Language/Croatian/Grammar/Nouns

Croatian Grammar - Nouns

Hi Croatian learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will focus on the basics of Croatian nouns.

Introduction

Nouns are the building blocks of any language, and, as such, they play a crucial role in constructing sentences. In Croatian, there are three genders (masculine, feminine, and neuter), seven cases (nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, vocative, locative, and instrumental), and two numbers (singular and plural).

Let's start with the basics.

With the completion of this lesson, consider investigating these related pages: Pronouns, Future Tense, Advanced Noun and Adjective Declension & Questions.

Noun genders and plurals

All Croatian nouns have a gender, either masculine, feminine, or neuter. Unlike many other languages, Croatian does not have rules governing the gender of a noun. Instead, it is generally something that must be learned by heart.

An important thing to keep in mind is that the plural form of Croatian nouns can change based on gender.

For example:

Croatian	Pronunciation	English
Pas	pâs	Dog
Psi	psî	Dogs (masculine plural)

And:

Croatian	Pronunciation	English
Kava	kava	Coffee
Kave	kâve	Coffees (feminine plural)

And:

Croatian	Pronunciation	English
Dijete	dye-teh	Child
Djeca	dje-tsa	Children (neuter plural)

Noun cases

Croatian nouns can take on seven cases, each with its own specific use.

Without going into too much theoretical detail, here is what you need to know:

- Nominative: used for subjects of the sentence. - Genitive: used to indicate possession. - Dative: used to indicate the indirect object of a sentence. - Accusative: used for direct objects of a sentence. - Vocative: used to address someone. - Locative: used to indicate location. - Instrumental: used to indicate means or tools.

Here are some examples:

Croatian	Pronunciation	English
Pas	pâs	Dog
Pas je ljubimac djeteta.	Pâs ye lyoo-bee-mats dye-teh-ta.	The dog is the child's pet.
Pasu je bila gladna.	Pâsoo yeh beela gla-dna.	The dog was hungry. (roughly translates to "The dog had hunger")
Pasom je žonglirao.	Pâsom ye zhong-glee-rao.	He was juggling with a dog. (roughly translates to "With a dog, he was juggling")

And:

Croatian	Pronunciation	English
Slon	slohn	Elephant
Slonovača je materijal napravljen od slonovih kljova.	Slohno-va-cha ye ma-teh-ree-yal nap-rav-lyen od sloh-no-veeh klyo-va.	Ivory is a material made from elephant tusks.
Nabavio sam slonovuču.	Na-ba-vee-yo sam sloh-no-vooch-oo.	I have acquired ivory.
Nikada ne bih pojela slonovaču.	Tee-ka-da nee bee po-ye-la sloh-no-va-choo.	I would never eat ivory.

Exceptions - Nouns with plural as singular

There are some Croatian nouns whose plural form is the same as their singular form. These exceptions are typically found in nouns imported from other languages or proper nouns.

Here are some examples:

Croatian	Pronunciation	English
Morsko prase	mor-skoh prah-seh	Sea pig
Morsko prase je zanimljiva životinja.	Mor-skoh prah-seh ye za-neem-lyee-va zhee-vo-tee-nya.	The sea pig is an interesting animal.
Tito	tee-toh	Tito (name of former Yugoslav president)
Tito je simbol jugoslavenske prošlosti.	Tee-to yeh sim-bol yu-go-slah-vyens-ke prosh-loh-stee.	Tito is a symbol of Yugoslav past.

Dialogue

• Person 1: Kako se zoveš? (What's your name?)
• Person 2: Ja sam Ana. (My name is Ana.)
• Person 1: Drago mi je, Ana. (Nice to meet you, Ana.)
• Person 2: Drago mi je i meni, kako si? (Nice to meet you too, how are you?)
• Person 1: Dobro sam, hvala na pitanju. A ti? (I'm fine, thanks for asking. And you?)
• Person 2: Također sam dobro. (I'm also fine.)

Summary

In this lesson, we've learned about Croatian nouns and their genders, plurals, and cases. While Croatian nouns can be complex, mastering them is essential in order to speak and understand the language properly.

To improve your Croatian Grammar, you can also use the Polyglot Club website. Find native speakers and ask them any questions!

Sources

• Serbo-Croatian grammar - Wikipedia
• Quickly Learn The Different Grammatical Cases In Croatian
• Croatian language basics: cases, articles and genders

Other Lessons

• Future Tense
• Questions
• Negation
• Pronouns
• How to Use Have
• Conditional Mood
• Give your Opinion
• Plurals
• How to Use Be