Skuldin verður minni eftir næstu afborgun.

Skuldin is skuld + the suffixed definite article.

• skuld = debt
• skuldin = the debt

In Icelandic, the definite article is usually attached to the noun instead of written as a separate word like English the. So a learner should get used to forms like:

• skuld = debt
• skuldin = the debt

Here, skuldin is the subject of the sentence.

Because verða often means become or come to be, not just be.

So:

• Skuldin er minni would mean The debt is smaller
• Skuldin verður minni means The debt becomes / will be smaller

In this sentence, the idea is that the debt changes after the next payment. That is why verður is more natural than er.

Also, Icelandic often uses verða where English uses will be.

Formally, verður is a present-tense form of verða, but in context it often expresses the future.

So even though Icelandic does not have a separate future tense like English, a present-tense verb can refer to the future when the context makes that clear. Here the phrase eftir næstu afborgun makes the future meaning obvious.

So:

• verður = literally present tense
• in this sentence = will be / will become

Minni is the comparative form meaning smaller.

It comes from the adjective lítill = small / little, whose comparative is irregular:

• lítill = small
• minni = smaller
• minnstur = smallest

So Skuldin verður minni means The debt will become smaller.

This is not built in the same neat way as English small → smaller, so it is worth memorizing as an irregular comparison.

Because the adjective is agreeing with skuldin, which is a feminine singular noun.

In this sentence, minni is a predicate adjective after verður, and it matches the subject skuldin. For masculine and feminine singular, the comparative form is often -i:

• masculine/feminine: minni
• neuter: minna

Since skuld is feminine, minni is the correct form.

It means after the next installment/payment.

Breaking it down:

• eftir = after
• næstu = next
• afborgun = installment, repayment, payment toward a debt

So the sentence is saying that once the next payment has been made, the debt will be smaller.

Because after eftir in this meaning, the noun phrase is in the accusative, and næstu is the form used here.

A useful thing to notice is that afborgun itself does not visibly change here, but the adjective does:

• nominative-like form you may expect: næsta
• form used here after eftir: næstu

So næstu helps show the case of the phrase.

For many learners, the most practical approach is to learn this as a pattern:

• eftir næstu afborgun
• after the next installment

The dictionary form is afborgun.

It is a feminine noun meaning something like:

• installment
• repayment
• payment toward a debt

In financial contexts, afborgun is very common for one payment in a series of payments.

Yes. That is also correct.

Icelandic has verb-second word order in main clauses. That means if you move another element to the front, the finite verb usually comes next.

So both of these are natural:

• Skuldin verður minni eftir næstu afborgun.
• Eftir næstu afborgun verður skuldin minni.

The difference is mostly emphasis:

• starting with Skuldin focuses first on the debt
• starting with Eftir næstu afborgun focuses first on when

Yes. Both capture the idea, but in natural English, will be smaller is usually the better translation here.

That is because the sentence is talking about the result after a future event. English normally prefers:

• The debt will be smaller after the next payment.

A more literal translation with becomes is possible, but it sounds a bit less natural in everyday English.

A very useful list would be:

• skuld = debt
• verða = become, will be
• lítill → minni = small → smaller
• eftir = after
• næstur = next
• afborgun = installment, repayment

If you learn those forms, the whole sentence becomes much easier to understand.