Čekat ću ovdje dok ne dođeš.

Both are possible in everyday Croatian, but they are not equally formal.

• čekati is the full infinitive: to wait
• čekat is the shortened infinitive, very common in speech and informal writing

So:

• Čekati ću ovdje... would sound unnatural, because with future ću Croatian normally uses the shortened infinitive in front of the auxiliary.
• The standard future form is čekat ću.

In more formal styles, you may also see the auxiliary attached to the verb:

• Čekat ću
• Čekat ću ovdje
• sometimes written as Čekat ću, not čekati ću

So the key point is: with this kind of future, Croatian typically uses the shortened infinitive form.

It is the future tense.

It is made from:

• the infinitive stem of the verb
• plus the auxiliary ću (I will)

Here:

• čekat = infinitive stem of čekati
• ću = I will

So čekat ću means I will wait.

This is the normal Croatian way to form the future with many verbs:

• radit ću = I will work
• pisat ću = I will write
• doći ću = I will come

Good question. Croatian future can appear in two patterns:

1. infinitive + auxiliary

   • Čekat ću
   • Radit ću
   • Ići ću

2. In some cases, especially when the infinitive ends in -ti, you may also see forms where the auxiliary is attached in writing:

   • radit ću is standard, but in older or certain orthographic patterns you may see attached forms with some verbs

However, for learners, the safest rule is:

• when the verb comes before the auxiliary, Croatian usually uses the short infinitive and writes the auxiliary separately:
  • čekat ću
  • radit ćeš
  • gledat ćemo

So in this sentence, čekat ću is exactly what you should expect.

Ovdje means here.

Croatian has a few location words that can overlap:

• ovdje = here
• tu = here / there, depending on context
• tamo = there
• ondje = there

For many learners, the simplest distinction is:

• ovdje often feels clearly like here, in this place
• tu is also very common and can sometimes sound a bit more conversational or context-based

So:

• Čekat ću ovdje. = I’ll wait here.
• Čekat ću tu. = also possible, often natural in speech

In this sentence, ovdje is a straightforward, neutral choice.

Dok ne means something like until.

This is a very common Croatian pattern. English says:

• I’ll wait until you come

Croatian often expresses this idea with:

• dok ne + verb

So:

• dok ne dođeš = until you come / until you arrive

Even though English until does not contain a negative word, Croatian normally uses ne in this structure.

So the sentence is not literally negative in meaning. It does not mean:

• I’ll wait here while you don’t come

Instead, it means:

• I’ll wait here until you come

This is one of those structures you should learn as a fixed pattern: dok ne...

Because after dok in the meaning until, Croatian normally uses ne.

This is a grammatical feature of the construction, not a true logical negation in the English sense.

Compare:

• Čekat ću dok ne dođeš. = I’ll wait until you come.
• Ostat ću ovdje dok ne završiš. = I’ll stay here until you finish.
• Neću otići dok ne kažeš istinu. = I won’t leave until you tell the truth.

In all of these, ne is expected.

So learners should think of dok ne as a set phrase meaning until.

This is mainly about aspect.

Croatian verbs often come in pairs:

• dolaziti = to be coming / to come repeatedly / imperfective
• doći = to come, to arrive / perfective

Here we have dođeš, from doći.

After dok ne meaning until, Croatian usually uses a perfective verb when talking about the point at which something is completed:

• dok ne dođeš = until you arrive

That makes sense because the waiting continues up to the moment of arrival.

If you used dolaziš, it would suggest an ongoing process rather than the completed arrival, so it would not fit as naturally here.

Dođeš is the 2nd person singular present tense form of the verb doći.

So:

• ja dođem = I come / I arrive
• ti dođeš = you come / you arrive
• on/ona dođe = he/she comes

In this sentence, it refers to you (singular).

Even though it is formally a present-tense form, after dok ne it refers to a future event:

• dok ne dođeš = until you come / until you arrive

This is very normal in Croatian subordinate clauses.

Because in Croatian, subordinate clauses often use present-tense forms to refer to future events, especially after words like kad, ako, čim, dok ne, and similar conjunctions.

So Croatian says things like:

• Kad dođeš, nazovi me. = When you come, call me.
• Ako stigneš, javi. = If you make it / if you arrive, let me know.
• Čekat ću dok ne dođeš. = I’ll wait until you come.

English often uses present tense in these clauses too, so this may actually feel familiar:

• when you come
• if you arrive
• until you come

So although the overall situation is in the future, Croatian does not use a future-tense form in this clause.

Normally, no—not if you mean until you come.

If you want the meaning until, Croatian usually needs:

• dok ne dođeš

Without ne, dok more often means while:

• Dok radiš, ja ću čitati. = While you work, I’ll read.

So the difference is important:

• dok radiš = while you work
• dok ne dođeš = until you come

That is why ne should not be omitted here.

Yes, Croatian word order is fairly flexible, though some versions sound more natural than others depending on emphasis.

The neutral sentence is:

• Čekat ću ovdje dok ne dođeš.

You could also say:

• Ovdje ću čekati dok ne dođeš.
• Čekat ću dok ne dođeš ovdje. — but this changes the meaning slightly, because now ovdje sounds more closely connected to dođeš (until you come here)

So word order can affect emphasis or attachment.

Compare:

• Čekat ću ovdje dok ne dođeš. = I’ll wait here until you come.
• Čekat ću dok ne dođeš ovdje. = I’ll wait until you come here.

Those are close in English, but not exactly identical.

It addresses one person, because dođeš is 2nd person singular.

If you were speaking to more than one person, you would say:

• Čekat ću ovdje dok ne dođete. = I’ll wait here until you all come / arrive.

So:

• dođeš = you singular
• dođete = you plural or formal you

Learners should use čekat ću, not čekati ću.

In standard Croatian future formation, when the auxiliary follows the verb, the infinitive loses the final -i:

• čekati → čekat ću
• raditi → radit ću
• pisati → pisat ću

So čekati ću is generally treated as nonstandard or incorrect.

If you want to use the full infinitive čekati, you would normally restructure the sentence rather than say čekati ću. For practical purposes, just remember:

• correct: čekat ću
• not standard: čekati ću

The original sentence is already perfectly normal and correct.

A slightly more careful or full version could be:

• Čekat ću ovdje dok ne dođeš.
• Čekati ću ovdje... is not the standard fix, so do not use that

A different but natural alternative might be:

• Ovdje ću čekati dok ne dođeš.

This version uses čekati because the auxiliary comes before the infinitive:

• ću čekati

That is an important contrast:

• čekat ću = verb first, shortened infinitive
• ću čekati = auxiliary first, full infinitive

So both of these are good:

• Čekat ću ovdje dok ne dođeš.
• Ovdje ću čekati dok ne dođeš.

They mean the same thing, with slightly different word order and emphasis.