Köben

Icelandic

Alternative forms

  • Køben

Etymology

Shortening of Danish København.

Proper noun

Köben f (genitive singular Köben or Köbenar, no plural)

  1. (informal) Copenhagen (the capital city of Denmark)
    Synonym: Kaupmannahöfn (official)
    Það eru ódýr flug til Köben þessa dagana. ― There are some cheap flights available to Copenhagen these days.
    Kallinn loksins mættur til kóngsins Köben. ― I have finally made it to Copenhagen, the king's city!

Usage notes

This form is extremely common in colloquial speech; for many speakers it is more common than the full name Kaupmannahöfn. "Kóngsins Köben" is also a term that is commonly seen, but it is much more jocular; it refers to Copenhagen being the residence of Iceland's former king. The Icelandic usage of "Köben" is considered extremely silly by Danish people, while it is a neutral term in Iceland.

Declension

Declension of Köben (sg-only feminine)
indefinite singular
nominative Köben
accusative Köben
dative Köben
genitive Köben, Köbenar

References

  • Kristín Bjarnadóttir, editor (2002–2025), “Köben”, 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
  • “Köben” in the Dictionary of Modern Icelandic (in Icelandic) and ISLEX (in the Nordic languages)
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