Stemmeopptellingen tar fem minutter.

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

Here:

• stemme = vote
• opptelling = counting, count

So stemmeopptelling literally means vote-counting or the counting of votes.

Then the ending -en is added to make it definite:

• en stemmeopptelling = a vote count
• stemmeopptellingen = the vote count

This is very normal in Norwegian. Where English often uses several words, Norwegian often prefers one compound word.

The ending -en is the definite article for many masculine nouns in Norwegian.

So:

• en opptelling = a count
• opptellingen = the count

Since stemmeopptelling is a masculine noun, its definite form is stemmeopptellingen.

This is different from English, where you usually put the before the noun. In Norwegian, the definiteness is often attached to the end of the noun itself.

Tar is the present tense of ta, which usually means take.

In Norwegian, just like in English, ta can be used for time:

• Det tar fem minutter = It takes five minutes

So:

• Stemmeopptellingen tar fem minutter = The vote count takes five minutes

This is a very common pattern in Norwegian:

• Møtet tar en time = The meeting takes an hour
• Reisen tar to dager = The trip takes two days

Because Norwegian can let the actual thing doing the action be the subject directly.

English often says:

• It takes five minutes

But it can also say:

• The vote count takes five minutes

Norwegian uses the second type here:

• Stemmeopptellingen tar fem minutter

So nothing is missing. The subject is simply stemmeopptellingen.

Because after ta when talking about duration, Norwegian usually gives the amount of time directly.

So:

• tar fem minutter = takes five minutes
• tar en time = takes an hour

No extra word like for is needed.

This works much like English:

• It takes five minutes not
• It takes for five minutes

The basic word order is:

Subject + verb + time expression

So:

• Stemmeopptellingen = subject
• tar = verb
• fem minutter = duration/time expression

This is standard Norwegian main-clause word order.

Yes, but it would not mean exactly the same thing unless the context already makes clear what det refers to.

• Det tar fem minutter = It takes five minutes
• Stemmeopptellingen tar fem minutter = The vote count takes five minutes

The version with det is more general and depends on context. The original sentence is more specific.

It is related to vote.

The noun en stemme can mean both voice and vote, depending on context. In this sentence, because it is about stemmeopptelling, it clearly means vote.

So stemmeopptelling is not about counting voices; it is about counting votes.

A rough guide for an English speaker is:

STEM-meh-op-tel-ling-en

A few helpful points:

• stemme has a short e sound because of the double mm
• opptelling has double pp and double ll, which usually means the vowel before them is short
• the stress is mainly near the beginning, especially on the first part of the compound

You do not pronounce every letter exactly like in English, but the important thing is to keep the vowels fairly short where the double consonants appear.

Sometimes, depending on context, but it is safer to translate it more literally as:

• the vote count
• the counting of votes

Election count could sound broader in English, while stemmeopptelling specifically refers to counting votes.

So if you want to stay close to the Norwegian, the vote count is usually the best choice.

Because fem is plural, so the noun must also be plural.

• ett minutt = one minute
• to minutter = two minutes
• fem minutter = five minutes

So minutter is simply the plural form of minutt.

Yes. That is also correct and natural.

Compare:

• Stemmeopptellingen tar fem minutter
• Opptellingen av stemmene tar fem minutter

The first uses a compound noun, which is very typical in Norwegian. The second uses a noun phrase with av = of.

Both mean essentially the same thing, but the compound form often sounds a bit more compact and idiomatic in Norwegian.

Yes. Tar is the present tense of ta.

So the sentence means that, in general or in the current situation, the vote count takes five minutes.

Other tenses would be:

• tok = took
• har tatt = has taken / have taken

For example:

• Stemmeopptellingen tok fem minutter = The vote count took five minutes