Overfartstiden er lang.

Because Norwegian, like German, very often makes compound nouns by joining words together.

Here, overfartstiden can be broken down like this:

• overfart = crossing, passage
• tid = time
• -en = the definite ending, so tiden = the time

So overfartstiden literally means something like the crossing time or the time the crossing takes.

In English, we usually write this as separate words, but in Norwegian it is normal to combine them into one noun.

The ending -en makes the noun definite.

• tid = time
• tiden = the time

So:

• overfartstid = crossing time
• overfartstiden = the crossing time

Norwegian often adds definiteness directly to the end of the noun instead of using a separate word like the.

Because in Norwegian, the definite form is often built into the noun itself.

Compare:

• en tid = a time
• tiden = the time

So instead of saying something like the crossing time, Norwegian says overfartstiden, where the the idea is included in the ending.

This is one of the most important differences from English.

Er is the present tense of å være = to be.

So:

• er = is / are / am, depending on context

In this sentence:

• Overfartstiden er lang = The crossing time is long

Norwegian does not change the form of the verb depending on the subject the way English does. So er is used with all persons:

• jeg er = I am
• du er = you are
• han er = he is
• vi er = we are

Because lang has to agree with the noun it describes, and overfartstiden is a singular common-gender noun.

For predicate adjectives after er, the usual pattern is:

• common gender singular: lang
• neuter singular: langt
• plural: lange

Examples:

• Tiden er lang. = The time is long.
• Oppholdet er langt. = The stay is long.
• Dagene er lange. = The days are long.

So here lang is correct because overfartstiden is singular and not neuter.

Because this adjective is a predicate adjective, not one directly placed before the noun.

Compare:

• den lange overfartstiden = the long crossing time
  
  • here the adjective comes before the noun, so it takes the definite/plural form lange
• overfartstiden er lang = the crossing time is long
  
  • here the adjective comes after er, so it is a predicate adjective, and it follows the normal singular/plural agreement pattern: lang / langt / lange

So definiteness of the noun does not automatically make the predicate adjective definite in form.

Because this is the normal word order for a simple statement in Norwegian:

subject + verb + adjective/complement

So:

• Overfartstiden = subject
• er = verb
• lang = complement

This is very similar to English:

• The crossing time is long

If you changed the order to Er overfartstiden lang?, it would become a question:

• Is the crossing time long?

Yes. Just like English long, Norwegian lang can be used for both:

• physical length
• duration of time

Examples:

• en lang vei = a long road
• en lang dag = a long day

So in Overfartstiden er lang, lang means long in duration, not physically long.

It is understandable and correct, but in everyday speech people might often choose other ways to say the same idea, depending on context.

For example, you might also hear:

• Overfarten tar lang tid. = The crossing takes a long time.
• Det tar lang tid å komme over. = It takes a long time to get across.

So overfartstiden er lang is perfectly fine, but in natural conversation some speakers might prefer a more verb-based expression.

This sentence is standard Bokmål.

A Nynorsk version might look different, for example:

• Overfartstida er lang.

The main difference there is the definite ending on tid:

• Bokmål: tiden
• a common Nynorsk form: tida

But the basic structure and meaning are the same.

A rough English-friendly guide is:

OH-ver-farts-tee-den ehr lahng

A few notes:

• r in Norwegian is usually not like a strong American English r
• lang has the a sound of Norwegian, not exactly like English lang
• er is often pronounced quite lightly in normal speech

If you want to say it naturally, keep the rhythm fairly even:

Overfartstiden er lang.

No. Lang is correct here, not lenge.

That is because:

• lang = adjective
• lenge = adverb, usually meaning for a long time

Compare:

• Overfartstiden er lang. = The crossing time is long.
• Vi ventet lenge. = We waited a long time.

So after er, describing the noun overfartstiden, you need the adjective lang.

The full word in the sentence is the definite singular form. The dictionary form you would usually look up is:

• overfartstid = crossing time

Related forms would be:

• en overfartstid = a crossing time
• overfartstiden = the crossing time
• overfartstider = crossing times
• overfartstidene = the crossing times

So if you are using a dictionary, look for overfartstid, not overfartstiden.