Erstatningen er høy.

Because -en is the definite singular ending here.

• erstatning = compensation / damages / reimbursement
• erstatningen = the compensation

In Norwegian, the equivalent of English the is often attached to the noun as a suffix instead of being a separate word.

So:

• en erstatning = a compensation / a payment
• erstatningen = the compensation

In Norwegian, a noun is often made definite by adding an ending to the noun itself.

So instead of:

• English: the compensation

you often get:

• Norwegian: erstatning + en = erstatningen

This is very normal in Norwegian.

A separate determiner can appear too, but usually with adjectives before the noun, for example:

• den høye erstatningen = the high compensation

That structure uses both:

• a separate definite word (den)
• and the definite ending on the noun (-en)

This is often called double definiteness.

Because the adjective agrees with the noun.

Here, erstatning is not a neuter noun, so the adjective takes the form høy.

Compare:

• en/ei erstatning er høy
• et beløp er høyt

So:

• høy is used with singular non-neuter nouns
• høyt is used with singular neuter nouns
• høye is used in the plural

A useful comparison:

• Erstatningen er høy.
• Beløpet er høyt.
• Kostnadene er høye.

Because after er (the verb to be), the adjective is a predicative adjective, and predicative adjectives do not show definiteness the same way attributive adjectives do.

So:

• den høye erstatningen = adjective before the noun → høye
• erstatningen er høy = adjective after er → høy

This is a very common pattern in Norwegian.

Compare:

• den store bilen = the big car
• bilen er stor = the car is big

Er is the present tense of å være, which means to be.

So:

• jeg er = I am
• du er = you are
• han/hun er = he/she is
• erstatningen er = the compensation is

Unlike English, Norwegian does not change the present-tense verb depending on the subject. It stays er.

This is the normal word order for a simple statement:

subject + verb + complement

So:

• Erstatningen = subject
• er = verb
• høy = complement/adjective

Norwegian main clauses follow the V2 rule: the finite verb is in the second position. In this sentence, the subject comes first, so the verb naturally comes second.

If you started with something else, the verb would still stay in second position:

• I denne saken er erstatningen høy.
  In this case, the compensation is high.

Yes. Høy can describe both:

• physical height: en høy mann = a tall man
• level, amount, price, temperature, compensation, etc.: høy pris, høy temperatur, høy erstatning

So in this sentence, høy means high in the sense of large in amount.

That is completely natural Norwegian.

Usually not if you mean a specific compensation payment.

Erstatningen er høy means the compensation is high, referring to a specific one.

Erstatning er høy sounds unnatural in most ordinary contexts, because a bare singular noun like erstatning usually needs an article or some other determiner.

If you want a more general statement, Norwegian would more naturally say something like:

• Erstatning kan være høy. = Compensation can be high.
• Erstatninger kan være høye. = Compensation payments can be high.

In Bokmål, you may also see erstatninga if the speaker/writer uses feminine forms.

That means:

• en erstatning / erstatningen
• or ei erstatning / erstatninga

Both can occur, depending on style, dialect background, and personal preference.

So these can both be acceptable in Bokmål:

• Erstatningen er høy.
• Erstatninga er høy.

The version with -en is very common and completely standard.

It is a noun that often means:

• compensation
• damages (especially in legal contexts)
• reimbursement
• sometimes replacement

The exact English translation depends on context.

Grammatically, in this sentence it is:

• singular
• definite
• the subject of the sentence

So even if you already know the overall meaning, it is useful to recognize that erstatningen is a definite noun form, not a separate article plus noun.