is an island.This sentence is useful for identifying a country as an island using øy.Tatoeba #12475985 by Just_Some_Guy, translation #6976445 by Hybrid
- Det der er ingen øy.That is not an island.This sentence is useful for negating that something is an island using øy.Tatoeba #4994847 by Improbably, translation #4986231 by Airvian
- Madagaskar er ei øy.Madagascar is an island.This sentence is useful for identifying a specific place as an island using øy.Tatoeba #12612710 by Barend, translation #11792072 by shekitten
- Den norske kysten er kjent for sine vakre øyerThe Norwegian coast is known for its beautiful islands
- Jeg ønsker å besøke Lofoten-øyene i sommerI want to visit the Lofoten Islands in summer
- La oss ta en tur til den lille øya i helgenLet's take a trip to the small island this weekend
- Det er mange fine øyer langs kysten herThere are many beautiful islands along the coast here
- Vi skal padle til den lille holmen og ha piknik derWe are going to paddle to the small island and have a picnic there
- Lofoten-øyene er en kjent øygruppe i Nord-NorgeThe Lofoten Islands are a famous island group in Northern Norway
- Norge er et øyrike med tusenvis av øyerNorway is an island-rich country with thousands of islands
- 11 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Sofie and Andreas are looking at a map of Norway.
- SofieHvilken øy er dette, Andreas?Which island is this, Andreas?
- AndreasDet er en øy i nærheten av Bergen.It is an island near Bergen.
- SofieEr den øya fin å besøke?Is that island nice to visit?
- AndreasJa, den er helt fantastisk.Yes, it is absolutely fantastic.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “island” translations and entries øy, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries øy, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
