Tijekom

Tijekom is a preposition used in Croatian, Bosnian, and Serbian to express the idea of “during” or “throughout” a period of time. It is used to indicate that an action or state occurs within a defined time frame, rather than at a single moment. The word is typically followed by a noun in the genitive case, for example: tijekom dana (during the day) or tijekom noći (throughout the night).

Grammatically, tijekom governs the genitive case of the following noun. It is versatile in both everyday speech and formal writing and appears in journalism, literature, and official documents. It often signals duration or progression within a specified interval, rather than a precise timestamp.

Usage considerations include its relationship to similar phrases such as za vrijeme, which can convey a broader sense of “during the time of” and may be used in slightly different contexts. Tijekom tends to emphasize the span or course of time itself. It is common in a range of registers, from contemporary narration to historical or analytical prose.

Examples of common collocations include tijekom dana, tijekom ljeta, tijekom pandemije, and tijekom sastanka, illustrating its flexibility across different time expressions. While the basic meaning remains stable, speakers may choose tijekom for nuance depending on whether the focus is on the duration, the sequence of events, or a formal tone.