Útlánið byrjar í dag.

Útlánið is the noun útlán with the definite article attached, so it means the lending, the loan service, or the issuing out of something, depending on context.

In many real situations, it can refer to something like:

• library lending
• equipment checkout
• a loan process
• the act or system of lending something out

So even if the English translation says something simple like The lending starts today, the Icelandic word can be a little broader depending on where you see it.

In Icelandic, the definite article the is usually added to the end of the noun instead of being a separate word.

So:

• útlán = lending / loan
• útlánið = the lending / the loan

The ending -ið is the definite article form used here for a neuter singular noun.

It is singular.

The base noun here is útlán, which may look plural to an English speaker because it ends in -n, but in this sentence it is being used as a singular neuter noun meaning something like lending or the loan process.

The verb helps confirm that:

• útlánið byrjar = the lending starts

If it were plural, you would expect a plural verb form instead.

Because the subject útlánið is third person singular, the verb has to match it.

The infinitive is:

• að byrja = to begin / to start

The present tense forms include:

• ég byrja = I begin
• þú byrjar = you begin
• hann / hún / það byrjar = he / she / it begins

Since útlánið is grammatically treated like it, Icelandic uses:

• útlánið byrjar = the lending begins

Byrjar is present tense.

So the sentence means that the action begins / starts now or from now, and with í dag it specifically means it starts today.

In Icelandic, í dag is the normal expression for today.

Word by word, it is literally something like:

• í = in
• dag = day

But you should learn í dag as a set phrase meaning today.

Other useful related expressions are:

• í gær = yesterday
• á morgun = tomorrow

So í dag is very common and natural here.

Because after the preposition í, the noun changes form here.

The basic noun is:

• dagur = day

But in the expression í dag, it appears in a different case form, dag.

This is very common in Icelandic: prepositions often require a certain case, so nouns change form after them.

For a learner, the most useful thing is to remember that í dag is a fixed everyday expression meaning today.

The sentence has a very straightforward Icelandic word order:

• Útlánið = subject
• byrjar = verb
• í dag = time expression

So it is basically:

• Subject + Verb + Time

That is very similar to normal English word order in a sentence like The lending starts today.

Yes. Icelandic is fairly flexible with word order, especially with time expressions.

For example, you can also say:

• Í dag byrjar útlánið.

That version puts more emphasis on today.

Because Icelandic is a verb-second language, when a time expression comes first, the finite verb usually comes next:

• Í dag
  • byrjar
    • útlánið

So both orders are possible, but they can sound slightly different in emphasis.

They are closely related.

• að lána = to lend
• útlán = lending / loaning out

The prefix út- often adds the sense of out, so útlán is connected with the idea of lending out.

That can help you remember the word:

• lána = lend
• útlán = lending out

A rough learner-friendly guide would be something like:

• Útlánið ≈ OOT-lau-nith

A few notes:

• ú is roughly like oo
• á is like ow in cow
• ð in Icelandic is a soft sound, often like th in this, though in some positions it can be very light

This is only an approximation, but it can help you get started.

A rough approximation is:

• byrjar ≈ BIR-yar

A few notes:

• y in Icelandic does not sound like English y; it is pronounced like Icelandic i
• j is like English y
• the r is an Icelandic r, usually trilled or tapped

So the middle of the word has a kind of y glide sound because of the j.

Yes. In many cases, að byrja can be translated as either to begin or to start.

So:

• Útlánið byrjar í dag.

could be understood as either:

• The lending begins today
• The lending starts today

The best English choice depends on style and context, not on a big difference in the Icelandic meaning.

Because Icelandic usually does not need a separate subject pronoun when the noun itself is already there.

The subject is already:

• útlánið

So Icelandic does not add another word meaning it.

In other words, útlánið itself is the thing that byrjar.

Yes, very naturally.

A native English speaker might first think of loan in a money sense, but in Icelandic útlán can also easily refer to things being lent out physically, such as:

• library books
• tools
• devices
• other borrowable items

So in the right context, Útlánið byrjar í dag could mean something like Lending starts today or Checkout begins today.