Kortalesarinn virkar ekki núna, svo ég borga með reiðufé.

Because -inn is the definite article attached to the end of the noun.

• kortalesari = a card reader
• kortalesarinn = the card reader

This is very common in Icelandic: instead of using a separate word like English the, Icelandic often adds the article to the noun itself.

So here:

• Kortalesarinn virkar ekki = The card reader isn’t working

It is a compound noun:

• kort = card
• lesari = reader
• kortalesari = card reader
• kortalesarinn = the card reader

Compound nouns are extremely common in Icelandic, just as in Germanic languages generally. English often uses separate words, but Icelandic often joins them into one word.

In a normal Icelandic main clause, the finite verb usually comes early, and ekki typically comes after that finite verb.

So:

• virkar ekki = does not work / isn’t working

This is the normal order:

• Kortalesarinn virkar ekki núna.

Not:

• Kortalesarinn ekki virkar núna. ❌

A useful pattern to remember is:

• subject + verb + ekki + other information

Examples:

• Ég skil ekki. = I do not understand.
• Hún kemur ekki. = She is not coming.

Virkar is the present tense of virka (to work, function).

Here it means something like:

• is working
• works

In Icelandic, just like in English, the present tense can describe what is happening right now. So:

• Kortalesarinn virkar ekki núna = The card reader isn’t working right now

The adverb núna makes the time reference clear.

Both can mean now, but núna often sounds a bit more like right now / at the moment, while nú can be slightly broader depending on context.

In this sentence, núna fits naturally because the speaker means the problem is happening at this moment:

• virkar ekki núna = isn’t working right now

You will hear both in everyday Icelandic, but núna is very common in speech.

Yes, here svo means so, in the sense of therefore / as a result.

The sentence has two parts:

• Kortalesarinn virkar ekki núna
• svo ég borga með reiðufé

So the logic is:

• The card reader isn’t working right now, so I’m paying with cash.

In other contexts, svo can also have other meanings, such as then or very, so its exact meaning depends on the sentence.

Icelandic often uses the present tense for something a person is doing right now or is about to do immediately.

So:

• ég borga með reiðufé literally looks like I pay with cash
• but naturally means I’m paying with cash or I’ll pay with cash

This is very normal. English often chooses a progressive or future form where Icelandic simply uses the present.

Because með means with, and reiðufé means cash.

So:

• með reiðufé = with cash / in cash

This is a standard way to express payment method.

You may think of it as:

• borga með korti = pay with a card
• borga með reiðufé = pay with cash

The preposition með normally takes the dative case when it means with.

So in this sentence:

• með reiðufé

the noun after með is in the dative.

A small detail: reiðufé has the same form here as in the nominative, so you do not see a visible change. That is common with some neuter nouns.

Compare with a noun where the form changes more clearly:

• kort = card
• með korti = with a card

There, the dative ending is easier to see.

The comma separates two independent clauses:

• Kortalesarinn virkar ekki núna
• svo ég borga með reiðufé

Each part could stand on its own as a sentence, so using a comma here is natural and helps readability.

In other words, it works much like English:

• The card reader isn’t working right now, so I’m paying with cash.

Yes. Virka is a very common verb for saying that something works, functions, or is operational.

Examples:

• Síminn virkar ekki. = The phone doesn’t work.
• Internetið virkar núna. = The internet is working now.

So Kortalesarinn virkar ekki is exactly the kind of sentence where virka is expected.

It is in the nominative case because it is the subject of the sentence — the thing that is or is not functioning.

So:

• Kortalesarinn = the subject
• virkar = the verb

That gives the basic structure:

• The card reader
  • works / is working

Yes. This is normal Icelandic word order.

The second clause begins with svo (so), and then you get:

• ég = subject
• borga = verb
• með reiðufé = prepositional phrase

So:

• svo ég borga með reiðufé

is a straightforward clause meaning:

• so I’m paying with cash

Learners sometimes expect Icelandic word order to be very unusual all the time, but many sentences are quite direct like this.

A rough learner-friendly guide is:

• kor-ta-le-sa-rinn

A few useful points:

• Stress in Icelandic usually falls on the first syllable: KORtalesarinn
• The rolled or tapped r is important
• The final -inn is the attached definite article

You do not need perfect pronunciation immediately, but it helps to hear the word as one unit rather than trying to separate it into English-style words.