Learn Hardcore Swedish: Vi väntar vid hållplatsen nära dörren. - We are waiting at the stop near the door.

vid hållplatsen = “by/at the stop,” emphasizing proximity to the stop.
på hållplatsen = “at the stop (on the stop area/platform/shelter),” treating it as a place/area you’re on or in. In everyday speech, both are common and usually interchangeable. If you want to be extra precise: use vid for “by, next to,” and på when you think of the stop as an area you’re located on/in.

Does Vi väntar mean “We are waiting” even without a special continuous form?

Yes. Swedish simple present covers both “we wait” and “we are waiting.” Vi väntar is used for an action happening right now. To emphasize the ongoing nature and posture, Swedes often add a posture verb:

Vi står och väntar (we’re standing and waiting)
Vi sitter och väntar (we’re sitting and waiting)

Is vänta used with different prepositions for “wait for” vs “wait at/by”?

Yes:

vänta på = wait for (a person/thing/event). Example: Vi väntar på bussen.
vänta vid/på
- place = wait at/by a location. Example: Vi väntar vid hållplatsen.

Does nära need till here? Why not nära till dörren?

Here nära is a preposition and takes a direct object: nära dörren (“near the door”).
nära till is used in sentences like Det är nära till skolan (“It’s a short distance to the school”), not as a modifier after a noun. So stick with nära dörren in this sentence.

Is nära dörren describing the stop or where we’re standing?

As written, the most natural reading is that nära dörren modifies hållplatsen: “the stop that is near the door.” In other words: Vi väntar [vid hållplatsen som är nära dörren].
If you mean “we are near the door (at the stop),” reword for clarity:

Vi väntar vid dörren på hållplatsen.
Vi väntar nära dörren vid hållplatsen.

Why is it hållplatsen and dörren (definite form) even if they haven’t been mentioned earlier?

Swedish often uses the definite form when you’re referring to a specific, identifiable thing, even if it’s the first mention. The phrase nära dörren delimits which stop you mean, making it specific. Similarly, dörren implies a door known from context (for example, the entrance door you both see).
Indefinite would be en hållplats, en dörr (“a stop,” “a door”).

Could I say vid den hållplatsen nära dörren?

Only if you mean “that stop” (demonstrative). den here would be “that,” not just “the.” Without a preceding adjective, normal “the” is expressed only with the suffix: hållplatsen.
With an adjective, Swedish uses “double definiteness”: vid den närmaste hållplatsen (“at the nearest stop”).

What exactly is a hållplats? When would I use station or perrong?

hållplats = a stop for buses/trams (often: busshållplats = bus stop).
station = a station (typically trains/metros).
perrong = the platform at a station. So you wait vid/på hållplatsen for a bus/tram, and på perrongen at a train station.

Could I put the location phrases in a different order, like Vi väntar nära dörren vid hållplatsen?

Yes, Swedish allows flexible adverbial order. Common practice is to place broader location first and then the more specific detail, or to keep a modifier next to what it modifies.

Vi väntar vid hållplatsen nära dörren tends to read as “the stop that is near the door.”
Vi väntar nära dörren vid hållplatsen focuses on where you stand relative to the door at the stop.
Choose the order that matches your intended meaning.

Is there any difference between nära, vid, bredvid, and intill?

nära = near/close to (general proximity, not necessarily right next to).
vid = by/at (very close to, at the side of).
bredvid = next to, beside (immediately adjacent).
intill = right next to, very close against. Example nuances: vid dörren (by the door), bredvid dörren/intill dörren (right next to the door), nära dörren (somewhere near the door).

How would I say “We are waiting for the bus at the stop near the door”?

A natural version is: Vi väntar på bussen vid hållplatsen nära dörren.
If you need to make clear that “near the door” describes where you’re standing (not which stop), use: Vi väntar på bussen nära dörren vid hållplatsen.

What are the plural and definite plural forms of hållplats and dörr?

en hållplats → plural: hållplatser → definite plural: hållplatserna
en dörr → plural: dörrar → definite plural: dörrarna

If I add an adjective before hållplats, how does definiteness work?

Use “double definiteness”: definite article + definite suffix.

“the nearest stop” = den närmaste hållplatsen
“the old door” = den gamla dörren

Is there a more explicitly “in-progress” way to say this, like English “We’re standing waiting…”?

Yes, Swedes often add a posture verb:

Vi står och väntar (we’re standing and waiting)
Vi sitter och väntar (we’re sitting and waiting) You can combine with the location: Vi står och väntar vid hållplatsen.

Pronunciation tips for väntar, hållplatsen, dörren?

ä in väntar sounds like the “e” in “bed,” slightly more open.
å in hållplatsen sounds like the “aw” in “law,” but rounded.
ö in dörren is like French “eu” in “peur” or German “ö” in “schön,” a rounded mid-front vowel.
Double consonants (like ll in håll) usually mean the preceding vowel is short.
The stress is on the first syllable: VÄN-tar, HÅLL-plats-en, DÖR-ren. Regional “r”s vary (trilled/uvular), both are fine.

Should I write buss hållplats as two words?

No. Swedish compounding joins such words: busshållplats (“bus stop”). With definiteness: busshållplatsen.