Этот винил дорогой.

Because винил is a masculine singular noun, and этот is the masculine singular nominative form of this.

Russian this changes depending on gender:

• этот = this (masculine)
• эта = this (feminine)
• это = this (neuter)
• эти = these (plural)

So:

• этот винил = this vinyl

Because adjectives in Russian must agree with the noun they describe in gender, number, and case.

Here, винил is:

• masculine
• singular
• nominative

So the adjective also takes the masculine singular nominative form:

• дорогой = expensive

Compare:

• дорогой винил = expensive vinyl
• дорогая пластинка = expensive record
• дорогое издание = expensive edition
• дорогие пластинки = expensive records

In Russian, the verb to be is usually omitted in the present tense.

So:

• Этот винил дорогой. literally looks like This vinyl expensive.
• But in natural English, it means This vinyl is expensive.

In past or future tense, Russian does use forms of to be:

• Этот винил был дорогой. = This vinyl was expensive.
• Этот винил будет дорогой. = This vinyl will be expensive.

It is in the nominative case.

That is because винил is the subject of the sentence:

• Этот винил дорогой. = This vinyl is expensive.

Both этот and дорогой are also in forms that match nominative masculine singular.

It can mean either, depending on context.

Common possibilities:

• vinyl as a material
• vinyl record / vinyl album / LP, especially in modern usage

In a sentence like Этот винил дорогой, many learners will naturally understand it as This vinyl record is expensive, but context matters.

If you want to be clearer, Russian also commonly uses:

• пластинка = record
• виниловая пластинка = vinyl record

Yes. Дорогой has two common meanings:

• expensive
• dear / beloved

In Этот винил дорогой, it clearly means expensive, not beloved.

Context decides the meaning.

Examples:

• Эта машина дорогая. = This car is expensive.
• Дорогой друг = Dear friend.

A practical pronunciation guide is:

EH-tuht vee-NEEL da-ra-GOY

A few helpful notes:

• этот has stress on the first syllable: Э́тот
• винил has stress on the last syllable: вини́л
• дорогой has stress on the last syllable: дорого́й

Also remember that unstressed о in Russian is often pronounced more like a than English o, which is why дорогой sounds closer to da-ra-GOY than do-ro-GOY.

Both are possible, but they are slightly different.

• дорогой = the long form adjective
• дорог = the short form adjective

So you may hear:

• Этот винил дорогой.
• Этот винил дорог.

Both can mean This vinyl is expensive.

For learners, the long form дорогой is usually easier and more common to start with. Short-form adjectives are important, but they are a more specific grammar topic.

Yes, Russian word order is more flexible than English, because case endings show grammatical roles.

The most neutral order is:

• Этот винил дорогой.

Other orders are possible, but they may change emphasis:

• Дорогой этот винил. = Expensive, this vinyl is.
• Винил этот дорогой. = This vinyl is the expensive one / as for this vinyl, it’s expensive.

So the original sentence is the safest and most neutral version.

No. You can say:

• Этот винил дорогой. = This vinyl is expensive.
• Винил дорогой. = The vinyl is expensive / Vinyl is expensive.

Adding этот makes it more specific: you are pointing to this particular vinyl.

Because Russian grammar uses agreement very heavily.

In English, we say:

• this vinyl is expensive

Only this changes form, and even that changes very little.

In Russian, several words often reflect the noun’s grammatical features. Here:

• этот shows masculine singular nominative
• дорогой also shows masculine singular nominative

This repetition may feel unusual to English speakers at first, but it is a normal part of Russian grammar.

Yes. The exact English translation can vary with tone and context.

дорогой can be translated as:

• expensive
• pricey
• costly

So if the meaning has already been shown as This vinyl is expensive, that is a good standard translation, but in natural English you might also say This record is pricey.