De skal refundere utgiftene.

• De = they in most modern contexts
• skal = a modal verb meaning something like will / shall / are going to / are supposed to, depending on context
• refundere = to reimburse / refund
• utgiftene = the expenses

So the structure is:

• De = subject
• skal refundere = verb phrase
• utgiftene = object

Usually, learners should read De here as they.

However, De can also be the old-fashioned or very formal written form of you in Norwegian. In modern everyday Norwegian, that formal De is rare.

Because this word is at the beginning of the sentence, it is capitalized anyway, so capitalization alone does not tell you which meaning it has. You need context.

In most normal modern examples like this, De skal refundere utgiftene will be understood as They will reimburse the expenses.

Skal is a modal verb. It often expresses:

• future: will
• obligation: shall / must / are supposed to
• plan or arrangement: are going to

In De skal refundere utgiftene, the most natural meaning is usually something like:

• They will reimburse the expenses
• They are going to reimburse the expenses

The exact nuance depends on context. It can sound a little more definite or planned than simple English will.

After a modal verb like skal, Norwegian uses the infinitive form of the main verb.

So:

• skal refundere = correct
• skal refunderer = incorrect
• skal refunderer = incorrect

This is similar to English:

• They will reimburse
  not
• They will reimburses

Common Norwegian modal verbs that work this way include:

• skal
• vil
• kan
• må
• bør

So you get patterns like:

• De skal betale
• De vil refundere
• De kan komme

Utgiftene is the definite plural form of utgift, which means expense.

Here is the pattern:

• en utgift = an expense
• utgifter = expenses
• utgiftene = the expenses

In Norwegian, definiteness is often shown by adding an ending to the noun instead of using a separate word like the.

So utgiftene already includes the idea of the.

The dictionary form is utgift.

Its forms are:

• en utgift = an expense
• utgiften = the expense
• utgifter = expenses
• utgiftene = the expenses

This is a very useful pattern to learn, because many Norwegian nouns change in similar ways.

The sentence follows normal Norwegian main-clause word order:

• De = subject
• skal = finite verb
• refundere = infinitive main verb
• utgiftene = object

So the pattern is:

Subject + finite verb + infinitive + object

This is very common with modal verbs.

If you turn it into a yes/no question, the finite verb moves first:

• Skal de refundere utgiftene?

That is one of the core word-order patterns in Norwegian.

You put ikke after the finite verb:

De skal ikke refundere utgiftene.

That means:

They will not reimburse the expenses.

With modal verbs, ikke usually comes after the modal:

• De skal ikke refundere
• Hun kan ikke komme
• Vi vil ikke vente

Move the finite verb skal in front of the subject:

Skal de refundere utgiftene?

That means:

Will they reimburse the expenses?

This verb-first pattern is standard for yes/no questions in Norwegian.

Yes, refundere is a real and common enough verb, especially in formal, administrative, travel, business, and customer-service contexts.

Because it resembles English refund, it is often easy for English speakers to recognize.

Depending on context, Norwegians might also use other expressions, such as:

• betale tilbake = pay back
• få refundert = get reimbursed
• dekke utgiftene = cover the expenses

But refundere utgiftene is perfectly normal.

A rough pronunciation guide for standard Eastern Norwegian would be something like:

deh skahl reh-foon-DEH-reh OOT-gif-te-neh

A few notes:

• De sounds like deh
• skal has a broad a sound
• refundere has stress on de
• utgiftene has the stress near the beginning, roughly OOT-gif-te-neh

Pronunciation varies by dialect, so learners should not worry if they hear slightly different versions.

Yes, you could.

• De skal refundere utgiftene often suggests a plan, decision, obligation, or something expected to happen.
• De vil refundere utgiftene often sounds more like they want to / they are willing to / they will, depending on context.

So skal and vil can both be translated as will in English, but they are not always interchangeable.

In many practical situations, skal sounds more definite or official here.