hvað

See also: hvad

Icelandic

Etymology

From Old Norse hvat, originally the neuter form of *hver (from Proto-Germanic *hwaz), but conflated with hverr (whence Modern Icelandic hver). Corresponds to Proto-Germanic *hwat, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷód, *kʷod. See hver.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kʰvaːð/ (

  listen

  (file)

  )
• Homophone: kvað
• IPA^(key): /xʷaːð/ (dialectal, now rare)
• Rhymes: -aːð

Pronoun

hvað

1. what

   Hvað gerði ég vitlaust?

   What did I do wrong?

   Eftir hverju bíðum við?

   What are we waiting for?

Declension

See hver.

Derived terms

• af hverju (“why”)
• hvað segirðu (“how are you”)

Adverb

hvað

1. (with reference to an adjective or an adverb) how

   Hvað er dóttir þín gömul?

   How old is your daughter?

   Þeir vissu ekki hvað þeir yrðu lengi í burtu.

   They didn't know how long they would be away.