Resan känns kortare med sällskap, särskilt när bussen är sen.

Resan is the definite singular form of resa.

• resa = a trip / a journey
• resan = the trip / the journey

In Swedish, the definite article is usually added as an ending rather than written as a separate word. Since the sentence is talking about a specific trip, Swedish uses resan.

Känns is the present tense of kännas, which means to feel / to seem.

Here, Resan känns kortare means something like:

• The trip feels shorter
• The journey seems shorter

This is a very common Swedish pattern:

• Det känns bra = It feels good
• Tiden känns lång = Time feels long
• Resan känns kortare = The trip feels shorter

So känns is not literally about touching something. It often means how something is experienced.

Kortare is the comparative form of kort.

• kort = short
• kortare = shorter

The sentence says the trip feels shorter, not just short. The idea is that being with someone makes the trip seem less long than it otherwise would.

This is a regular comparative pattern in Swedish for many adjectives:

• snabb → snabbare = fast → faster
• lång → längre = long → longer
• kort → kortare = short → shorter

Because resan is already the subject.

In English, you might say:

• The trip feels shorter

and Swedish does the same thing:

• Resan känns kortare

There is no need for a dummy subject like English it. Swedish only uses det when it actually needs a subject, for example:

• Det känns bra = It feels good

But here the real subject is resan, so det is not needed.

Med sällskap literally means with company or in company, but in natural English it usually means:

• when you have someone with you
• with company
• with companionship

Sällskap can mean company, companionship, or someone accompanying you, depending on context.

In this sentence, it means that the trip feels shorter when you are not alone.

Because sällskap is being used in a general, uncountable sense here.

• med sällskap = with company / in company
• med ett sällskap would sound more like with a group / with one party of people, which is more specific and less natural here

So med sällskap is the idiomatic choice when you mean the general idea of having someone with you.

Särskilt means especially or particularly.

So:

• Resan känns kortare med sällskap = The trip feels shorter with company
• särskilt när bussen är sen = especially when the bus is late

It adds emphasis and says that this is even more true in that situation.

Other examples:

• Det är särskilt viktigt = It is especially important
• Jag gillar det särskilt mycket = I like it especially much / particularly much

När means when, while om usually means if.

In this sentence, när bussen är sen means:

• when the bus is late

This suggests a situation that happens or is being imagined as a real situation, not just a hypothetical condition.

Compare:

• när bussen är sen = when the bus is late
• om bussen är sen = if the bus is late

Both can be possible in different contexts, but när fits better here because it sounds like a familiar or expected situation.

Bussen means the bus, while en buss means a bus.

• buss = bus
• en buss = a bus
• bussen = the bus

Here, Swedish uses the definite form because it refers to the bus involved in the situation, the one you are waiting for or riding. This is very natural in Swedish.

Because bussen is a common-gender noun (en buss), and the adjective must agree with that.

The adjective sen works like this:

• en buss är sen
• ett tåg är sent
• bussarna är sena

So:

• bussen är sen = correct
• sent would be used with an ett-word, such as ett tåg

This is basic adjective agreement in Swedish.

Yes, you could, but the nuance is a little different.

• Bussen är sen = The bus is late
• Bussen är försenad = The bus is delayed

Sen is the more everyday, common way to say it.
Försenad sounds a bit more formal or explicit.

Both are correct, but sen is very natural in ordinary speech.

Because after när, you have a subordinate clause, and Swedish subordinate clauses usually keep subject + verb order.

So:

• när bussen är sen = correct

Compare with a main clause:

• Bussen är sen = The bus is late

In a subordinate clause introduced by words like när, att, eftersom, om, som, the subject normally comes before the verb.

This is an important contrast with main-clause word order in Swedish.

Not always. Swedish punctuation is often a bit lighter than English punctuation.

So both of these are possible:

• Resan känns kortare med sällskap, särskilt när bussen är sen.
• Resan känns kortare med sällskap särskilt när bussen är sen.

The comma here helps readability and marks the added comment especially when the bus is late, but it is not absolutely essential in every style of writing.