Overgangstiden er kort.

Because Norwegian usually forms nouns like this as compound words.
Here, overgangstid is made from:

• overgang = transition
• tid = time / period

So overgangstid means transition period. Then -en is added to make it definite: the transition period.

This is different from English, which often writes similar expressions as separate words.

The ending -en is the definite article attached to the noun. In Norwegian, instead of putting the before the noun, you often add the article to the end.

So:

• en overgangstid = a transition period
• overgangstiden = the transition period

This is very common in Norwegian.

That -s- is a linking sound/letter often used in Norwegian compounds. The base part is overgang, and when it joins tid, it becomes overgangstid.

This -s- does not usually have a separate meaning by itself here. It just helps form the compound in the standard way.

So you can think of it like this:

• overgang
  • tid → overgangstid

Learners often notice this because English does not do this in the same way.

Because kort is the correct adjective form for a singular neuter noun used with er.

The noun overgangstiden comes from en overgangstid, so it is actually a masculine/feminine common-gender noun in Bokmål. But when an adjective comes after er in this kind of sentence, the adjective usually stays in its basic form unless plural or definite agreement rules require something else.

In this sentence:

• Overgangstiden er kort. = The transition period is short.

Compare:

• en kort overgangstid = a short transition period
• overgangstiden er kort = the transition period is short

So after er, kort is the normal predicate adjective form here.

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

So:

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

In this sentence it means is:

• Overgangstiden er kort. = The transition period is short.

It is the standard verb used to connect the subject and an adjective.

The basic word order is:

subject + verb + adjective

So here:

• Overgangstiden = subject
• er = verb
• kort = adjective

This is very similar to English:

• The transition period
  • is
    • short

Norwegian main clauses often follow verb-second word order, but in a simple statement like this, the subject comes first and the verb comes second naturally.

The indefinite version would be:

En overgangstid er kort.

Grammatically, that means A transition period is short, but that sounds more general and less natural in many contexts.

The original sentence:

Overgangstiden er kort.

usually refers to a specific transition period: the one being discussed.

So the definite form is probably used because the speaker has a particular transition period in mind.

A rough pronunciation guide for an English speaker is:

OH-ver-gahngs-tee-den ehr kort

A few notes:

• o in Over- is closer to a rounded o, not an English long oh
• gang has a Norwegian ng sound like in English sing
• tiden sounds roughly like tee-den
• er is often pronounced softly, almost like ær/air depending on dialect
• kort has a clear k and a short vowel

Pronunciation varies by dialect, but this rough version will help you get started.

Yes. Overgangsperioden er kort is also correct and may sound a bit more explicit or formal, depending on context.

Compare:

• overgangstiden = transition time / transition period
• overgangsperioden = transition period

Both are understandable and natural, but overgangsperioden is sometimes closer to the exact English phrase transition period.

Yes, Overgangstiden er kort. is standard Bokmål.

In Nynorsk, you would typically say:

Overgangstida er kort.

The main difference is the definite ending:

• Bokmål: -en → overgangstiden
• Nynorsk: often -a → overgangstida

The rest of the sentence stays the same.