Icelandic

Verb

snúa ‎(ri-verb, third-person singular past indicative sneri or snéri, supine snúið)

1. (with dative) to turn ^syn.
2. (with dative) to face ^syn.

   Hvor hliðin snýr niður?

   Which side faces downwards?

3. (with dative, informal) to translate, to render ^syn.
4. (with dative) to change somebody's mind, to convert somebody ^syn.
5. (with dative) to make someone run errands ^syn.
6. (with accusative) to twine, to twist ^syn.

Derived terms

Synonyms

• (turn ^def.): venda
• (face ^def.): vísa
• (translate ^def.): þýða, snara, útleggja
• (change somebody's mind ^def.): telja hughvarf
• (make someone run errands ^def.): láta þjóna sér
• (twist ^def.): flétta

Usage notes

• One of the four ri-verbs in Icelandic, the other being núa ‎(“to rub, massage; to wipe”), gróa ‎(“to grow; to heal”) and róa ‎(“to row”).
• Even though some forms that include the letter e are pronounced as having an é, the e-spelling is thought to be correct by the Icelandic ministry of education. The preferred spelling of the first person singular past tense indicative form of the word snúa would thus be sneri ‎(“I turned”) instead of snéri ‎(“I turned”), although both forms are used.