Det er for dyrt for meg.

It is too expensive for me.

Breakdown of Det er for dyrt for meg.

• være: to be
• det: it
• for: for
• meg: me

Questions & Answers about Det er for dyrt for meg.

Why do we start with Det er? Could I say Den er for dyrt for meg instead?

Det er is the normal way to say “It is / That is …” about a situation, a price, or something not explicitly named.

• Use det:

  • for general statements: Det er kaldt. – It is cold.
  • for situations: Det er vanskelig. – It is difficult.
  • for “the price / this thing (in general) is too expensive”: Det er for dyrt.

• Use den when you refer to a specific masculine or feminine noun you have already mentioned:

  • Bilen er for dyr. Den er for dyr for meg.
    The car is too expensive. It is too expensive for me.
  • Veska er for dyr. Den er for dyr for meg.
    The bag is too expensive. It is too expensive for me.

Also, if you use den, the adjective must match:

• den er for dyr (no -t)
  So Den er for dyrt for meg is wrong for two reasons:
  1. You normally want the generic det, not den, in this kind of sentence.
  2. dyrt (with -t) doesn’t agree with den; it must be dyr there.

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Why is it dyrt with a -t at the end? I learned dyr means “expensive”.