Fellesperioden kan deles.

Fellesperioden is a compound noun:

• felles = common, shared, joint
• periode = period
• -en = the definite singular ending

So fellesperioden literally means the common/shared period.

Because Norwegian usually writes compound nouns as one word. English often uses separate words, but Norwegian joins them.

So where English might have shared period or common period, Norwegian naturally makes fellesperiode, and in the definite form fellesperioden.

The ending -en marks the noun as definite singular for many masculine nouns.

• en periode = a period
• perioden = the period

Since fellesperiode is treated as a noun of that type, fellesperioden means the shared/common period.

This is one of the big differences from English: Norwegian often puts the onto the end of the noun instead of using a separate word.

Because in Norwegian, definiteness is often shown with a suffix on the noun rather than a separate article.

So instead of saying something like the period with a separate the, Norwegian commonly says perioden.

That is completely normal and one of the core features of Norwegian grammar.

Kan is the present tense of å kunne.

It often means:

• can
• is able to
• may
• it is possible to

In this sentence, kan most naturally means can or is able/possible to.

So kan deles means something like can be divided or can be shared out, depending on context.

Because deles is a passive form.

The infinitive is:

• å dele = to divide, to split, to share

The form deles is an -s passive, which is very common in Norwegian. It often corresponds to English be + past participle.

So:

• dele = divide / share
• deles = be divided / be shared

That is why kan deles means can be divided rather than just can divide.

In this sentence, it is passive.

So Fellesperioden kan deles means that the shared/common period is the thing receiving the action. It is the thing being divided.

A reflexive meaning would involve the subject doing something to itself, but that is not what is happening here.

Because Norwegian can make the passive directly with -s on the verb.

So English:

• can be divided

Norwegian:

• kan deles

Norwegian can also use other passive constructions, such as kan bli delt, but kan deles is very natural and compact.

The sentence follows standard Norwegian main-clause word order:

• Fellesperioden = subject
• kan = finite verb
• deles = main verb in passive form

So the pattern is:

• Subject + finite verb + rest

This fits the Norwegian V2 rule, where the finite verb usually comes in second position in main clauses.

The infinitive is å dele.

Some useful forms are:

• å dele = to divide / to share
• deler = divide(s) / share(s)
• delte = divided / shared
• har delt = have/has divided, have/has shared
• deles = is divided / can be divided

So if you want the active version, you might say:

• Vi deler fellesperioden = We divide/share the common period

But in your sentence, the passive deles is used instead.

Yes. Fellesperioden kan bli delt is also grammatical and means nearly the same thing.

There is a small difference in feel:

• kan deles = a compact, standard passive; often sounds neutral and factual
• kan bli delt = can become divided / can be divided; sometimes feels a bit more process-oriented

In many practical contexts, both are possible.

Then the meaning would change from can be divided to something more like:

• is divided
• gets divided
• is being divided

So kan adds the idea of possibility or permission, while deles alone states the action more directly.

A rough English-friendly pronunciation would be:

• FEL-les-peh-ree-OH-den kan DEH-les

A few notes:

• felles has a clear e sound, not like English feel
• perioden has stress on o: peri-OD-en
• kan has a broad a
• deles has two clear syllables: de-les

The exact pronunciation depends somewhat on dialect, but that approximation is a good starting point.