Kilowattimen er dyr.

Kilowattimen is the definite singular form of kilowattime, so it means the kilowatt-hour.

A kilowattime (kWh) is a unit of energy. In everyday Norwegian, this word is very common when talking about electricity prices.

So:

• en kilowattime = a kilowatt-hour
• kilowattimen = the kilowatt-hour

In this sentence, the subject is kilowattimen.

Because Norwegian often adds the definite article to the end of the noun instead of using a separate word like English the.

For many common-gender nouns:

• indefinite: en bil = a car
• definite: bilen = the car

The same pattern is used here:

• en kilowattime = a kilowatt-hour
• kilowattimen = the kilowatt-hour

So the -en ending is the definite article.

Kilowattime is a common-gender noun in Bokmål, so it normally takes en in the indefinite singular:

• en kilowattime
• kilowattimen

For this sentence, the important thing is that it behaves like a regular en-word.

Because dyr is a predicate adjective here, and it agrees with the noun in gender and number.

The subject kilowattimen is:

• singular
• common gender

So the adjective takes the common-gender singular form:

• Kilowattimen er dyr. = The kilowatt-hour is expensive.

Compare:

• Huset er dyrt. = The house is expensive.
  
  • hus is neuter, so you get dyrt
• Bilene er dyre. = The cars are expensive.
  
  • plural gives dyre

A useful point: after er, adjectives usually do not change just because the noun is definite. So you say:

• Bilen er dyr.
• not Bilen er dyre.

Yes, and that can confuse learners.

As a noun:

• et dyr = an animal

As an adjective:

• dyr = expensive

In Kilowattimen er dyr, dyr is clearly an adjective meaning expensive, because it comes after er and describes the subject.

Both are possible, but they are used a little differently.

• Kilowattimen er dyr.
  = The kilowatt-hour is expensive.
  This is a natural way to talk about the current electricity price or the price per kWh in general.

• En kilowattime er dyr.
  = A kilowatt-hour is expensive.
  This can also work, but it sounds more like you are talking about one unit as an example.

In Norwegian, the definite singular is often used when talking about prices, rates, or something treated as a known unit in context.

Er is the present tense of å være (to be).

So:

• å være = to be
• er = is / am / are

In this sentence:

• Kilowattimen = subject
• er = verb
• dyr = adjective describing the subject

So the structure is simply:

subject + verb + adjective

In this basic sentence, yes, it is very similar:

• Kilowattimen er dyr.
• The kilowatt-hour is expensive.

But Norwegian has a strong verb-second rule in main clauses. That means the finite verb usually comes in the second position.

For example:

• I dag er kilowattimen dyr. = Today, the kilowatt-hour is expensive.

Notice that when I dag comes first, er still stays in second position.

You usually put ikke after the verb:

• Kilowattimen er ikke dyr. = The kilowatt-hour is not expensive.

That is the normal pattern in a simple main clause:

subject + verb + ikke + adjective

In a yes/no question, Norwegian usually puts the verb first:

• Er kilowattimen dyr? = Is the kilowatt-hour expensive?

So the statement:

• Kilowattimen er dyr.

becomes:

• Er kilowattimen dyr?

The exact pronunciation varies a bit by dialect, but a learner-friendly approximation is:

shee-lo-vatt-tee-men

A few helpful notes:

• ki- in Norwegian is often pronounced with a soft sound, not a hard English k
• watt is usually pronounced more like vatt
• the ending -en is the definite ending and is pronounced clearly

You do not need perfect pronunciation right away; the most important thing is recognizing that kilowattimen is one whole noun meaning the kilowatt-hour.