Hafa vs. búinn

‍Hafa means have and búinn means done, right?

• Ertu búinn með heimavinnuna? = Are you finished with the homework?
• Ég vil vita, hefurðu einhvern tímann séð rigninguna falla niður á sólríkum degi? = I wanna know, have you ever seen the rain coming down a sunny day?

But if you’ve been learning Icelandic for a while, you’ve probably noticed people using búinn where you would have expected hafa. Maybe a sentence like this one:

• Ertu búinn að sjá rigninguna úti? = Have you seen the rain outside?

How can that make sense? In English, you wouldn’t say you’ve “done seen the rain”, would you? Well, maybe you would, actually! In certain dialects of English, notably African American Vernacular English and some varieties of US Southern English, done means something similar to have.

• I done told you “no” = I have already told you “no”.
• You done messed up, Ay-Ayron! = You have messed up, Ay-Ayron!

The difference is that in Icelandic, using búinn like this isn’t regional: it’s standard.

Búinn isn’t quite interchangeable with hafa, though. Let’s dive deeper into the nuanced differences and make these words easi(er) to understand!

In a nutshell

Both hafa and búinn often translate as have. The difference is that búinn is for things that are more relevant to the present moment, and is often translated with already or yet. Hafa is wider, applying to your whole life (or history of the universe, really).

• Hafa = have (ever)
• Búinn = have (already, yet)

Búinn vs. hafa

Both hafa and búinn are often translated as have. The difference between them is that hafa has a wider area of effect: think of it like have (ever), while búinn is for things that are more relevant to the present moment. It often gets translated into English with adverbs like already or yet.

• Hafa = have (ever)
• Búinn = have, already, yet

For instance, when you’re in Disneyland, the roller coaster is very relevant to the present moment. We would use búinn. Most of the rest of your life, that time you went on a roller coaster is pretty distant. We would use hafa.

• Hefurðu farið í rússíbana? = Have you (ever) gone on a rollercoaster?
• Ertu búinn að fara í rússíbana? = Have you gone on a rollercoaster?
• Ertu búinn að fara í rússíbana? = Did you go on a roller coaster yet?

When visiting your grandmother, she might ask if you’ve eaten. She doesn’t mean “did you eat at some point in your life”; she means “did you eat recently or can I feed you a couple dozen gingersnaps?”

• Hefurðu borðað naggrís? = Have you (ever) eaten guinea pig?
• Ertu búinn að borða? = Did you eat (already)?

We might use búinn for a movie currently showing in theaters, but hafa for an old movie that’s been out of theaters for a while, because the one currently in theaters is more directly relevant to the present. This example is gonna date this article hard, so feel free to laugh at the choice of movies if you’re reading this in the future.

• Hefurðu séð Hringadróttinssögu? = Have you seen Lord of the Rings? (ever in your life)
• Ertu búinn að sjá Springsteen myndina? = Have you seen the Springsteen movie yet?

That’s pretty much it: now you know the difference between hafa and búinn to mean have!

Sidenotes

Búinn is an adjective, so it changes form depending on the gender of the person it describes. In this article I stuck with the masculine, just to keep your focus on the meaning and not the grammar, but don’t be surprised to see it change forms out in the wild.

• Er hann búinn að tala við þig? = Did he talk to you already?
• Er hún búin að tala við þig? = Did she talk to you already?

You can read about declining adjectives here, and practice them here.

Hafa is a super-common verb, so it has a BUNCH of different meanings; don’t be shocked to find it meaning something else in a different kind of context. It’s also notable for being one of only two verbs that take the supine. You can read about the supine here, and practice it here.

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