Breakdown of Því minni sem áhættan er, því minni er hagnaðurinn.
vera
to be
sem
who / which / that
minni
smaller
því
the (in 'the more... the more')
Questions & Answers about Því minni sem áhættan er, því minni er hagnaðurinn.
Why does the first part of the sentence have the word sem but the second part doesn't?
In the Icelandic því... því... (the more... the more...) structure, the first clause acts as a relative clause, which requires the relative particle sem (like "that"). The second clause is the main consequence and doesn't use sem.
Why is the word order áhættan er in the first half, but er hagnaðurinn in the second half?
The first half is a subordinate clause introduced by sem, so it uses standard subject-verb order (áhættan er). The second half is a main clause that starts with því minni. Because Icelandic is a "verb-second" (V2) language, starting the clause with something other than the subject forces the verb (er) to come before the subject (hagnaðurinn).
Áhættan (the risk) is feminine, but hagnaðurinn (the profit) is masculine. Why do they both use the same adjective form, minni?
Minni is the comparative form of the adjective lítill (small). In Icelandic, comparative adjectives are simplified and do not change their endings to match the gender of the noun. They use the same form for masculine, feminine, and neuter words.
What does the word því literally mean here?
Því is actually the dative form of the pronoun það (it/that). In this grammar structure, it functions as an instrumental word meaning "by that much". So a literal translation would be "By that much smaller that the risk is, by that much smaller is the profit."