Munurinn á vináttu og sambandi er ekki alltaf skýr.

Munurinn means “the difference”.

• The base noun is munur = difference.
• Icelandic usually shows definiteness with a suffix, not a separate word like English “the”.
  • munur = difference
  • munurinn = the difference
• Here we have munur + inn → munurinn.
• It’s masculine, singular, nominative, and definite, so the form is munurinn.

So Munurinn á … = “The difference between …”.

Because the preposition á in this meaning (“between / in the case of / regarding”) takes the dative case.

• Base forms (nominative):
  • vinátta (f.) = friendship
  • samband (n.) = relationship
• Dative singular:
  • vináttu (from vinátta)
  • sambandi (from samband)

The pattern is:

• Munurinn á [dative] og [dative]
  → “The difference between X and Y”

So:

• á vináttu og sambandi = “between friendship and a relationship”
  using dative after á.

Yes, it’s a very common and productive pattern:

Munurinn á X og Y (er …)
= “The difference between X and Y (is …)”

Examples:

• Munurinn á hundum og köttum er mikill.
  “The difference between dogs and cats is big.”
• Munurinn á nútíð og þátíð er ekki alltaf skýr.
  “The difference between present and past tense is not always clear.”

Always use á + dative for both X and Y.

Grammatically it’s possible, but in this type of general statement it’s much more natural to use the definite:

• Munurinn á vináttu og sambandi er ekki alltaf skýr.
  “The difference between friendship and a relationship is not always clear.”

Without the article (munur á …) would sound more bare / technical / fragment‑like, and would usually need more context, e.g.:

• Það er munur á vináttu og sambandi.
  “There is a difference between friendship and a relationship.”

So in this sentence, Munurinn with the article is the idiomatic choice.

• vinur (m.) = a friend / friend (the person)
  • Vinur minn = my friend
• vinátta (f.) = friendship (the relationship/abstract concept)
  • Vinátta okkar = our friendship

So the sentence contrasts:

• vinátta = friendship (a friendly relationship)
• samband = relationship (often romantic, but can be broader)

It’s about the type of relationship, not about individual friends.

samband is a neuter noun meaning “relationship, connection, contact”.

• In everyday speech, samband can mean:
  • A romantic relationship:
    
    • Við erum í sambandi. = “We’re in a relationship / we’re seeing each other.”
  • A general connection or contact:
    • Ég vil halda sambandi. = “I want to keep in touch.”

In this sentence, vinátta vs samband naturally suggests friendship vs (usually romantic) relationship, but context could widen or narrow that meaning.

They are in the dative singular, because of the preposition á.

• vinátta (f.) declension (singular):
  • Nominative: vinátta
  • Accusative: vináttu
  • Dative: vináttu
  • Genitive: vináttu
• samband (n.) declension (singular):
  • Nominative: samband
  • Accusative: samband
  • Dative: sambandi
  • Genitive: sambands

Here we need dative after á (“between” → á + dat.), so we get:

• á vináttu og sambandi

Icelandic has preferred positions for adverbs like ekki (“not”) and alltaf (“always”):

• The verb usually comes early: er
• ekki typically comes right after the verb.
• Frequency adverbs (like alltaf) often come after ekki.

So the natural order is:

er ekki alltaf skýr
is not always clear

Other orders like er skýr ekki alltaf sound unidiomatic or confusing. You can sometimes move adverbs for emphasis, but ekki is very stable right after the verb in simple statements.

In Icelandic, adjectives agree with the noun in:

• gender
• number
• case
• and also definiteness (strong vs weak form)

The noun being described is munurinn:

• Gender: masculine
• Number: singular
• Case: nominative

For skýr (“clear”), the masculine nominative singular strong form is skýr.

Roughly:

• m. nom. sg.: skýr
• f. nom. sg.: skýr
• n. nom. sg.: skýrt
• (other forms for cases/weak declension)

So we say:

• Munurinn … er skýr.
  “The difference … is clear.”

skýr means “clear, distinct, well‑defined”.

You can swap it for similar adjectives, depending on nuance:

• ljós = clear, evident
  • er ekki alltaf ljós = “is not always (made) clear / evident”
• augljós = obvious
  • er ekki alltaf augljós = “is not always obvious”
• greinilegur = clear, distinct, noticeable
  • er ekki alltaf greinilegur

skýr often suggests clarity of definition or distinction, which fits well with “difference”.

It’s the same word á, but the meaning here is more like “between / regarding / in the case of”, not physical “on top of”.

• With locations, á often means “on / onto / at”:
  • bókin er á borðinu = the book is on the table.
• In the expression munurinn á X og Y, it means:
  • “the difference between X and Y”

So the preposition is the same word, but the sense is different, and it requires dative here.