Getið þér sagt mér hvort aðalrétturinn sé mjög kryddaður eða bara mildur?

Because this is a yes/no question, and Icelandic usually puts the finite verb first in that kind of sentence.

So:

• Getið þér sagt mér ...? = Can you tell me ...?

This is similar to older or more formal English word order like Can you... rather than You can....

Also note that geta means can / be able to, and getið is the form used with þér here.

Þér is the formal/polite way of saying you in Icelandic. It is much less common in modern everyday speech than it used to be, but you may still see it in very polite or old-fashioned language.

So:

• þú = informal singular you
• þér = formal you

A more everyday modern version would often be:

• Geturðu sagt mér hvort aðalrétturinn sé mjög kryddaður eða bara mildur?

So the sentence you were given sounds especially polite.

Because mér is the dative case of ég (I / me).

The verb segja (to say / tell) often uses:

• the speaker/source as the subject
• the person being told in the dative

So:

• segja mér = tell me

Compare:

• ég = I
• mig = me (accusative)
• mér = me (dative)
• mín = my/mine-related forms

In this sentence, mér is the indirect object: Can you tell me...

Hvort means whether.

It introduces an indirect yes/no question:

• hvort aðalrétturinn sé mjög kryddaður eða bara mildur
• whether the main course is very spicy or just mild

This is very common in Icelandic when you report or embed a question inside another sentence.

Compare:

• Er aðalrétturinn mjög kryddaður? = Is the main course very spicy?
• Getið þér sagt mér hvort aðalrétturinn sé mjög kryddaður...? = Can you tell me whether the main course is very spicy...?

In many cases, að after hvort is optional.

So both of these can occur:

• hvort aðalrétturinn sé...
• hvort að aðalrétturinn sé... — actually this is not how it works here
• hvort aðalrétturinn sé... and hvort aðalrétturinn... is the real contrast? Let's clarify carefully:

The usual alternatives are:

• hvort aðalrétturinn sé...
• hvort að aðalrétturinn... is not correct in this sentence

More idiomatically, the comparison is:

• hvort aðalrétturinn sé...
• hvort ... sé...

In practice, learners often hear people talk about hvort að, because in some sentences að can appear after hvort, but usage varies by style and speaker. In your example, what matters most is that hvort introduces whether.

If you are learning to produce your own sentences, using just hvort is a safe choice.

Sé is the subjunctive form of vera (to be).
Er is the ordinary present indicative form.

In Icelandic, the subjunctive is often used in indirect questions, especially after verbs like:

• segja
• spyrja
• vita
• expressions involving uncertainty, reported speech, or possibility

So:

• aðalrétturinn er kryddaður = the main course is spicy
• hvort aðalrétturinn sé kryddaður = whether the main course is spicy

This is one of the big grammar differences from English, because English usually does not visibly change the verb here.

Because aðalrétturinn means the main course, while aðalréttur means a main course or main course in a more general sense.

Icelandic usually adds the definite article onto the end of the noun:

• aðalréttur = main course
• aðalrétturinn = the main course

That final -inn is the definite article here.

Because adjectives in Icelandic must agree with the noun they describe in gender, number, and case.

Here, aðalrétturinn is:

• masculine
• singular
• in the form required as the subject of the clause

So the adjectives also appear in the matching form:

• kryddaður
• mildur

If the noun were feminine or neuter, or plural, the adjective forms would change.

These adjectives are being used predicatively after sé:

• aðalrétturinn sé kryddaður
• aðalrétturinn sé mildur

Literally, kryddaður means seasoned / spiced. In food contexts, it can often mean spicy, but the exact sense depends on context.

So in a restaurant question like this, it usually means something like:

• highly seasoned
• spicy
• strongly spiced

If someone wants to know whether food has a lot of heat, this word can be used, but depending on context and speaker, Icelandic may express hot/spicy in slightly different ways too.

So yes, here kryddaður is naturally understood as spicy.

Bara means just / simply / only, and mildur means mild.

So:

• mjög kryddaður eða bara mildur
• very spicy or just mild

Here bara softens the second option a bit, as if saying:

• very spicy, or just mild?
• really spicy, or more on the mild side?

It makes the contrast sound natural and conversational.

Because once the question is embedded inside another sentence, Icelandic no longer uses the same word order as a direct yes/no question.

Direct question:

• Er aðalrétturinn mjög kryddaður?
• Is the main course very spicy?

Embedded question:

• ... hvort aðalrétturinn sé mjög kryddaður
• ... whether the main course is very spicy

So after hvort, the subject aðalrétturinn comes before the verb sé.

This is similar to English:

• direct: Is it spicy?
• embedded: Can you tell me whether it is spicy?

It is understandable and correct, but it sounds quite formal because of þér.

A more natural everyday version would usually be something like:

• Geturðu sagt mér hvort aðalrétturinn sé mjög kryddaður eða bara mildur?

You might also hear:

• Geturðu sagt mér hvort aðalrétturinn sé sterkur eða mildur?

depending on exactly what kind of spicy is meant.

So the original sentence is fine, but it has a polite, somewhat formal tone.

Yes. Very common alternatives would be:

• Geturðu sagt mér ...? = Can you tell me ...?
• Veistu hvort ...? = Do you know whether ...?
• Er aðalrétturinn mjög kryddaður eða mildur? = Is the main course very spicy or mild?

These versions vary in tone:

• Getið þér... = formal/polite
• Geturðu... = normal conversational
• Veistu hvort... = casual and very natural
• direct question = simplest and most straightforward

So a learner should recognize the original, but in everyday speech, a less formal version is often more useful.