Autobus stiže za pet minuta.

Because Serbian often uses the present tense for something that is scheduled, expected, or about to happen, especially with travel and timetables.

So Autobus stiže za pet minuta is very natural, like English The bus arrives in five minutes or The bus is coming in five minutes.

If you want a more explicit future form, you can also say:

Autobus će stići za pet minuta.

That also means The bus will arrive in five minutes.

Stiže is the 3rd person singular present form of stizati.

• stizati = to be arriving / to arrive (imperfective)
• stići = to arrive / to get there (perfective)

In this sentence, stiže fits well because it describes an expected arrival that is near or already in progress from the speaker’s point of view.

Here za pet minuta means in five minutes — that is, five minutes from now.

It does not mean for five minutes.

So:

• Autobus stiže za pet minuta. = The bus arrives in five minutes.

This is a very common Serbian pattern:

• Vraćam se za deset minuta. = I’ll be back in ten minutes.
• Počinje za sat vremena. = It starts in an hour.

Because numbers affect the form of the noun in Serbian.

After pet (five) and higher numbers, the noun takes a form corresponding to the genitive plural:

• pet minuta = five minutes
• deset minuta = ten minutes

So minuta is the correct form here.

A useful comparison:

• jedan minut
• dva minuta
• tri minuta
• četiri minuta
• pet minuta

With minut, several of these forms happen to look the same, which can be confusing at first.

Yes, absolutely.

Both are natural:

• Autobus stiže za pet minuta.
• Autobus će stići za pet minuta.

The difference is mostly in feel:

• stiže sounds a bit more like a scheduled or imminent arrival
• će stići is a more straightforward future tense

In everyday speech, the present tense version is very common.

Yes, Serbian often leaves out the subject if it is already clear from context.

So if everyone already knows you are talking about the bus, you might hear:

Stiže za pet minuta.

But if you want to state clearly what is arriving, you include autobus:

Autobus stiže za pet minuta.

Serbian has no articles like a or the.

So autobus can mean a bus or the bus, depending on context.

In real situations, this sentence will usually mean the bus because both speakers already know which bus they are talking about.

Yes. Serbian word order is more flexible than English.

The neutral order here is:

Autobus stiže za pet minuta.

But you could also hear:

Za pet minuta stiže autobus.

That version puts more focus on when it is arriving.

So the meaning stays basically the same, but the emphasis changes.

Stiže is pronounced roughly like STEE-zhe.

A couple of useful points:

• ž sounds like the s in measure
• st stays together, as in English stop
• the final e is pronounced, not silent

So:

• stiže ≈ STEE-zhe

That is only an approximation, but it is close enough for a learner.

Usually it means in five minutes, but in normal conversation it can be a little approximate, just like in English.

Depending on context, it may mean:

• exactly five minutes from now
• roughly/about five minutes from now

If the speaker is being very precise, context will make that clear. Otherwise, it is often understood a bit loosely.