A nýyrði is a newly coined Icelandic word. Instead of borrowing foreign terms, Icelandic usually builds new words from its own roots, like tölva for computer, a blend of tala (number) and völva (prophetess).

Are the word origins in the game real?

Yes. The real words are documented neologisms whose existence is checked against the registries of the Árni Magnússon Institute, and the explanations were written for Kokomo. The fake words are pure invention.

Can I play Nýyrði eða bull as a beginner?

Yes. It is a guessing game at heart, and the explanations after each answer are short. You will not understand every word, and that is the fun of it.

Kokomo › English › Nýyrði eða bull — real word or nonsense?

Nýyrði eða bull — real word or nonsense?

Nýyrði eða bull means "neologism or nonsense". Five Icelandic words appear each day. Some are real coined words, the rest we invented. Your job is to tell them apart.

Play Nýyrði eða bull →

The idea behind the game

Icelandic famously prefers coining its own words to borrowing. A computer is tölva, a blend of tala (number) and völva (prophetess). A helicopter is þyrla, from a verb for whirling. The real words in this game are documented neologisms, drawn from the official word registries of the Árni Magnússon Institute, and after each guess you get the story of where the word came from. The fake words are our own inventions, built to sound plausible.

How to play

Read the word of the round.
Press Ekta orð (real word) if you think it exists, or Bull (nonsense) if you think we made it up.
You get the answer straight away, with the origin story for the real ones.
Five words a day. Guess all five and see your score.

How do you tell a real Icelandic neologism from a fake one?

The real ones have a source. Their existence is checked against the neologism and terminology databases of the Árni Magnússon Institute, so a word counts as real if it genuinely exists in the language, not if it sounds convincing. The fakes are written for the game and deliberately follow the same word formation rules, because otherwise there would be nothing to guess.

So asking whether a word sounds Icelandic will not help. They all do. The better question is whether the thing the word describes actually exists and whether anyone would have needed a word for it. Icelandic builds new vocabulary by compounding existing words rather than borrowing, which is why skriðdreki, a creeping dragon, is the real word for a tank. Five words appear each day and every answer comes with the story behind the word. The bank holds 600 words in 120 puzzles.

Frequently asked questions

What is a nýyrði?: A nýyrði is a newly coined Icelandic word. Instead of borrowing foreign terms, Icelandic usually builds new words from its own roots, like tölva for computer, a blend of tala (number) and völva (prophetess).
Are the word origins in the game real?: Yes. The real words are documented neologisms whose existence is checked against the registries of the Árni Magnússon Institute, and the explanations were written for Kokomo. The fake words are pure invention.
Can I play Nýyrði eða bull as a beginner?: Yes. It is a guessing game at heart, and the explanations after each answer are short. You will not understand every word, and that is the fun of it.