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Munurinn er sá að önnur hliðin er svört en hin er hvít.

Munurinn er sá að önnur hliðin er svört en hin er hvít.
The difference is that one side is black but the other is white.
From Lesson 176:One and the other (einn... annar)·Icelandic

Questions & Answers about Munurinn er sá að önnur hliðin er svört en hin er hvít.

Why does this sentence use önnur... hin for 'one... the other' instead of ein... önnur?
In Icelandic, the pairing annar... hinn is used when you are talking about exactly two things, like the two sides of an object. If you were talking about one thing out of a larger group of three or more, you would use einn... annar ('one... another').
Why are we using the form önnur instead of annar?
Önnur is the feminine nominative form of annar. It has to match the gender of the noun it describes, which is hlið (side). Since hlið is a feminine word, we use önnur.
Are svört, hin, and hvít also in the feminine form to match hliðin?
Exactly! Since they all refer back to hliðin (the side), they must all be in the feminine nominative form. That is why we see svört instead of the masculine svartur, and hvít instead of hvítur.
Why is sá included in the phrase Munurinn er sá að? Does not að already mean 'that'?
Yes, að means 'that' as a linking word. However, in Icelandic, when you say 'The [noun] is that...', you usually insert a demonstrative pronoun matching the noun right before að. Since munurinn (the difference) is a masculine noun, we use the masculine pronoun sá. Literally, it translates as 'The difference is that one that...'.

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