Learn Hardcore Croatian: Sastanak će početi u šest sati. - The meeting will start at six o’clock.

Sastanak: meeting (masculine noun, subject)
će: future-tense auxiliary (3rd person singular), a clitic
početi: to start/begin (perfective infinitive)
u: at/in (preposition)
šest: six (cardinal number; here effectively accusative, same form as nominative)
sati: hours (genitive plural, required after numbers 5+) Natural translation: The meeting will start at six o’clock.

How is the future tense formed here?

Croatian Future I is formed with the clitic auxiliary of “htjeti” (ću, ćeš, će, ćemo, ćete, će) + the infinitive:

Sastanak će početi. = The meeting will start. If the infinitive comes before the auxiliary, it drops -i:
Počet će sastanak. (same meaning) Note: In standard Croatian, write it as two words (počet će), not as one.

Why is “će” placed after “Sastanak”?

“Će” is a clitic and must appear in second position in the clause (after the first stressed word/phrase).

Sastanak će početi u šest sati.
U šest sati će sastanak početi.
Počet će sastanak u šest sati. Forms like “Sastanak početi će…” are incorrect.

Can I say “Sastanak počinje u šest” instead?

Yes. Počinje (present of the imperfective verb “počinjati”) is commonly used for scheduled future events:

Sastanak počinje u šest. It sounds perfectly natural (like English “The meeting starts at six”). With će početi you emphasize the start as a single event.

Is “Sastanak počne u šest” correct?

Grammatically possible but stylistically odd in this context. The present of a perfective verb (počne) often refers to the future in time clauses or instructions:

Kad sastanak počne, zatvori vrata. (When the meeting starts, close the door.) For timetabled events, prefer počinje or će početi.

Do I have to include “sati”? Can I just say “u šest”?

You can omit it in everyday speech:

u šest = at six
u šest sati = at six o’clock (a bit more explicit/formal) With minutes, both are fine: u šest i deset or u šest sati i deset minuta.

Why is it “sati” and not “sat” or “sata”?

With counted nouns, Croatian changes the noun after numbers:

1: sat (u jedan sat)
2–4: sata (u dva/tri/četiri sata)
5+: sati (u pet/šest/sedam… sati) Hence: u šest sati.

What case does “u” take in time expressions like this?

For clock time and days, u generally takes the accusative (point in time):

u šest (sati), u ponedjeljak For months/years, you’ll often see locative:
u lipnju, u 2025. (godini) In “u šest sati,” the numeral phrase is governed by accusative, while sati is genitive plural because numbers 5+ require it.

How do I say “at 6 a.m.” or “at 6 p.m.”?

u šest ujutro = at 6 a.m.
u šest navečer / poslijepodne = at 6 p.m. (choose based on context) A very common alternative is 24‑hour style:
u 18 sati = at 18:00 (6 p.m.)

How do I say “at 6:15” or “at 6:30”?

6:15: u šest i petnaest
6:30: u šest i trideset or very common: u pola sedam (literally “at half seven,” meaning 6:30) Note: Regional colloquials like “u četvrt na sedam” (6:15) exist, but the numeric forms above are understood everywhere.

How do I ask “When will the meeting start?” and “At what time will the meeting start?”

Kad će sastanak početi?
U koliko sati će sastanak početi? Colloquially, for the second one you’ll also hear: U koliko počinje sastanak?

How do I say the meeting will not start at six?

Sastanak neće početi u šest (sati). To correct the time: Sastanak neće početi u šest, nego u sedam.

Can I change the word order?

Yes, Croatian allows several orders, but keep “će” in second position:

Sastanak će početi u šest sati.
U šest sati će sastanak početi.
Počet će sastanak u šest sati. All mean the same; you choose based on what you want to emphasize or topicalize.

Why is it “u” and not “na” for “at six”?

Clock times use u (“at” a point in time): u šest.
Na is used in other phrases (e.g., location/surface or fixed expressions), but not for clock times. For example: na sastanku = “at the meeting” (location), not time.

How would I say it in the past: “The meeting started at six”?

Sastanak je počeo u šest (sati). Agree the past participle with the subject’s gender/number:
sastanak (masc. sg.) → počeo
sjednica (fem. sg.) → počela
predavanje (neut. sg.) → počelo