Driftskostnaden er høy.

to be

Breakdown of Driftskostnaden er høy.

• høy: high
• driftskostnaden: the operating cost

Questions & Answers about Driftskostnaden er høy.

Why does driftskostnaden end in -en?

Because -en is the usual definite singular ending for many masculine nouns in Norwegian. The base noun is driftskostnad (an operating cost / operating expense), and driftskostnaden means the operating cost.

So:

• driftskostnad = operating cost
• driftskostnaden = the operating cost

In this sentence, Norwegian uses the definite form directly on the noun instead of a separate word like English the.

What is the -s- doing in driftskostnaden?

The -s- is a linking element used in compounds. The word is built from:

• drift = operation, running
• kostnad = cost

Together, driftskostnad means operating cost. The s helps connect the parts smoothly. This is very common in Norwegian compound nouns.

You will see similar patterns in other words too, where an s appears between parts of a compound even though it is not a separate word by itself.

Why is the adjective høy and not høyt or høye?