Learn Hardcore Icelandic: Maturinn hér er dýrari. - The food here is more expensive.

In Icelandic, the is usually not a separate word; it is added to the end of the noun as a suffix. For masculine nouns in the nominative singular, one common definite ending is -inn. So Maturinn hér literally means The-food here.

Why not just say Matur hér er dýrari without the -inn?

You could use the indefinite form matur, but the meaning and feel change slightly.

Maturinn hér er dýrari – The food here is more expensive (the food at this place / in this area that we’re talking about).
Matur er dýrari hér – Food is more expensive here (food in general in this place, not any particular food we see).

In a concrete situation (talking about a restaurant, a shop, or a city you’re in), Icelandic very often uses the definite form maturinn. So the given sentence with -inn is the most natural version in everyday speech.

What gender, number, and case is maturinn here, and why?

In this sentence, maturinn is:

gender: masculine
number: singular
case: nominative

It is in the nominative singular because it is the subject of the sentence. In Icelandic, subjects of simple “to be” sentences like this are normally in the nominative case.

What exactly does hér mean, and how is it different from hérna or þarna?

hér means here: in this place, around where the speaker is.

Common related words:

hér – here (neutral, quite standard)
hérna – also here, often a bit more colloquial/“right here” in everyday speech
þar – there (not here, but not pointing; more abstract “there”)
þarna – there (often more like “over there”, more pointing/deictic)

So:

Maturinn hér er dýrari. – The food here is more expensive.
Maturinn þarna er ódýrari. – The food over there is cheaper.

You could also hear Maturinn hérna er dýrari, which is perfectly natural in spoken language.

Could I also say Maturinn er dýrari hér? Is the word order fixed?

Yes, you can say Maturinn er dýrari hér, and it is fully correct.

Both are possible:

Maturinn hér er dýrari.
Maturinn er dýrari hér.

The meaning is essentially the same. The version with hér right after maturinn feels a bit more like a single phrase “the food here”, while the version … er dýrari hér mirrors English word order and places hér with the predicate. But in normal conversation, both are fine and natural.

What is er? Is it the same as English is?

Yes. er is the 3rd person singular present tense of the verb vera (to be).

Very roughly:

ég er – I am
þú ert – you are (singular)
hann / hún / það er – he / she / it is
við erum – we are
þið eruð – you are (plural)
þeir / þær / þau eru – they are

So in Maturinn hér er dýrari, er corresponds directly to English is.

What is the base form of dýrari, and how is this comparative formed? Why not something like meira dýr?

The base (positive) form is dýr, meaning expensive.

Icelandic normally forms the comparative of adjectives with a suffix (similar to English -er in cheaper):

dýr → dýrari = more expensive

You do not say meira dýr for “more expensive.” The comparative meaning is built into dýrari itself.

So:

Maturinn hér er dýr. – The food here is expensive.
Maturinn hér er dýrari. – The food here is more expensive.

Does dýrari have to agree with maturinn in gender, number, and case?

Yes. Adjectives in Icelandic agree with the noun they describe in gender, number, and case. That also applies in the comparative.

Here:

maturinn – masculine, singular, nominative
dýrari – masculine, singular, nominative comparative form

If you change the noun, the form can change, especially with neuter nouns:

Bókin hér er dýrari. – The book (feminine) here is more expensive.
Húsið hér er dýrara. – The house (neuter) here is more expensive.

Notice dýrari (masc/fem) vs dýrara (neuter).

“More expensive” than what? How do you say the second part of the comparison?

Often, the second part is understood from context and is simply left out, just like in English:

Maturinn hér er dýrari. – The food here is more expensive (than where we were before / than back home / than elsewhere).

If you want to say it explicitly, you use en (“than”):

Maturinn hér er dýrari en heima. – The food here is more expensive than at home.
Maturinn hér er dýrari en í Svíþjóð. – The food here is more expensive than in Sweden.

How would I say “The food here is expensive” (not “more expensive”)?

You use the positive form of the adjective:

Maturinn hér er dýr. – The food here is expensive.

Compare:

dýr – expensive
dýrari – more expensive
dýrastur (m.) / dýrust (f.) / dýrast (n.) – most expensive

For the opposite meaning:

Maturinn hér er ódýr. – The food here is cheap.

Why doesn’t the Icelandic sentence use a verb meaning “costs”, like “The food here costs more”?

Icelandic, like English, very often uses “to be” + adjective to express cost/price in everyday speech:

Maturinn hér er dýr. – The food here is expensive.
Maturinn hér er dýrari. – The food here is more expensive.

There is a verb kosta = to cost, and you can use it too:

Maturinn hér kostar meira. – The food here costs more.

Both patterns are natural; the sentence you’re learning just happens to use er dýrari (“is more expensive”) instead of kostar meira (“costs more”).

How do you pronounce Maturinn hér er dýrari?

Very roughly, in simple English-style syllables (stress is always on the first syllable of each word):

Maturinn – MAH-tu-rin
- a like in father
- u like a short German ü (a bit like saying i in sit while rounding your lips)
hér – hyair in one syllable
- a soft h (like a breathy hy) plus a long vowel, a bit like hair but with the tongue slightly more forward
er – ehr, like air with an r at the end
dýrari – DEE-ra-ri
- ý is a long version of that front rounded vowel (again, similar to German ü, but long)

Put together slowly:

MAH-tu-rin hyair ehr DEE-ra-ri

Native pronunciation is smoother and with rolled r sounds, but this approximation is enough to be understood.