Breakdown of Hvað kostar kaffið í dollurum?
kaffið
the coffee
hvað
what
í
in / into / to (before the hour, in telling time) / per (in frequency expressions)
kosta
to cost
dollarinn
the dollar
Questions & Answers about Hvað kostar kaffið í dollurum?
Why do we use hvað instead of hversu mikið for "how much" in this sentence?
While hversu mikið literally means "how much", Icelandic relies on the fixed phrase hvað kostar (literally "what costs") when asking for a price. Saying hversu mikið kostar sounds like a direct translation from English and is unnatural to native speakers.
Why is the currency in the dative case (dollurum)?
The preposition í governs the dative case when you are expressing the medium, unit, or currency in which something is measured, priced, or paid.
How does the loanword dollar decline to become dollurum?
It adapts perfectly to the standard Icelandic strong masculine declension. The nominative plural is dollarar (dollars), and the dative plural takes the standard -um ending to become dollurum.
Can I use this exact same structure for other currencies?
Absolutely. You will see this exact same í plus dative plural pattern for any other currency, such as í krónum (in krónur) or í evrum (in euros).
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