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In Icelandic orthography, the n-rules are rules for determining when one letter n or two consecutive n's should be written, a difference that sometimes affects the pronunciation.
If an element of a compound word that is not the final element ends with one or two n's, the number of n's is the same as in the original word from which that element is derived, of which it is a possibly modified and usually shortened form. For example:
It can be hard to find related words to determine whether one or two n's should be written. One way is to search for possible origin words with two n's in their stem. If no such words are to be found, the use of one n is plausible. The example with kynngi, with a changed vowel, shows this is not a straightforward matter.
For example:
Below are rules about the number of n’s in function words, which do not decline nor conjugate. Various function words which indicate movement end with –an and never –ann.
Examples:
In the adverbs “þanneginn” (þann + veginn) and “hinseginn” two n’s are written.
One is supposed to write enn – meaning "still" – whenever it's possible to use enn þá instead without changing the meaning of the sentence. In every other case, en is used. En, which can mean different things, is often used when comparing. En can also be a conjunction.
Examples with two n's:
Examples with one n:
The definite article always uses the same number of n's, therefore it does not matter whether it is added as a suffix to the word or written as a separate word.
Example:
Example:
Two n's are used whenever a possessive pronoun has an "i" (minni, minnar, minn, minna..).
One "n" is used whenever a possessive pronoun has an "í"; that is, an "i" with an acute accent, not a tittle (mínum, míns, mína, mín..).
The number of n's in a possessive pronoun always corresponds to the number of n's in the definite article of the same form:
Example:
Masculine nouns ending in -ann, -inn and -unn in nominative singular, are written with one "n" in all other cases (accusative, dative and genitive).
Examples:
| Nominative | Accusative | Dative | Genitive | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| morgunn | morgunn | [um] morgun | [frá] morgni | [til] morguns |
| drottinn | drottinn | [um] drottin | [frá] drottni | [til] drottins |
| himinn | himinn | [um] himin | [frá] himni | [til] himins |
| arinn | arinn | [um] arin | [frá] arni | [til] arins |
Other words which decline this way:
The words Huginn, Reginn and Muninn don't change in the accusative and dative case (Hugin, Munin og Regin).
The word aftann (which means evening) is the only word in modern Icelandic that declines this way,[ disputed (for: conflict with examples cited above) ] and is used mostly in compounds like aftansöngur (evening mass) or aftanbjarmi (evening light).
| Nominative | Accusative | Dative | Genitive | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aftann | aftann | [um] aftan | [frá] aftni | [til] aftans |
Some names which originated in Irish and end with -an in the nominative case, end with a single "n" in all cases. The names Kiljan, Kamban, Kjarvan, Kvaran, Kjartan, Natan etc. are examples of such names.
| Nominative | Accusative | Dative | Genitive | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Natan | Natan | [um] Natan | [frá] Natan | [til] Natans |
| Kjartan | Kjartan | [um] Kjartan | [frá] Kjartani | [til] Kjartans |
The first n-rule for feminine nouns, the so-called Þórunnarregla, states that Icelandic feminine names which come from the name unnur (like Þórunn, Jórunn, Iðunn, Ingunn, Ljótunn, Dýrunn, Sæunn), have two n's in all cases.
| Nominative | Accusative | Dative | Genitive | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jórunn | Jórunn | [um] Jórunni | [frá] Jórunni | [til] Jórunnar |
| Iðunn | Iðunn | [um] Iðunni | [frá] Iðunni | [til] Iðunnar |
The second n-rule for feminine nouns, the so-called miskunnarregla, states that the four feminine nouns which come from the noun kunna and kenna (einkunn, vorkunn, miskunn and forkunn) have two n's in all cases.
| Nominative | Accusative | Dative | Genitive | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| miskunn | miskunn | [um] miskunn | [frá] miskunn | [til] miskunnar |
| vorkunn | vorkunn | [um] vorkunn | [frá] vorkunn | [til] vorkunnar |
The third n-rule for feminine nouns, the so-called verslunarregla, states that feminine nouns ending with -un or -an in the nominative case, and come from the infinitive mood of verbs, should be spelled with a single "n" in all cases.
Examples:
| Features |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Names | ||
| History and literature | ||
| Promotion and purism | ||
| Related topics | ||
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