zateći

1. to find; to come upon
   Kad sam došao kući, zatekao sam decu kako spavaju. — When I got home, I found the kids asleep.
   Nismo ga zatekli kod kuće. — We didn't find him at home.
2. to catch in the act
   Zatekla ga je kako čita njene poruke. — She caught him reading her messages.
3. to catch off guard; to take by surprise
   Njegovo pitanje me je potpuno zateklo. — His question caught me completely off guard.
4. (zateći se) to happen to be; to find oneself
   Slučajno sam se zatekao tamo kad je počeo požar. — I happened to be there when the fire started.

Often used with kako + verb: zatekao sam ga kako spava.