Questions & Answers about Večeras jedemo juhu.
- večeras = this evening/tonight (the coming evening of today).
- večer = evening (the noun).
- večera = dinner (the meal).
- noćas = tonight (during the night). It refers to the night-time hours; depending on context it can mean the coming night or, if speaking the next day, last night.
Example: Večeras jedemo juhu. = We’re eating soup tonight. Not: "We’re eating dinner" (that would use večera: "jedemo večeru").
Croatian commonly uses the present tense for scheduled or planned near-future events when a time word clarifies it. With večeras, the meaning is clearly future. You can also use the future tense for a more explicit "will":
- Present-as-future: Večeras jedemo juhu.
- Future: Večeras ćemo jesti juhu. (We will eat soup tonight.)
Croatian is a pro‑drop language: verb endings show the subject, so the pronoun is usually omitted. Jedemo already means “we eat/are eating.” Use mi only for emphasis or contrast:
- Neutral: Večeras jedemo juhu.
- Emphatic: Mi večeras jedemo juhu (a ne oni). = We are eating soup tonight (not them).
Because juha (soup) is the direct object of a transitive verb (jesti, to eat). Direct objects take the accusative case. For most feminine nouns ending in -a, the accusative singular ends in -u:
- Nominative: juha (subject)
- Accusative: juhu (object)
Other examples: vidim kuću (I see the house), imam knjigu (I have a book).
Yes, Croatian word order is flexible, and adverbs like večeras can move:
- Večeras jedemo juhu. (neutral; sets time first)
- Jedemo juhu večeras. (neutral; time at the end)
- Juhu jedemo večeras. (emphasizes “soup,” as opposed to something else)
All are correct; the choice affects what you foreground.
- ja jedem
- ti jedeš
- on/ona/ono jede
- mi jedemo
- vi jedete
- oni/one/ona jedu
In our sentence: mi jedemo = we are eating.
- jesti (imperfective) focuses on the action/process: eating in general or ongoing/habitual action.
- pojesti (perfective) focuses on completion: to eat up/finish.
For a plan:
- Neutral: Večeras ćemo jesti juhu.
- Emphasizing completion: Večeras ćemo pojesti juhu.
Note: The present of perfective verbs typically has future meaning, so Večeras pojedemo juhu can sound like a decisive “Let’s just eat the soup tonight,” but the safest neutral choice is with the future auxiliary: ćemo + infinitive.
Croatian has no articles, so juhu can mean “the soup” or “some soup,” depending on context. To be explicit:
- “this/that soup”: ovu/onu juhu
- “some soup”: neku juhu
- “a little soup”: malo juhe (note the genitive after quantity words)
- Večeras: ve-CHER-as (č = ch in “church”; r is lightly trilled)
- jedemo: YEH-deh-mo (j = y in “yes”)
- juhu: YOO-hoo (h is pronounced; not silent)
Put it together smoothly: “ve-CHER-as YEH-deh-mo YOO-hoo.”
Several natural options:
- Inversion with -li: Jedemo li večeras juhu?
- With the future: Hoćemo li večeras jesti juhu?
- Conversational rising intonation: Večeras jedemo juhu? (seeking confirmation)
- Present-as-future: Večeras ne jedemo juhu.
- Explicit future: Večeras nećemo jesti juhu.
For contrast: Večeras ne jedemo juhu, nego salatu. (…but salad.)
Add “for dinner” = za večeru:
- Večeras za večeru jedemo juhu.
In standard Croatian, the usual word is juha.
- supa is common in Serbian and heard regionally in parts of Croatia, but in standard Croatian prefer juha.
- čorba typically refers to a thicker, hearty soup (more common in Serbian/Bosnian usage). In Croatian you might say gusta juha or varivo (stew) depending on the dish.
- večeras = this evening/tonight (specific to today).
- navečer = in the evening (habitual or general time of day: “in the evenings”/“later in the day”).
- ove večeri = this evening (more formal/literal “of this evening,” often in writing).
Example contrasts:
- Večeras jedemo juhu. (tonight)
- Navečer obično jedemo juhu. (in the evenings, we usually eat soup)