Betalingsmodtageren er en butik.

Because Danish makes compound nouns by writing the parts together.

Betalingsmodtageren can be broken down like this:

• betaling = payment
• modtager = receiver / recipient
• linking -s-
• -en = the definite ending

So betalingsmodtageren means the payment recipient / the payee.

The -s- is a linking sound often used in Danish compounds. It does not usually add a separate meaning by itself; it just helps connect the parts smoothly.

So:

• betaling
  • modtager
• becomes betalingsmodtager

This is very common in Danish compound words.

The ending -en is the definite article for many en-gender nouns. It corresponds to the in English.

So:

• en modtager = a recipient
• modtageren = the recipient

The same idea applies inside the larger compound:

• betalingsmodtager = a payee
• betalingsmodtageren = the payee

In Danish, the definite article is often attached to the end of the noun instead of standing as a separate word.

So English the payee becomes Danish betalingsmodtageren, not the + noun as two separate words.

A separate definite word such as den is usually added when there is an adjective:

• betalingsmodtageren = the payee
• den nye betalingsmodtager = the new payee

Because butik is an en-gender noun in Danish.

Danish nouns are usually either:

• en nouns
• et nouns

You simply have to learn the gender with each noun. So:

• en butik = a shop
• butikken = the shop

Er is the present tense of at være, which means to be.

So:

• jeg er = I am
• du er = you are
• han/hun er = he/she is

In this sentence, er links the subject and the description:

• Betalingsmodtageren er en butik = the payee is a shop

Yes. This is the normal basic word order for a simple statement in Danish:

subject + verb + complement

So here:

• Betalingsmodtageren = subject
• er = verb
• en butik = complement

This is very similar to English:

• The payee is a shop

Because en butik means a shop, which gives new or non-specific information.

If you said butikken, that would mean the shop, referring to a specific shop already known from the context.

So the difference is:

• Betalingsmodtageren er en butik = the payee is a shop
• Betalingsmodtageren er butikken = the payee is the shop

The second version is possible, but it is more specific and depends on context.

Yes, grammatically it can be correct, but it means something slightly different.

• en butik = a shop, one of many possible shops
• butikken = the shop, a specific shop already identified

So Betalingsmodtageren er en butik sounds more like classification, while Betalingsmodtageren er butikken sounds more like identification.

A very rough guide for an English speaker is:

beh-TAH-lings-mo-TAH-yer-en er en boo-TEEK

A few notes:

• Danish pronunciation is often less phonetic than spelling suggests.
• g in modtager is not pronounced like a hard English g.
• butik has stress on the second syllable: bu-TIK.

If you are learning pronunciation, it is especially helpful to listen to native audio, because Danish sound reduction can be hard to guess from spelling alone.