Learn Hardcore Swedish: Vi väntar länge på bussen.

There is an older/more formal use where vänta can mean expect:
Jag väntar besök. = I am expecting visitors.
But for a bus, the normal expression is vänta på bussen.

Why is it bussen (the bus) and not en buss (a bus) or just buss?

bussen is the definite form: the bus.

You use the definite form in Swedish when speaker and listener know which specific bus you mean—typically the one that is scheduled to come at that stop.

Vi väntar på bussen.
= We are waiting for the bus (the expected, known bus).

If you say:

Vi väntar på en buss.
= We are waiting for a bus (some bus, not specified which one).

Bare buss without an article or ending is not normally used as a standalone noun in this kind of sentence. You would see bare buss mainly in compounds or set phrases, like busskort (bus card), bussresa (bus trip), or on signs.

Does vänta på always mean wait for? Could på bussen here mean on the bus?

In the combination vänta på + noun, vänta på functions as a unit meaning wait for. So in Vi väntar länge på bussen, på does not mean on in the sense of location; it is part of the verb phrase vänta på.

vänta på bussen = wait for the bus

To say on the bus as a location, you use på bussen with other verbs:

Vi sitter på bussen. = We are sitting on the bus.
Vi åker på bussen. (colloquial) = We are riding on the bus.

So the meaning comes from the whole expression:

vänta på X → wait for X (no idea of on top of or inside X)
[other verb] + på bussen → on the bus (literally on board the bus)

Why is the verb väntar in the simple present when the English translation uses are waiting?

Swedish does not normally distinguish between simple and continuous present the way English does. The present tense in Swedish covers both:

Vi väntar länge på bussen.
= We wait a long time for the bus.
= We are waiting a long time for the bus.

Context tells you whether it is a general/habitual action or something happening right now.

Swedish does have a way to express an ongoing action explicitly (håller på att), but it is not used as widely as English -ing:

Vi håller på att vänta på bussen. – technically We are in the process of waiting for the bus, but it sounds odd; people usually just say Vi väntar på bussen.

What is the dictionary form of väntar, and how does it conjugate?

The dictionary (infinitive) form is att vänta = to wait.

Basic forms:

Infinitive: att vänta – to wait
Present: väntar – wait / are waiting
Past (preterite): väntade – waited
Supine: väntat – used with har to form the perfect
- har väntat = have waited

Examples:

Jag vill vänta. = I want to wait.
Vi väntar på bussen. = We are waiting for the bus.
Vi väntade länge. = We waited a long time.
Vi har väntat länge. = We have waited / have been waiting a long time.

Can I change the word order and say Vi väntar på bussen länge? Is that still correct?

Yes, Vi väntar på bussen länge is grammatically correct, and people do say it. Both sentences are fine:

Vi väntar länge på bussen.
Vi väntar på bussen länge.

They mean essentially the same thing: We wait a long time for the bus. The difference is mostly about rhythm and slight emphasis:

Vi väntar länge på bussen.
– A very natural, neutral order. The adverb länge comes early, right after the verb, highlighting the duration.
Vi väntar på bussen länge.
– Slightly more focus on väntar på bussen as a unit, and then you add that this goes on länge.

Orders like *Vi länge väntar på bussen are not normal in everyday speech; adverbs like länge usually do not go between the subject and the verb in this kind of main clause.

Can I leave out vi and just say Väntar länge på bussen?

In standard Swedish, you normally must have a subject pronoun. So:

Vi väntar länge på bussen. ✅
*Väntar länge på bussen. ❌ (as a normal sentence)

Swedish is not a pro‑drop language like Spanish or Italian; you generally cannot omit I, you, we, etc.

The main exceptions are:

Imperatives: Vänta! = Wait!
Elliptical language in notes, headlines, text messages, etc., where people sometimes drop the subject for brevity. But in normal spoken or written full sentences, you should include vi.

How would I say We have been waiting a long time for the bus in Swedish? Is Vi väntar länge på bussen enough?

To match have been waiting (present perfect continuous) more closely, the most natural Swedish sentence is:

Vi har väntat länge på bussen.
= We have been waiting a long time for the bus.

Vi väntar länge på bussen is correct Swedish, but it is more neutral in terms of time aspect. Depending on context, it could mean:

a general/habitual fact:
Varje dag efter jobbet väntar vi länge på bussen.
= Every day after work we wait a long time for the bus.
something happening now, but without clearly emphasizing the time already passed up to this moment.

If you want to stress the duration up to now (as English have been waiting does), use har väntat:

Vi har väntat länge på bussen nu.
= We have been waiting a long time for the bus now.

What is the difference between länge and för länge?

länge = for a long time (neutral)
- Vi väntar länge på bussen.
  = We wait / are waiting a long time for the bus.
för länge = too long (there is an element of excess)
- Vi väntar för länge på bussen.
  = We wait too long for the bus.
  (It takes too long for the bus to come / the waiting time is unreasonably long.)

So adding för before länge changes the meaning from neutral duration to excessive duration.

How do you pronounce väntar and bussen?

Approximate pronunciation in a standard Swedish accent:

väntar: [ˈvɛn‑tar]
- vä: like e in English "bed", but a bit tenser.
- n: normal n.
- t: clear t.
- ar: a short a sound plus an r. In many accents the r is a light tap or slightly rolled.
bussen: [ˈbʉs‑sen] or [ˈbɵs‑sen] depending on accent
- bu: short, rounded vowel (somewhere between English "book" and "bus", but with more lip rounding).
- ss: double s, pronounced as a long s.
- en: like "en" in "taken", with an e similar to "bed" and an n.

Stress is on the first syllable in both words: VÄN‑tar, BUS‑sen.