Dokle ide ovaj autobus?

Here dokle means how far or up to where.

So Dokle ide ovaj autobus? is asking about the end point or limit of the route:

• How far does this bus go?
• Where does this bus go to?

A learner may notice that dokle can sometimes also relate to time in other contexts, but in this sentence it clearly refers to destination / extent of travel.

Yes, ići means to go, but Croatian also uses it for vehicles, routes, transport, and movement in general.

So autobus ide literally means the bus goes.

This is natural in Croatian, just like in English you can say:

• This bus goes to the station.
• The train goes to Split.

You could also hear vozi in similar situations, but ide is completely normal here.

Because the subject is ovaj autobus = this bus, which is third person singular.

The verb ići is irregular, and its present tense forms include:

• idem = I go
• ideš = you go
• ide = he/she/it goes

Since autobus is treated as it, Croatian uses ide:

• ovaj autobus ide = this bus goes

Because autobus is the subject of the sentence.

In Croatian, the subject is normally in the nominative case, and here the subject is:

• ovaj autobus = this bus

So both words are in nominative singular masculine:

• ovaj = this
• autobus = bus

That is why you do not see forms like autobusa or autobusu here.

Because ovaj autobus is the subject, so it must be in the nominative.

Compare:

• ovaj autobus ide = this bus goes → subject, nominative
• nema ovog autobusa = there is no this bus / this bus isn’t here → genitive
• vidim ovaj autobus = I see this bus → accusative, but for masculine inanimate it looks the same as nominative

So in this sentence, ovaj matches autobus in:

• gender: masculine
• number: singular
• case: nominative

Yes—in the sense that Croatian does not need an auxiliary like do/does to form this kind of question.

English says:

• How far does this bus go?

Croatian simply uses:

• Dokle ide ovaj autobus?

So Croatian does not insert a separate word corresponding to does. The question is formed mainly by:

1. the question word (dokle)
2. normal verb form (ide)
3. intonation

The most natural order here is:

• Dokle ide ovaj autobus?

This is standard and neutral.

Croatian word order is fairly flexible, but not every variation sounds equally natural. For example:

• Ovaj autobus ide dokle? — possible only in a marked, conversational, or echo-question style, but not the normal way to ask.
• Dokle ovaj autobus ide? — understandable, but less neutral than the usual version.

As a learner, the safest pattern is:

question word + verb + subject

So:

• Dokle ide ovaj autobus?

These question words are related, but they are not identical.

• gdje = where (location)
• kamo = where to (destination)
• kuda = which way / along what route
• dokle = how far / up to where

So:

• Gdje je autobus? = Where is the bus?
• Kamo ide autobus? = Where is the bus going?
• Kuda ide autobus? = Which way is the bus going?
• Dokle ide autobus? = How far does the bus go? / Up to where does it go?

In your sentence, the speaker wants to know the limit or end point, so dokle is the right choice.

Yes, that is very close to the literal sense.

A very literal breakdown is:

• dokle = up to where / how far
• ide = goes
• ovaj autobus = this bus

So the sentence has the idea of asking about the bus’s range, destination, or final stop area.

In natural English, though, you would usually say:

• How far does this bus go?
• Where does this bus go to?

rather than Until where does this bus run?

A simple learner-friendly pronunciation guide would be:

• Dokle ≈ DOHK-leh
• ide ≈ EE-deh
• ovaj ≈ OH-vai or OH-vy
• autobus ≈ ow-TOH-boos

A few useful points:

• Croatian spelling is quite phonetic.
• d, k, l, t, b, s are pronounced clearly.
• Stress can vary by dialect and standard descriptions can get technical, but if you pronounce each word clearly, you will be understood.

Yes. Depending on context, you might also hear:

• Kamo ide ovaj autobus? = Where does this bus go?
• Do kuda ide ovaj autobus? = Up to where does this bus go?
• Do koje stanice ide ovaj autobus? = Up to which stop does this bus go?

But Dokle ide ovaj autobus? is a very natural way to ask specifically about how far the bus goes.