spyrja

Faroese

Etymology

From Old Norse spyrja, from Proto-Germanic *spurjaną.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈspɪɹja/

  Rhymes: -ɪɹja

Verb

spyrja (third person singular past indicative spurdi, third person plural past indicative spurdu, supine spurt)

1. to ask

   Hví spyrt tú meg?

   Why do you ask me?

Conjugation

Conjugation of spyrja (group v-23)

infinitive	spyrja
supine	spurt
	present	past
first singular	spyrji	spurdi
second singular	spyrt	spurdi
third singular	spyr	spurdi
plural	spyrja	spurdu
participle (a7)1	spyrjandi	spurdur
	imperative
singular	spyr!
plural	spyrjið!

¹Only the past participle being declined.

Antonyms

• svara

See also

• tosa
• práta
• fortelja

Icelandic

Alternative forms

• spurja (pronunciation spelling, proscribed)

Etymology

From Old Norse spyrja, from Proto-Germanic *spurjaną. Cognate with Old English spyrian, German spüren, Danish spørge.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈspɪrja/

  Rhymes: -ɪrja

• IPA^(key): /ˈspʏrja/
• Rhymes: -ʏrja

Verb

spyrja (weak verb, third-person singular past indicative spurði, supine spurt)

1. to ask

Usage notes

• It is very common to pronounce spyrja as if written spurja, and this spelling is also common, though proscribed.
• The imperative form spurðu is also particularly common alongside spyrðu. Compare keyptu (of kaupa).

Conjugation

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spyra – active voice (germynd)

infinitive nafnháttur		að spyra
supine sagnbót		spurt
present participle lýsingarháttur nútíðar		spyrandi
		indicative framsöguháttur			subjunctive viðtengingarháttur
		present nútíð	past þátíð		present nútíð	past þátíð
singular	ég	spyr	spurði		spyrji	spyrði
	þú	spyrð	spurðir		spyrir	spyrðir
	hann, hún, það	spyr	spurði		spyri	spyrði
plural	við	spyrum	spurðum		spyrum	spyrðum
	þið	spyrið	spurðuð		spyrið	spyrðuð
	þeir, þær, þau	spyra	spurðu		spyri	spyrðu
		imperative boðháttur
singular	þú	spyr (þú), spyrðu
plural	þið	spyrið (þið), spyriði1

¹ Spoken form, usually not written; in writing, the unappended plural form (optionally followed by the full pronoun) is preferred.

spyrast – mediopassive voice (miðmynd)

infinitive nafnháttur		að spyrast
supine sagnbót		spurst
present participle lýsingarháttur nútíðar		spyrandist (rare; see appendix)
		indicative framsöguháttur			subjunctive viðtengingarháttur
		present nútíð	past þátíð		present nútíð	past þátíð
singular	ég	spyrst	spurðist		spyrist	spyrðist
	þú	spyrst	spurðist		spyrist	spyrðist
	hann, hún, það	spyrst	spurðist		spyrist	spyrðist
plural	við	spyrumst	spurðumst		spyrumst	spyrðumst
	þið	spyrist	spurðust		spyrist	spyrðust
	þeir, þær, þau	spyrast	spurðust		spyrist	spyrðust
		imperative boðháttur
singular	þú	spyrst (þú), spyrstu
plural	þið	spyrist (þið), spyristi1

¹ Spoken form, usually not written; in writing, the unappended plural form (optionally followed by the full pronoun) is preferred.

spurður — past participle (lýsingarháttur þátíðar)

strong declension (sterk beyging)	singular (eintala)			plural (fleirtala)
	masculine (karlkyn)	feminine (kvenkyn)	neuter (hvorugkyn)	masculine (karlkyn)	feminine (kvenkyn)	neuter (hvorugkyn)
nominative (nefnifall)	spurður	spurð	spurt	spurðir	spurðar	spurð
accusative (þolfall)	spurðan	spurða	spurt	spurða	spurðar	spurð
dative (þágufall)	spurðum	spurðri	spurðu	spurðum	spurðum	spurðum
genitive (eignarfall)	spurðs	spurðrar	spurðs	spyrðra	spyrðra	spyrðra
weak declension (veik beyging)	singular (eintala)			plural (fleirtala)
	masculine (karlkyn)	feminine (kvenkyn)	neuter (hvorugkyn)	masculine (karlkyn)	feminine (kvenkyn)	neuter (hvorugkyn)
nominative (nefnifall)	spurði	spurða	spurða	spurðu	spurðu	spurðu
accusative (þolfall)	spurða	spurðu	spurða	spurðu	spurðu	spurðu
dative (þágufall)	spurða	spurðu	spurða	spurðu	spurðu	spurðu
genitive (eignarfall)	spurða	spurðu	spurða	spurðu	spurðu	spurðu

Related terms

• spurn

References

• Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon (1989), Íslensk orðsifjabók, Reykjavík: Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies, →ISBN (Available at Málið.is under the “Eldri orðabækur” tab.)
• Kristín Bjarnadóttir, editor (2002–2025), “spyrja”, in Beygingarlýsing íslensks nútímamáls [The Database of Modern Icelandic Inflection] (in Icelandic), Reykjavík: The Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies
• Mörður Árnason (2019), Íslensk orðabók, 5th edition, Reykjavík: Forlagið
• “spyrja” in the Dictionary of Modern Icelandic (in Icelandic) and ISLEX (in the Nordic languages)

Further reading

• Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon (1989), “spyrja”, in Íslensk orðsifjabók, Reykjavík: Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies, →ISBN (Available at Málið.is under the “Eldri orðabækur” tab.)

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Old Norse spyrja, from Proto-Germanic *spurjaną.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /²spʏrjɑ/

Verb

spyrja (present tense spør or spỳr, past tense spurde, past participle spurt)

1. (pre-1938) alternative form of spørja (“to ask”)

References

• “spyrja” in Ivar Aasen (1873) Norsk Ordbog med dansk Forklaring

Old Norse

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *spurjaną.

Verb

spyrja

1. to trace steps or footprints
2. to investigate, to find out
3. to ask
4. to hear, be informed of

Conjugation

Conjugation of spyrja — active (weak class 1)

infinitive	spyrja
present participle	spyrjandi
past participle	spurðr
	indicative			subjunctive
	present	past		present	past
1st person singular	spyr	spurða		spyrja	spyrða
2nd person singular	spyrr	spurðir		spyrir	spyrðir
3rd person singular	spyrr	spurði		spyri	spyrði
1st person plural	spyrjum	spurðum		spyrim	spyrðim
2nd person plural	spyrið	spurðuð		spyrið	spyrðið
3rd person plural	spyrja	spurðu		spyri	spyrði
imperative	present
2nd person singular	spyr
1st person plural	spyrjum
2nd person plural	spyrið

Conjugation of spyrja — mediopassive (weak class 1)

infinitive	spyrjask
present participle	spyrjandisk
past participle	spyrzk
	indicative			subjunctive
	present	past		present	past
1st person singular	spyrjumk	spurðumk		spyrjumk	spyrðumk
2nd person singular	spyrsk	spurðisk		spyrisk	spyrðisk
3rd person singular	spyrsk	spurðisk		spyrisk	spyrðisk
1st person plural	spyrjumsk	spurðumsk		spyrimsk	spyrðimsk
2nd person plural	spyrizk	spurðuzk		spyrizk	spyrðizk
3rd person plural	spyrjask	spurðusk		spyrisk	spyrðisk
imperative	present
2nd person singular	spyrsk
1st person plural	spyrjumsk
2nd person plural	spyrizk

Synonyms

• fregna

Descendants

• Icelandic: spyrja
• Faroese: spyrja
• Norwegian Nynorsk: spyrja, spørja; (dialectal) spurja, spær, spår
• Old Swedish: spyria
  • Swedish: spörja
• Old Danish: spyriæ, spørghe, spøriæ
  • Danish: spørge
    • Norwegian Bokmål: spørre (partly from dialectal spørja)

Further reading

• Zoëga, Geir T. (1910), “spyrja”, in A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press; also available at the Internet Archive