Večeras dočekujemo goste na kolodvoru.

Večeras means tonight or this evening, depending on context.

In this sentence, it sets the time for the whole action: Tonight / This evening, we are meeting the guests at the station.

A useful contrast:

• večer = evening
• večeras = tonight / this evening

So večeras is an adverb of time, not a noun.

Croatian often uses the present tense for a planned future action, especially when a time word like večeras makes the future meaning clear.

So:

• Večeras dočekujemo goste...
  literally looks like Tonight we are welcoming/meeting guests...

But natural English may be:

• We’re meeting the guests tonight
• We’re picking the guests up tonight
• Tonight we’re meeting the guests at the station

This is very similar to English sentences like Tonight we’re having dinner with them.

Dočekujemo comes from dočekivati / dočekati, which usually means something like:

• to welcome
• to meet on arrival
• to receive
• sometimes to pick up or to wait for and meet

In this sentence, the idea is not just seeing guests, but being there when they arrive and receiving them.

So depending on context, good translations could be:

• We’re meeting the guests at the station tonight
• We’re welcoming the guests at the station tonight
• We’re picking the guests up at the station tonight

Because goste is the accusative plural, and gosti is the nominative plural.

Here, goste is the direct object of dočekujemo: we are meeting/welcoming whom? → guests.

For the noun gost (guest):

• nominative singular: gost
• nominative plural: gosti
• accusative plural: goste

This is especially important because gost is a masculine animate noun, and masculine animate nouns often have special accusative forms.

Because na kolodvoru expresses location: at the station.

After na, Croatian uses:

• locative for being at/on a place
• accusative for movement to a place

So:

• na kolodvoru = at the station
• na kolodvor = to the station

In this sentence, the guests are being met at the station, so Croatian uses the locative:

• na kolodvoru

Kolodvoru is locative singular.

The base form is:

• kolodvor = station

After na when it means location, the noun goes into the locative:

• na kolodvoru = at the station

This is a very common Croatian pattern:

• na stolu = on the table
• na poslu = at work
• na kolodvoru = at the station

Kolodvor usually means a major transport station, especially:

• railway station
• sometimes bus station, depending on context and the full name

In Croatia, you will often see:

• željeznički kolodvor = railway station
• autobusni kolodvor = bus station

Learners also meet stanica, which can also mean station/stop, but it is often used for:

• bus stop
• tram stop
• police station
• smaller stops or stations in general

So kolodvor suggests a larger transport terminal.

It is built into the verb dočekujemo.

Croatian verbs usually show the subject clearly, so personal pronouns are often omitted unless needed for emphasis.

Dočekujemo means:

• we welcome / we are meeting

If you wanted, you could add mi:

• Mi večeras dočekujemo goste na kolodvoru.

But that would usually sound more emphatic, like We’re the ones meeting them tonight.

No, Croatian word order is fairly flexible, although some orders sound more natural than others depending on emphasis.

The neutral version is:

• Večeras dočekujemo goste na kolodvoru.

But you could also hear:

• Dočekujemo goste večeras na kolodvoru.
• Na kolodvoru večeras dočekujemo goste.
• Goste dočekujemo večeras na kolodvoru.

These all keep roughly the same basic meaning, but the emphasis changes:

• starting with večeras highlights the time
• starting with na kolodvoru highlights the place
• starting with goste highlights the object

So the original sentence is a very natural, neutral way to say it.

It can mean either, depending on context.

Croatian has no articles like the or a/an, so goste by itself can be:

• guests
• the guests
• sometimes even some guests, depending on the situation

You understand the intended meaning from context, not from an article.

So:

• dočekujemo goste can mean we’re meeting guests
• or more naturally in many situations, we’re meeting the guests

Yes, it matters.

Dočekujemo is from the imperfective verb dočekivati. Croatian often uses the imperfective present for:

• ongoing actions
• habitual actions
• planned future actions

Its perfective partner is usually dočekati.

Very roughly:

• dočekujemo = we are meeting / we’re going to meet / we welcome
• dočekat ćemo = we will meet/welcome in a more clearly future, completed sense

In this sentence, the imperfective present is natural because it sounds like a planned event:

• Tonight we’re meeting the guests at the station.

Not exactly.

Dočekivati / dočekati includes the idea of being there for someone’s arrival and receiving or meeting them. It is more than just waiting.

If you only wanted to say wait for, Croatian would more likely use:

• čekati

So:

• Večeras čekamo goste na kolodvoru. = Tonight we’re waiting for the guests at the station.
• Večeras dočekujemo goste na kolodvoru. = Tonight we’re meeting/welcoming the guests at the station.

The second one suggests the arrival moment more strongly.