hodina

Hodina is a noun in Czech and Slovak meaning "hour"—the basic unit of time equal to 60 minutes. It is used to indicate time of day, duration, and in various expressions. For example, "je jedna hodina" means it is one o'clock, and "trvá to dvě hodiny" means it lasts two hours.

Grammatical forms differ slightly between the two languages. In Czech: 1 hodina; 2–4 hodiny; 5+ hodin. In Slovak: 1 hodina; 2–4 hodiny; 5+ hodín. The plural hodiny can also mean "hours" in non-numeric contexts, or "clocks" when referring to timepieces.

Beyond time, hodina also denotes a period of instruction in schools: "hodina matematiky" is a mathematics lesson or class period. The word yields related terms such as hodinový meaning "hourly" and phrases like hodinová mzda ("hourly wage").

As a cognate word, the Polish godzina shares the same root and meaning. Hodina thus functions as a core time-related term across Czech and Slovak, with additional uses in education and everyday language.