Questions & Answers about Det er for dyrt for meg.
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.
- Bilen er for dyr. Den er for dyr for meg.
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:- You normally want the generic det, not den, in this kind of sentence.
- dyrt (with -t) doesn’t agree with den; it must be dyr there.
Norwegian adjectives change form depending on gender and number.
For dyr (expensive), the main forms are:
- dyr – common gender (masc/fem), singular
- en dyr bil – an expensive car
- Bilen er dyr. – The car is expensive.
- dyrt – neuter, singular
- et dyrt hus – an expensive house
- Huset er dyrt. – The house is expensive.
- dyre – plural or definite
- dyre biler – expensive cars
- Bilene er dyre. – The cars are expensive.
In Det er for dyrt for meg., the subject is det, which here is grammatically neuter, so the adjective takes the neuter form dyrt.
That’s why you say:
- Det er dyrt. – It is expensive.
but: - Den er dyr. – It (masc/fem thing) is expensive.
Yes, it’s the same word for, but it has two different grammatical roles:
As an adverb meaning “too” (excess):
- Pattern: for + adjective/adverb
- for dyrt – too expensive
- for stort – too big
- for langt – too far
Here, for is an intensifier showing that something is more than acceptable.
As a preposition meaning “for / to / for the sake of / from the perspective of”:
- Pattern: for + pronoun/noun
- for meg – for me
- for deg – for you
- for barna – for the children
In Det er for dyrt for meg. we actually have both uses:
- for dyrt = too expensive (adverb + adjective)
- for meg = for me (preposition + pronoun)
You distinguish them by:
- What follows (adjective vs noun/pronoun)
- Their function in the sentence (intensifier vs prepositional phrase).
Yes.
Det er for dyrt.
It’s too expensive (in general / for anyone sensible).Det er for dyrt for meg.
It’s too expensive *for me (personally), maybe okay for others.*
Adding for meg makes it clear that this is your personal limit, not an absolute statement.
For meg er det for dyrt.
This is correct and natural.
It means the same, but emphasizes “for me”:
As for me, it’s too expensive.Grammar note: Norwegian main clauses are V2 (the verb is in the second position).
So when you front For meg, the verb must come next:- For meg (1st position) er (2nd) det for dyrt (rest).
Det er for meg for dyrt.
This is grammatically possible, but it sounds clumsy and marked, and is rarely used in everyday speech.
If you want emphasis, For meg er det for dyrt is the natural choice.
Because jeg is the subject form, and meg is the object form (used after prepositions).
Norwegian personal pronouns (1st, 2nd, 3rd person) work like this:
- I / me → jeg / meg
- you / you → du / deg
- he / him → han / ham (or ’n / ham in speech)
- she / her → hun / henne
- we / us → vi / oss
- you (pl.) → dere / dere
- they / them → de / dem
You use:
- jeg as the subject of a verb:
- Jeg betaler. – I pay.
- meg after a preposition like for, til, med, hos:
- for meg – for me
- til meg – to me
- med meg – with me
So in Det er for dyrt for meg., for is a preposition, so you must use meg, not jeg.
Very approximately (Standard East Norwegian):
- Det – often like “de” in English; IPA: [de] or [dɛ]
- er – like “air” but shorter; IPA: [ær] / [eːr]
- for – like English “for”, but with a tapped r; IPA: [fɔr] (often the r is weak)
- dyrt – this is tricky:
- y like French u (in tu) or German ü (in Müll).
Round your lips as for u, but move your tongue like i. - So dyr ≈ “dyur” but with the fronted y vowel.
- Final t can be clear [t] in careful speech or quite soft / barely audible in fast speech.
- y like French u (in tu) or German ü (in Müll).
- meg – in most accents, almost like English “my”; IPA: [mæɪ] / [mæj]
Spoken quickly, it often sounds roughly like:
“De r fø(r) dyːrt fø mæi.”
For dyrt is basically negative or critical: it means the price is more than acceptable.
- Det er for dyrt.
→ It costs too much; I (or people in general) won’t / shouldn’t pay that.
If you just want to say “really/very expensive” without the idea of “too much”, use other words:
- veldig dyrt – very expensive
- kjempedyrt – super expensive (colloquial)
- skikkelig dyrt – really expensive
- så dyrt – so expensive
So:
- Det er for dyrt. – It’s too expensive (bad).
- Det er veldig dyrt. – It’s very expensive (may be just a description, not necessarily a complaint).
Both are negative, but altfor dyrt is stronger:
- for dyrt – too expensive (beyond what’s reasonable for me / us)
- altfor dyrt – way too expensive, far beyond acceptable
Examples:
Det er for dyrt for meg.
It’s too expensive for me.Det er altfor dyrt for meg.
It’s far too expensive for me. / It’s ridiculously expensive for me.
You can freely replace for with altfor to intensify your complaint.
You use verb–subject inversion for yes/no questions and change the pronoun:
Statement:
Det er for dyrt for meg. – It’s too expensive for me.Question:
Er det for dyrt for deg? – Is it too expensive for you?
Structure:
- Put the verb er first.
- Then the subject det.
- Then the rest: for dyrt for deg.
You can also add a name:
- Er det for dyrt for deg, Maria? – Is it too expensive for you, Maria?