godina

Godina is a feminine noun used in Croatian, Serbian, and Bosnian to denote a year. It can refer to a calendar year, a period of twelve months, or a person’s age. The term also marks a year within a sequence, such as an academic year (for example, druga godina studija). In everyday speech, phrases like ova godina (this year) or za godinu dana (in a year) are common.

Grammatical note: godina is declined like other Slavic feminine nouns. Its form changes with cases and numbers, and numerals affect its agreement in sentences. While the exact inflected forms depend on the language variety, the general pattern follows standard Slavic noun declension.

Etymology and cognates: godina derives from the Proto-Slavic root associated with time and duration. Its cognates appear in related Slavic languages, including the Russian word год (god), which also means year. This shared lineage reflects the word’s long-standing role in counting and describing time across the language family.