Viðgerðarkostnaðurinn er hár.

It is a compound noun, which is very typical in Icelandic.

You can break it down like this:

• viðgerð = repair
• kostnaður = cost
• -inn = the definite article, meaning the

So the core noun is viðgerðarkostnaður = repair cost, and viðgerðarkostnaðurinn = the repair cost.

Icelandic often builds long nouns this way instead of using separate words.

That -ar- comes from the genitive form of viðgerð.

In Icelandic compounds, the first noun is often put into a genitive or linking form before the second noun. So:

• viðgerð = repair
• viðgerðar- = of repair / repair-
• kostnaður = cost

So viðgerðarkostnaður is literally something like cost of repair, but in natural English we would usually say repair cost or cost of repairs.

This is a very common pattern in Icelandic compounds.

Because Icelandic usually expresses the as a suffix attached to the noun.

So:

• kostnaður = cost
• kostnaðurinn = the cost

And with the compound:

• viðgerðarkostnaður = repair cost
• viðgerðarkostnaðurinn = the repair cost

In compounds, the definite article normally goes on the final part of the whole noun, not on the first part.

It is:

• masculine
• singular
• nominative

Why?

• The base noun kostnaður is masculine.
• It refers to one cost, so it is singular.
• It is the subject of the sentence, so it is in the nominative case.

This matters because the adjective has to agree with it.

Because hár agrees with viðgerðarkostnaðurinn in gender, number, and case.

Since viðgerðarkostnaðurinn is:

• masculine
• singular
• nominative

the adjective is also masculine singular nominative:

• hár

This is the form used after er in a sentence like this.

A useful thing to notice: after vera = to be, Icelandic adjectives are normally in the predicate form, so you get hár, not a weak definite form such as hái.

Because hár here is a predicate adjective, not an adjective directly attached in front of the noun.

Compare these two patterns:

• Viðgerðarkostnaðurinn er hár = the repair cost is high
• hái viðgerðarkostnaðurinn = the high repair cost

In the first sentence, hár comes after er and describes the subject, so it stays in the normal predicate form.

In the second example, the adjective is directly modifying a definite noun, so it takes the weak form hái.

This difference is very important in Icelandic.

Both, depending on context.

hár can mean:

• tall for people or things with height
• high for levels, amounts, prices, costs, and so on

So in this sentence, hár means high, not tall.

That is normal Icelandic usage, just as English also says high cost.

Er is the present tense singular form of vera, meaning to be.

So here it means is.

It is singular because the subject, viðgerðarkostnaðurinn, is singular. If the subject were plural, the verb would also be plural.

This sentence uses the normal, straightforward Icelandic word order:

• subject: Viðgerðarkostnaðurinn
• verb: er
• complement/adjective: hár

So it matches English very closely: The repair cost is high.

You can sometimes change word order in Icelandic for emphasis or in special contexts, but this is the most neutral and natural order.

A few helpful points:

• ð is usually like the th in this, though often softer in actual speech.
• á is roughly like the vowel sound in now.
• Icelandic words are usually stressed on the first syllable.

So for learning purposes, you can aim for something roughly like:

• VIÐ-gerðar-kostnaðurinn er hár

Do not worry if the long compound feels difficult at first. Icelandic learners usually get used to these compounds by recognizing the smaller parts inside them.