Tørketiden er lang.

Tørketiden is a compound noun:

• tørke = drying / to dry
• tid = time
• -en = the definite ending for a common-gender noun

So tørketid means drying time, and tørketiden means the drying time.

Norwegian very often joins nouns into one word, so what English writes as two words is often one word in Norwegian.

In Norwegian, the is usually attached to the end of the noun instead of standing alone in front of it.

Here:

• tid = time
• tiden = the time

And in the compound:

• tørketid = drying time
• tørketiden = the drying time

This is a very common feature of Norwegian nouns.

Er is the present tense of å være (to be).

So:

• er = is / are

In this sentence, it links the subject and the description:

• Tørketiden = subject
• er = is
• lang = long

So grammatically it works just like is in English.

Because the noun it describes is singular and common gender.

Norwegian adjectives change form depending on gender and number:

• en lang tid = a long time
• et langt program = a long program
• lange dager = long days

After er, adjectives still usually agree in the same way:

• Tiden er lang = The time is long
• Programmet er langt = The program is long
• Dagene er lange = The days are long

Since tørketiden is singular and common gender, lang is the correct form.

A good clue is the definite form tiden.

In Bokmål:

• many common-gender nouns take -en in the definite singular
• many neuter nouns take -et in the definite singular

So:

• en tid → tiden
• et hus → huset

Because the word ends as -en here, that tells you the head noun tid is common gender.

Because Norwegian usually writes compound nouns as a single word.

So English might write:

• drying time
• car door
• school book

But Norwegian typically writes:

• tørketid
• bildør
• skolebok

This is one of the most important spelling habits to get used to in Norwegian.

Normally, no—not in standard natural Norwegian for this meaning.

A singular countable noun like tørketid usually needs either:

• an article: en tørketid
• or a definite form: tørketiden

So Tørketid er lang sounds incomplete or unnatural.

Tørketiden er lang is the natural choice when talking about the drying time in a specific context.

It describes tørketiden.

This is called a predicative adjective: the adjective comes after er instead of directly before the noun.

Compare:

• en lang tørketid = a long drying time
• Tørketiden er lang = the drying time is long

In both cases, lang describes the drying time. The only difference is where the adjective appears in the sentence.

A rough guide is:

TUR-keh-tee-den
but with the Norwegian vowel ø, which does not exist in normal English.

A few helpful points:

• ø is a rounded vowel, somewhat like the vowel in French deux or German schön
• kj in many speakers’ pronunciation is a soft sound, though in tørke the spelling is just rk, so that part is straightforward
• stress is mainly on the first part: TØR-ke-ti-den

If you want to sound more natural, the biggest thing to practice is the vowel ø.

No. In Norwegian:

• lang = long
• høy = tall / high

So for time, distance, or length, you use lang:

• en lang dag = a long day
• veien er lang = the road is long

For a person or object being tall/high, you usually use høy:

• Han er høy = He is tall

In Tørketiden er lang, lang is exactly the right word because it refers to duration.

Yes. You can expand it easily:

• Tørketiden er veldig lang. = The drying time is very long.
• Tørketiden er for lang. = The drying time is too long.
• Tørketiden er ganske lang. = The drying time is quite long.

These extra words usually go between er and lang.

This sentence uses the normal basic Norwegian word order:

• Subject + verb + complement
• Tørketiden + er + lang

That is very similar to English.

One important thing to remember more generally is that Norwegian is a V2 language, which means the finite verb often comes in second position. In this simple sentence, that just gives the ordinary-looking order:

• Tørketiden er lang.

So there is nothing unusual here—this is the standard pattern.