Basic Croatian Adjectives: How to Describe People and Things

When learning Croatian, one of the essential skills is describing people, objects, and places. Adjectives are the words that allow us to do this. In Croatian, adjectives must agree with the noun they describe in gender, number, and case. This guide introduces you to the basics of Croatian adjectives, providing practical examples to help you confidently form descriptive sentences.

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Understanding Croatian Adjectives

In Croatian, adjectives (pridjevi) change form to match the noun they describe. This agreement occurs in three aspects:

1. Gender: masculine, feminine, or neuter
2. Number: singular or plural
3. Case: the grammatical role of the noun in the sentence (subject, object, etc.)

For beginners, focusing on the nominative case (used for the subject of a sentence) is a good starting point.

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Gender Agreement

Adjectives change their endings based on the gender of the noun:

Gender	Example Adjective	Example Noun Phrase	English Translation
Masculine	velik (big)	velik grad	big city
Feminine	velika	velika kuća	big house
Neuter	veliko	veliko more	big sea

Note: The adjective “velik” changes to “velika” for feminine nouns and “veliko” for neuter nouns.

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Number Agreement

Adjectives also change form depending on whether the noun is singular or plural:

Number	Masculine Example	Feminine Example	Neuter Example
Singular	velik pas (big dog)	velika knjiga (big book)	veliko dijete (big child)
Plural	veliki psi (big dogs)	velike knjige (big books)	velika djeca (big children)

Note: “Dijete” (child) is a neuter noun, and its plural form is “djeca.”

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Common Croatian Adjectives

Here is a list of commonly used Croatian adjectives:

English	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
good	dobar	dobra	dobro
bad	loš	loša	loše
new	nov	nova	novo
old	star	stara	staro
small	mali	mala	malo
big	velik	velika	veliko
beautiful	lijep	lijepa	lijepo
ugly	ružan	ružna	ružno
happy	sretan	sretna	sretno
sad	tužan	tužna	tužno

Note: Some adjectives have irregular forms and may undergo stem changes when declined.

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Using Adjectives in Sentences

Here are some examples of how adjectives are used in Croatian sentences:

1. Masculine Singular:
   • On je dobar učitelj.
     (He is a good teacher.)
2. Feminine Singular:
   • Ona je lijepa žena.
     (She is a beautiful woman.)
3. Neuter Singular:
   • To je novo računalo.
     (That is a new computer.)
4. Masculine Plural:
   • Oni su stari prijatelji.
     (They are old friends.)
5. Feminine Plural:
   • One su sretne djevojke.
     (They are happy girls.)

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Practical Tips for Beginners

• Start with the nominative case: Focus on learning adjective-noun agreements in the nominative case before moving on to other cases.
• Learn adjective endings: Familiarize yourself with the typical adjective endings for each gender and number.
• Practice with common nouns: Use everyday nouns to practice forming adjective-noun pairs.
• Use flashcards: Create flashcards with adjectives and nouns to test your understanding of agreements.

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Conclusion

Mastering Croatian adjectives is a crucial step in building your language skills. By understanding how adjectives agree with nouns in gender and number, you can start forming descriptive sentences and expressing yourself more clearly. Practice regularly, and you’ll find that using adjectives becomes second nature.

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