Dokle ćemo čekati da se razvedri?

Here dokle means how long / until when.

In this sentence, it asks about the limit of the waiting: How long are we going to wait until it clears up?

A useful comparison:

• dokle = until when / how long
• dokad = very similar, often interchangeable in everyday speech
• koliko dugo = how long, often a bit more neutral and straightforward

So Dokle ćemo čekati...? sounds like asking about the endpoint of the waiting.

Ćemo čekati is the future tense in Croatian, specifically futur I.

It is formed with:

• a present-tense form of htjeti (ću, ćeš, će, ćemo, ćete, će)
• plus the infinitive

So:

• čekati = to wait
• ćemo čekati = we will wait / we are going to wait

In this sentence:

• ćemo = we will
• čekati = wait

Together: we will wait

Croatian future tense is commonly built analytically, meaning with two parts:

• the auxiliary-like clitic ćemo
• the infinitive čekati

So English we will wait matches Croatian ćemo čekati quite closely.

With some verbs, especially in writing, the infinitive can interact with the future clitic differently when the clitic comes after the infinitive, but here the normal pattern is simply:

• ćemo čekati

Because ćemo is a clitic, it usually appears near the beginning of the clause, in second position.

Because ćemo is a clitic, and Croatian clitics normally go in the second position in the clause.

So:

• Dokle ćemo čekati...? = natural
• Dokle čekati ćemo...? = not natural

This second-position rule is very important in Croatian. Other clitics behave similarly too, such as:

• sam, si, je, smo
• ću, ćeš, će, ćemo
• short object pronouns like ga, je, mi, ti, se

So after the first element Dokle, the clitic ćemo comes next.

This is a subordinate clause introduced by da.

• da = a very common conjunction, often meaning something like that, so that, or in many contexts replacing English infinitive structures
• se razvedri = it clears up

So:

• čekati da se razvedri = to wait for it to clear up
• literally, something like to wait that it clears up

English often uses an infinitive or a for-phrase here, but Croatian normally uses da + verb.

Because Croatian often prefers a da-clause where English uses an infinitive.

Compare:

• English: We’re waiting for it to clear up
• Croatian: Čekamo da se razvedri

This is very common after verbs such as:

• čekati = wait
• željeti = want
• morati in some structures
• expressions of intention, expectation, or result

So to an English speaker, da + present tense will often feel like it is doing the job of an English infinitive clause.

Here se is the reflexive particle, but in this sentence it is not really translated as a literal English reflexive like it clears itself up.

Instead, it is part of the verb razvedriti se, which means to clear up when talking about weather or the sky.

So:

• razvedriti = to make clear, to brighten
• razvedriti se = to become clear / to clear up

In weather expressions, se is simply part of the normal verb form you need.

Razvedri is the 3rd person singular present form of razvedriti se.

The subject is understood as something like:

• vrijeme = the weather
• nebo = the sky
• or simply an impersonal it

So:

• da se razvedri = for it to clear up

A key point: razvedriti se is a perfective verb. In Croatian, a perfective present form often refers to a future completed event in subordinate clauses.

So although razvedri is formally present tense, here it means something like:

• until it clears up
• for it to clear up

not it is clearing up.

This is a very common feature of Croatian.

After da, Croatian often uses a present-tense form even when English would think of the action as future.

Here, the clearing up happens after the waiting begins, so from the speaker’s perspective it is future. But Croatian still says:

• da se razvedri

not a separate future form.

Also, because razvedriti se is perfective, its present-tense form often points to a single completed future event.

So learners should get used to this pattern:

• Čekamo da dođe. = We’re waiting for him/her to come.
• Nadam se da uspije. = I hope he/she succeeds.
• Dokle ćemo čekati da se razvedri? = How long will we wait for it to clear up?

Yes, in many contexts you could say:

• Koliko dugo ćemo čekati da se razvedri?

That would also mean How long will we wait for it to clear up?

The difference is mostly one of nuance:

• koliko dugo = straightforward how long
• dokle = more like until when / up to what point

In everyday speech, both can work, but dokle can sound a bit more focused on the limit or endpoint.

They are very close, and in many situations they are interchangeable.

So you may also hear:

• Dokad ćemo čekati da se razvedri?

Both mean roughly:

• How long / until when are we going to wait for it to clear up?

Depending on region, speaker, and style, one may be preferred over the other, but both are normal.

The subject is not stated explicitly, because Croatian often leaves it understood when it is obvious from context.

Here the idea is something like:

• vrijeme se razvedri = the weather clears up
• nebo se razvedri = the sky clears up
• or simply English it clears up

So the sentence does not need to name the subject if everyone already understands it from the situation.

Yes, it is natural and idiomatic.

It sounds like something someone might say when the weather is bad and people are deciding whether to keep waiting.

The structure is very standard:

• Dokle for asking about duration/endpoint
• ćemo čekati for future
• da se razvedri for for it to clear up

So this is a good sentence for learning several common Croatian patterns at once.