Some Croatian verbs and adjectives demand the genitive simply because that is the case they happen to take — a fact you must learn word by word, the way an English speaker learns that you "depend on" but "consist of." This is lexical government: the verb or adjective lexically selects its case. The good news is that the genitive-governing verbs cluster around a clear semantic theme (fear, memory, renunciation, riddance) and that many of them are reflexive verbs ending in se — so once you spot the pattern, you unlock several verbs at once. The bad news is that English supplies a direct object (accusative) where Croatian wants the genitive, making this a high-frequency error zone. This page lays out the main genitive verbs and adjectives with examples.
Why these verbs take the genitive
There is a loose logic. The genitive is the case of separation, partiality, and "concern about / a piece of." Verbs of fearing, remembering, renouncing, and getting rid of all involve a relationship to something rather than direct action on it — you fear of something, you let go of something. Croatian encodes that "of" with the genitive. This is not a rule you can derive case-by-case, but the theme makes the list memorable rather than arbitrary.
The core genitive verbs
| Verb | Meaning | Example (genitive object) |
|---|---|---|
| bojati se | to be afraid of | bojati se pasa (to fear dogs) |
| plašiti se | to be scared of | plašiti se mraka (to be scared of the dark) |
| sjećati se | to remember | sjećati se djetinjstva (to remember childhood) |
| stidjeti se / sramiti se | to be ashamed of | stidjeti se sebe (to be ashamed of oneself) |
| odreći se | to renounce, give up | odreći se nasljedstva (to renounce an inheritance) |
| riješiti se | to get rid of | riješiti se problema (to get rid of a problem) |
| čuvati se | to beware of, watch out for | čuvati se prijevare (to beware of fraud) |
| dotaknuti se | to touch (on/upon) | dotaknuti se teme (to touch on a topic) |
bojati se — "to be afraid of"
This is the flagship example, and the most common error site. Bojati se takes the genitive of the thing feared. English speakers reach for the accusative (because "to fear something" looks transitive), but Croatian wants genitive.
Bojim se pasa otkad me jedan ugrizao.
I'm afraid of dogs ever since one bit me. — genitive plural 'pasa' (from 'pas').
Ne boj se mraka, upalit ću svjetlo.
Don't be afraid of the dark, I'll turn on the light. — genitive 'mraka' (from 'mrak').
Bojim se da neću stići.
I'm afraid I won't make it. — with a clause ('da…'), there's no genitive noun to govern.
Note the last example: when bojati se introduces a that-clause (bojim se da…, "I'm afraid that…"), there is no noun to put in the genitive — the government only applies to a noun object.
sjećati se — "to remember"
Sjećati se (and its perfective partner sjetiti se, "to recall") governs the genitive of what is remembered. Again, English "remember something" is transitive, but Croatian uses the genitive.
Sjećam se tog dana kao da je bio jučer.
I remember that day as if it were yesterday. — genitive 'tog dana'.
Ne sjećam se njezina imena.
I don't remember her name. — genitive 'imena' (from 'ime').
Sjeti se da kupiš mlijeko.
Remember to buy milk. — with a clause, the genitive government doesn't surface.
riješiti se, odreći se, čuvati se
These three share the "separation" meaning — getting rid of, renouncing, guarding against — which is the genitive's semantic core.
Konačno sam se riješio te stare kante od auta.
I finally got rid of that old junker of a car. — genitive 'te stare kante'.
Morao se odreći svojih planova.
He had to give up his plans. — genitive plural 'svojih planova'.
Čuvaj se džeparoša u tramvaju.
Watch out for pickpockets on the tram. — genitive plural 'džeparoša'.
Non-reflexive genitive verbs
Not every genitive verb is reflexive. A few high-frequency non-se verbs also govern the genitive, often with a partitive flavour ("add some of, pour some of"). And the simple nemati ("not to have") takes the genitive on abstract objects, which overlaps with the genitive of negation theme.
Dodaj još malo soli u juhu.
Add a bit more salt to the soup. — partitive genitive 'soli' (an amount).
Nalij mi još vina.
Pour me some more wine. — partitive genitive 'vina'.
Adjectives that govern the genitive
A parallel set of adjectives selects the genitive for their complement — the quality is "full of, aware of, worthy of, eager for." English again uses "of/for," and Croatian uses the bare genitive.
| Adjective | Meaning | Example (genitive) |
|---|---|---|
| pun | full of | pun ljudi (full of people) |
| svjestan | aware of | svjestan rizika (aware of the risk) |
| dostojan | worthy of | dostojan poštovanja (worthy of respect) |
| željan | eager for, longing for | željan slobode (longing for freedom) |
| lišen | deprived of, devoid of | lišen smisla (devoid of meaning) |
| žedan / gladan | thirsty / hungry for | žedan osvete (thirsty for revenge) |
Stadion je bio pun navijača.
The stadium was full of fans. — genitive plural 'navijača' after 'pun'.
Svjestan sam problema, radim na tome.
I'm aware of the problem, I'm working on it. — genitive 'problema' after 'svjestan'.
Vratio se kući, željan mira i tišine.
He returned home, longing for peace and quiet. — genitive 'mira i tišine' after 'željan'.
Njegov govor bio je lišen svakog smisla.
His speech was devoid of any sense. — genitive 'svakog smisla' after 'lišen' (literary register).
Note the register spread: pun and svjestan are everyday; dostojan and lišen lean literary/formal; žedan/gladan in the figurative "thirsty/hungry for" sense (e.g. žedan osvete) is literary, while their literal sense (gladan kruha — hungry for bread) is partitive and ordinary.
The English-transfer trap
The recurring error is supplying the accusative (English's direct-object case) where Croatian wants the genitive. "I fear the dog" feels like a transitive sentence, so learners produce bojim se pas (wrong). The fix is to relearn these verbs with the case attached, as fixed frames: bojati se + GEN, sjećati se + GEN, pun + GEN.
Common mistakes
❌ Bojim se pas.
Incorrect — 'bojati se' governs the genitive: 'pasa', not the nominative/accusative 'pas'.
✅ Bojim se pasa.
I'm afraid of dogs. — genitive 'pasa' after 'bojati se'.
❌ Sjećam se taj dan.
Incorrect — 'sjećati se' takes the genitive: 'tog dana', not the accusative 'taj dan'.
✅ Sjećam se tog dana.
I remember that day. — genitive 'tog dana'.
❌ Soba je puna ljude.
Incorrect — 'pun' governs the genitive; with a count noun that's the genitive plural 'ljudi', not the accusative 'ljude'.
✅ Soba je puna ljudi.
The room is full of people. — genitive plural 'ljudi' after 'puna'.
❌ Riješio sam se problem.
Incorrect — 'riješiti se' takes the genitive: 'problema'.
✅ Riješio sam se problema.
I got rid of the problem. — genitive 'problema' after reflexive 'riješiti se'.
❌ Svjestan sam rizik.
Incorrect — 'svjestan' governs the genitive: 'rizika'.
✅ Svjestan sam rizika.
I'm aware of the risk. — genitive 'rizika' after 'svjestan'.
Key takeaways
- A set of verbs lexically governs the genitive — learn each as a fixed frame "verb + genitive."
- Many are reflexive (se) verbs of emotion/cognition: bojati se (fear), plašiti se (be scared), sjećati se (remember), stidjeti se (be ashamed), odreći se (renounce), riješiti se (get rid of), čuvati se (beware) — learn the cluster together.
- Some non-reflexive verbs take a partitive genitive (dodaj soli, nalij vina).
- Adjectives govern the genitive too: pun (full of), svjestan (aware of), željan (eager for), plus the more literary dostojan, lišen.
- The big error is using the accusative (English's object case) instead of the genitive: bojim se pasa, not bojim se pas.
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Start learning Croatian→Related Topics
- Verb Government: Which Case After Which VerbB1 — How verbs demand specific cases and prepositions for their objects.
- Reflexive Verbs (se-verbs)A2 — The four jobs of the clitic se on verbs — and why se is often just part of the verb.
- Mistake: Wrong Case After VerbsB1 — The verbs that quietly demand the dative, genitive, or instrumental — pomoći, vjerovati, čestitati, bojati se, sjećati se, baviti se — and the accusative errors English speakers make with each.
- bojati se (to be afraid)B1 — Inherently reflexive fear verb that governs the genitive.
- sjećati se / sjetiti se (to remember)B1 — Reflexive memory verb that governs the genitive; contrasted with pamtiti.
- Genitive: FormsA2 — The genitive singular endings across all declensions.