Neko čeka.

Neko is an indefinite pronoun meaning someone or somebody. In normal usage, there is no important difference between those two English translations here.

It refers to:

• a person you do not know
• a person you do not want to name
• a person whose identity is not important in the situation

So Neko čeka. means that some unspecified person is waiting.

Čekati is the infinitive, meaning to wait.

Čeka is the present-tense form used with:

• he
• she
• it
• any singular noun
• pronouns like neko

So:

• čekati = to wait
• čeka = waits / is waiting

Because neko is singular, the verb must also be singular: neko čeka.

Čeka is 3rd person singular present tense.

That means it is the form used for:

• on čeka = he is waiting
• ona čeka = she is waiting
• ono čeka = it is waiting
• neko čeka = someone is waiting

It can mean both, depending on context.

In Serbian, the present tense often covers both:

• a general present: someone waits
• an ongoing action: someone is waiting

Without more context, English usually translates it most naturally as Someone is waiting.

By itself, neko does not specify gender. It just means someone.

If later sentences give more information, the speaker may show gender through:

• adjectives
• past-tense forms
• pronouns

For example, later you might learn whether that someone is male or female from the rest of the sentence or conversation.

Here neko is in the nominative case because it is the subject of the sentence.

In Neko čeka., the subject is the one doing the action of waiting.

You can compare:

• Neko čeka. = Someone is waiting. → subject, nominative
• Vidim nekoga. = I see someone. → object, accusative

So the form neko is the subject form.

Yes. Like other Serbian pronouns, neko changes form depending on its role in the sentence.

Common forms include:

• neko = someone (subject)
• nekoga / nekog = someone (object, after many prepositions too)
• nekome / nekom = to someone
• nekim = with someone / by means of someone, depending on context

For a beginner, the most important thing in this sentence is simply that neko is the nominative subject form.

Č is pronounced roughly like ch in church, but usually a bit firmer and clearer.

So:

• čeka sounds roughly like CHEH-kah
• Neko čeka. sounds roughly like NEH-koh CHEH-kah

Also remember:

• č and ć are different letters in Serbian
• in this word, it is č, not ć

Yes. Serbian word order is more flexible than English word order.

• Neko čeka. is the most neutral way to say it.
• Čeka neko. is possible, but it sounds more marked. It may put more focus on the action or sound like There is someone waiting or Someone is waiting, you know depending on context and intonation.

So both are possible, but Neko čeka. is the safest basic version for learners.

Yes, Serbian often drops the subject when it is understood from context.

• Čeka. = He/she/it is waiting or is waiting, depending on context
• Neko čeka. explicitly says that the person is someone unspecified

So if you say neko, you are adding the idea someone, but I am not saying who.

Čekati is an imperfective verb.

That means it presents the action as:

• ongoing
• repeated
• not viewed as a completed whole

That fits the sentence well: Neko čeka. = someone is in the process of waiting.

A common perfective partner is sačekati, which means something like to wait until or to wait for and finish waiting in the right context.

Very roughly:

• čekati = to be waiting / to wait
• sačekati = to wait for, to wait until completion

It can do both.

It can stand alone:

• Neko čeka. = Someone is waiting.

It can also take an object:

• Neko čeka autobus. = Someone is waiting for the bus.
• Neko čeka prijatelja. = Someone is waiting for a friend.

So in your sentence, the object is simply not mentioned.

The natural negative sentence is:

Niko ne čeka. = No one is waiting.

This is important because Serbian uses negative concord, so you need both:

• niko = no one
• ne čeka = does not wait / is not waiting

Not:

• Niko čeka ✘

You could also say:

• Neko ne čeka. = Someone is not waiting.

But that means a different thing: there is some particular person who is not waiting.

In Cyrillic, it is:

Неко чека.

Serbian officially uses both:

• Latin: Neko čeka.
• Cyrillic: Неко чека.

They are completely equivalent.