Я чекаю на останній автобус.

A word-by-word breakdown:

• Я = I
• чекаю = am waiting / wait
• на = for
• останній = last
• автобус = bus

So the structure is literally I wait for last bus.

That is true: Ukrainian often leaves out subject pronouns when they are obvious from the verb ending.

• Чекаю на останній автобус already means I am waiting for the last bus.
• Я чекаю на останній автобус adds emphasis, contrast, or simply makes the subject explicit.

So both are possible, but я is not always necessary.

Чекаю is the 1st person singular present tense form of the verb чекати, meaning to wait.

Conjugation pattern:

• я чекаю = I wait / I am waiting
• ти чекаєш = you wait
• він / вона чекає = he/she waits
• ми чекаємо = we wait
• ви чекаєте = you wait
• вони чекають = they wait

So чекаю tells you the subject is I, even without я.

This is a very common learner question.

In Ukrainian, чекати can be used with different patterns, and чекати на + accusative is a very common way to say wait for someone or something.

So:

• чекати на автобус = to wait for the bus

You may also encounter чекати автобуса with the genitive case, especially in other styles or contexts. But for many learners, чекати на + accusative is the easiest and most straightforward pattern to learn first.

It is in the accusative case because it is the object of чекати на.

Here, на is followed by the accusative when it means waiting for something:

• на автобус
• на потяг
• на друга

So останній автобус is the thing being waited for.

Because автобус is a masculine inanimate noun, and in the accusative singular, masculine inanimate nouns usually look the same as the nominative singular.

So:

• nominative: останній автобус
• accusative: останній автобус

They look identical here.

That is why the case is understood from the grammar of the sentence, not from a visible ending change on автобус.

The adjective останній must agree with автобус in gender, number, and case.

Since автобус is:

• masculine
• singular
• accusative
• inanimate

the adjective takes the matching form останній.

For masculine inanimate nouns, the accusative singular adjective often looks the same as the nominative singular.

So:

• nominative: останній автобус
• accusative: останній автобус

Again, same form.

In this sentence, останній normally means last in the sense of final.

So останній автобус usually means the last bus, for example the final bus of the evening.

If you wanted latest in the sense of most recent, the context would usually make that clear, and often a different adjective might be used depending on the situation.

It can mean both.

Ukrainian present tense does not make the same strong grammatical distinction that English does between:

• I wait
• I am waiting

So Я чекаю на останній автобус can mean:

• I am waiting for the last bus
• I wait for the last bus

In real context, it will usually be understood as I am waiting for the last bus.

Yes. Ukrainian word order is more flexible than English word order, though the most neutral version here is:

• Я чекаю на останній автобус.

Other orders are possible for emphasis, for example:

• На останній автобус я чекаю.
• Останній автобус я чекаю would sound less natural in most contexts.

Changing the order usually changes emphasis, not the basic meaning.

The stress is on the first syllable:

• чЕкаю

A rough English-friendly guide:

• че sounds a bit like che in check, but softer
• ка like ka
• ю like yu

So approximately: CHE-ka-yu.

The whole sentence is pronounced roughly like:

• Ya CHE-ka-yu na o-STAN-niy av-TO-bus

This is only an approximation, but it helps with the rhythm.

In standard Ukrainian, чекати is the normal verb for to wait.

The form жду is associated more with Russian and is not the standard choice in Ukrainian. A Ukrainian learner should prefer:

• Я чекаю на останній автобус.

So if you want natural standard Ukrainian, use чекати.