Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Du må vente minst fem minutter. - You must wait at least five minutes.

Må expresses necessity/obligation (have to/must). It’s stronger than bør (should, a recommendation) and different from skal, which can sound like a rule, order, or plan. Rough guide:

Du må vente … = You have to; it’s required.
Du bør vente … = You should; it’s advisable.
Du skal vente … = You shall/are supposed to; a directive or set plan (often stronger or more authoritative).

Why is there no å before vente?

Because må is a modal verb. Norwegian modals (må, kan, vil, skal, bør) take the bare infinitive, so you say må vente, not må å vente. With non-modals you would use å (e.g., prøver å vente).

Can I say Du må vent?

No. After a modal, you must use the infinitive: Du må vente. The form vent is the imperative and is used on its own for commands: Vent i minst fem minutter!

Do I need the preposition i for the duration? Is Du må vente i minst fem minutter better?

Both Du må vente minst fem minutter and Du må vente i minst fem minutter are natural. Adding i explicitly marks duration (“for”), and is very common; dropping i is also idiomatic, especially in instructions. Avoid på here; på fem minutter is used for how long something took to complete (e.g., “I did it in five minutes”), not for waiting duration.

Where should minst go? Can I put it at the end: … fem minutter, minst?

The default and most natural placement is before the number: minst fem minutter. You can move it for emphasis in speech—… fem minutter, minst—but that’s more colloquial. With i, keep it together: i minst fem minutter.

What’s the difference between minst and i det minste?

Minst is used with amounts/numbers: minst fem minutter (at least five minutes).
I det minste is a sentence adverb meaning “at least” in a consoling/contrastive sense: Han kom for sent, men i det minste sa han unnskyld.
You might see i det minste fem minutter, but for numbers minst is the default.

How does minst compare to mer enn?

Minst fem minutter includes five (≥5).
Mer enn fem minutter excludes five (>5).
Choose based on whether exactly five is acceptable.

Why is it minutter and not minutt?

Because it’s plural (five). In Bokmål, the indefinite plural is minutter:

Singular: et minutt
Indefinite plural: minutter
Definite plural: minuttene
You’ll hear fem minutt in many dialects and in Nynorsk, but standard Bokmål uses minutter after numbers.

How do I negate this without changing the meaning in English?

Be careful:

Du må ikke vente … = You must not wait … (prohibition).
“You don’t have to wait …” = Du trenger ikke å vente … or Du behøver ikke å vente …
So don’t use må ikke if you mean “don’t have to.”

How do I turn it into a yes–no question?

Invert subject and modal: Må du vente minst fem minutter?
Other persons: Må jeg/han/vi dere/de vente …?

What changes in the past or future?

Past necessity: Jeg måtte vente minst fem minutter.
Future necessity: Jeg kommer til å måtte vente minst fem minutter (literal “am going to have to”), or simply use present for scheduled/expected situations: I morgen må jeg vente …

Could I say the same idea with synonyms of må?

Yes, with nuance:

Du er nødt til å vente … (you are obliged to; strong).
Du trenger å vente … (you need to; can sound more about practical necessity).
Du behøver å vente … (you need to; a bit more formal/literary). Remember these take å: er nødt til å/treger å/behøver å vente.

How would I use other time-related prepositions with this idea: i, på, om?

i fem minutter = for five minutes (duration).
på fem minutter = in five minutes (time it took to complete something).
om fem minutter = in five minutes (a point in the future).
For waiting duration, use no preposition or i: (i) fem minutter.

Where would I place other adverbs like alltid or bare?

In main clauses, the finite verb (må) is in second position, and sentential adverbs follow it:

Du må alltid vente minst fem minutter.
Du må bare vente minst fem minutter. If a different element starts the sentence, må still stays second: Nå må du vente minst fem minutter.

Is there a formal way to address someone?

Yes, the very formal De (capital D) exists but is rare in modern everyday usage. It would be De må vente minst fem minutter. In most contexts, stick with du.

Can I use a noun phrase like minimum?

You’ll see it in signs/instructions: Minimum fem minutter or en pause på minimum fem minutter. In running text, minst fem minutter is more idiomatic. Another option is the genitive construction: en fem minutters pause.