Learn Hardcore Croatian: Čekamo autobus još nekoliko minuta. - We are waiting for the bus for a few more minutes.

čekamo = we wait / we are waiting, because the ending -mo marks 1st person plural.
mi čekamo autobus... is also correct, but mi is only used for emphasis or contrast, e.g.:
- Mi čekamo autobus, a oni idu pješice. – We are waiting for the bus, but they are going on foot.

So in neutral sentences, Croatians normally just say Čekamo..., not Mi čekamo....

Does čekamo mean we wait or we are waiting? Where is the English -ing form?

Čekamo is the present tense of čekati (to wait), 1st person plural. Croatian has one present tense that covers both:

We wait (habitual, general)
We are waiting (right now, ongoing)

Context decides which English translation fits:

In a story about routines: Svaki dan čekamo autobus. – Every day we wait for the bus.
In your sentence, clearly right now: Čekamo autobus još nekoliko minuta. – We are waiting for the bus a few more minutes.

There is no separate continuous form (no special construction for “-ing”) in Croatian.

Why is it čekamo autobus and not čekamo na autobus like “wait for the bus”?

In Croatian, the verb čekati normally takes a direct object (accusative) without a preposition:

čekati autobus – to wait for the bus
čekati prijatelja – to wait for a friend

So na is not needed and sounds wrong in this concrete sense.

There is a construction čekati na + accusative, but it has a different, more abstract meaning, like “to count on / depend on / expect something to happen”:

Čekamo na odluku suda. – We are waiting for the court’s decision / for the decision to come.
Ne možemo vječno čekati na čudo. – We can’t wait forever for a miracle.

For physical things you’re literally waiting for (bus, taxi, person), use čekati + accusative, no preposition: Čekamo autobus.

What case is autobus in, and why does it look like the basic form?

Autobus here is in the accusative singular (direct object of čekamo).

For inanimate masculine nouns like autobus, the nominative and accusative singular have the same form:

Nominative (subject): Autobus stiže. – The bus is arriving.
Accusative (object): Čekamo autobus. – We are waiting for the bus.

So the form doesn’t change, but the function in the sentence (subject vs. object) is different.

What exactly does još mean here?

Još is quite flexible; it can mean:

still / yet
more / additional
(for) another (amount of time)

In Čekamo autobus još nekoliko minuta, još modifies the time expression and means “for a few more minutes / another few minutes”.

Other examples:

Još smo u Zagrebu. – We are still in Zagreb.
Želiš li još kave? – Do you want more coffee?
Ne znam još. – I don’t know yet.

So here: još = more / additional, but there is also a nuance of still waiting for a bit longer.

Why is it još nekoliko minuta and not nekoliko još minuta?

The natural order in Croatian is:

još + quantity word + noun (in genitive)
→ još nekoliko minuta

još = additional
nekoliko = a few
minuta = minutes (genitive plural here)

Nekoliko još minuta is not standard; it sounds wrong or at least very odd.

Compare:

još tri dana – three more days
još puno posla – a lot more work
još malo vremena – a little more time

So: još comes before the quantity word.

Why is it nekoliko minuta, not nekoliko minute?

The word nekoliko (a few, several) always requires the noun in the genitive plural.

nekoliko minuta – a few minutes (genitive plural of minuta)
nekoliko knjiga – a few books
nekoliko dana – a few days
nekoliko prijatelja – a few friends

So although minute is the nominative plural (subject form), after nekoliko you must switch to genitive plural: minuta.

This is a general pattern with quantity words like:

puno, mnogo, malo, nekoliko
- genitive
  e.g. puno ljudi, malo vremena, mnogo problema.

What case is minuta in here?

In još nekoliko minuta, the word minuta is in the genitive plural.

Dictionary (nominative singular): minuta
Nominative plural: minute
Genitive plural: minuta

We use genitive plural because of the quantity word nekoliko. The whole phrase is an adverbial time expression meaning for a few more minutes.

Can the word order change? For example, can I say Još nekoliko minuta čekamo autobus?

Yes, Croatian word order is relatively flexible. All of these are grammatically possible, with slight shifts in emphasis:

Čekamo autobus još nekoliko minuta.
Neutral: we will keep waiting for a few more minutes.
Još nekoliko minuta čekamo autobus.
Emphasizes the duration first: For a few more minutes, we’re (still) waiting for the bus.
Autobus čekamo još nekoliko minuta.
This stresses autobus (contrast or focus), e.g.:
- Autobus čekamo još nekoliko minuta, ali vlak puno duže.
  We’re waiting for the bus a few more minutes, but the train much longer.

The original sentence is the most neutral and common. Other orders are mainly for emphasis or contrast in context.

The English translation can be “We’ll wait for the bus a few more minutes.” Why is Croatian using the present tense instead of a future form?

Croatian present tense often covers what English expresses with a near future (“we’ll …”) when:

the action is immediate or already in progress, and
context makes the timing clear.

So:

Čekamo autobus još nekoliko minuta.
Literally: We (now) wait for the bus a few more minutes.
Natural English: We’ll wait for the bus a few more minutes.

If you want a more explicitly “future” form, you can say:

Čekat ćemo autobus još nekoliko minuta. – We will wait for the bus a few more minutes.

Both can be used, but the simple present is very natural in spoken Croatian when the action is already happening or about to happen.

How do you pronounce čekamo, especially the č?

Pronunciation:

č = like ch in church ([tʃ])
e = like e in bed
a = like a in father
o = like o in not (short)

Syllables: če-ka-mo
Stress is on the first syllable: ČE-ka-mo.

So čekamo sounds roughly like CHEH-kah-moh.