Agreeing and Disagreeing | Croatian Grammar

Saying „I agree" is where conversations turn into discussions, and Croatian handles agreement with one verb that surprises English speakers: slagati se is reflexive (always with se), so „I agree" is slažem se — never just slažem. To agree with a person, you add s + the instrumental case (slažem se s tobom — „I agree with you"). Beyond that core verb there is a whole toolkit of one-word reactions: točno and tako je to confirm, naravno to agree emphatically, možda and nisam siguran to hedge, and ne slažem se to push back. This page lays them out so you can react naturally instead of falling silent.

„I agree": Slažem se

The headline verb is slagati se („to agree"), reflexive. The se is not optional — drop it and the verb means something else (slagati without se = „to stack / arrange / fold"). On its own, slažem se is the complete sentence „I agree."

Expression	Meaning	Note
Slažem se.	I agree.	reflexive 'se' is obligatory
Slažem se s tobom.	I agree with you.	's' + instrumental 'tobom'
Potpuno se slažem.	I completely agree.	'potpuno' intensifies
Slažeš li se?	Do you agree?	question with 'li'

Slažem se, to je najbolje rješenje.

I agree, that's the best solution. — bare 'slažem se' is a full reply.

Potpuno se slažem s tobom oko toga.

I completely agree with you on that. — 's' + instrumental 'tobom'; 'oko' + genitive for the topic.

Slažeš li se da bismo trebali krenuti ranije?

Do you agree that we should set off earlier? — 'slažeš li se da' + clause.

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To agree with someone, Croatian uses the preposition s (or sa before tricky clusters) + the instrumental case: s tobom (with you), s njim (with him), s Anom (with Ana). This is the same „accompaniment" instrumental as „with" in kava s mlijekom (coffee with milk). Do not translate „agree with" using „s" + the dative — agreement company is instrumental.

Confirming: Točno, Tako je, Naravno

To actively confirm what someone said — „exactly," „that's right," „of course" — the high-frequency reactions are točno, tako je, and naravno.

Expression	Meaning	Register
Točno.	Exactly. / Correct.	neutral
Tako je.	That's right. / Just so.	neutral
Naravno.	Of course.	neutral
Apsolutno.	Absolutely.	emphatic
Imaš pravo.	You're right. (lit. „you have right")	neutral

— Najbolje je rezervirati unaprijed. — Točno!

— It's best to book in advance. — Exactly! — 'točno' confirms the point.

Tako je, i ja sam to mislila.

That's right, that's what I thought too. — 'tako je' agreeing (female speaker).

Imaš pravo, nisam o tome razmišljao.

You're right, I hadn't thought of that. — 'imaš pravo' = literally 'you have right'.

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Mind the accent: točno („exactly," with č) means correct/precise; do not confuse it with the noun točka („point/dot"). And „you're right" is imaš pravo — Croatian, like German du hast recht, says you have rightness, not that you are right. Saying ti si u pravu also works („you're in the right"), but the plain imaš pravo is the everyday version.

„I think so / I don't think so": Mislim da da / da ne

When you want to agree or disagree tentatively, Croatian uses mislim da („I think that") plus a confirming da or negating ne. The doubled da da („I think that yes") looks odd to English eyes but is completely normal — the first da is the conjunction „that," the second is the particle „yes."

Expression	Meaning	Note
Mislim da da.	I think so. (lit. „I think that yes")	'da' = that + 'da' = yes
Mislim da ne.	I don't think so. (lit. „I think that no")	'da' = that + 'ne' = no
Vjerojatno.	Probably.	leaning yes
Bojim se da ne.	I'm afraid not.	polite negative

— Hoće li biti mjesta? — Mislim da da.

— Will there be room? — I think so. — the 'da da' pair is standard.

— Stignemo na vlak? — Mislim da ne, gužva je.

— Will we make the train? — I don't think so, it's busy. — 'mislim da ne'.

For stating a considered opinion (rather than a quick reaction), the verb smatrati („to consider, to be of the opinion") is on its reference page.

Disagreeing and hedging: Ne slažem se, Možda, Nisam siguran

To push back, negate the agreement verb: ne slažem se („I disagree"). Croatian conversation tends to soften disagreement, so you'll often hear a hedge first — možda („maybe"), nisam siguran/sigurna („I'm not sure") — before the actual objection.

Expression	Meaning	Strength
Ne slažem se.	I disagree.	direct
Ne bih rekao / rekla.	I wouldn't say so.	soft disagreement
Možda, ali…	Maybe, but…	partial / hedged
Nisam siguran / sigurna.	I'm not sure.	hedge — agrees with speaker
Ovisi.	It depends.	noncommittal

Ne slažem se, mislim da je to preskupo.

I disagree, I think that's too expensive. — direct 'ne slažem se'.

Možda imaš pravo, ali nisam sigurna.

Maybe you're right, but I'm not sure. — hedged; feminine 'sigurna' = a woman.

Ne bih rekao da je to dobra ideja.

I wouldn't say that's a good idea. — soft disagreement with the conditional 'ne bih rekao'.

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The hedge nisam siguran agrees in gender with the speaker: a man says nisam siguran, a woman nisam sigurna. Leading a disagreement with možda („maybe") or ne bih rekao („I wouldn't say so") is far gentler than a blunt ne slažem se, which can sound confrontational in casual chat. These attitude-marking words sit at the front of the sentence as sentence adverbs.

Plain yes and no: Da, Ne, the verb-echo

The bare particles are da („yes") and ne („no") — but Croatian very often answers a yes/no question by echoing the verb instead, especially with jesam/nisam and modal verbs. „Are you coming?" → Dolazim („I am") or Ne dolazim („I'm not"); „Did you?" → Jesam / Nisam. This verb-echo can feel more natural and definite than a bare da.

— Jesi li gotov? — Jesam.

— Are you finished? — I am. — echoing the verb 'jesam' rather than bare 'da'.

— Možeš li doći? — Mogu, naravno.

— Can you come? — I can, of course. — verb-echo 'mogu' + 'naravno'.

The full inventory of yes/no particles and the verb-echo pattern is on affirmation and negation particles.

Common Mistakes

❌ Ja slažem da je tako.

Wrong — the verb is reflexive; you cannot drop 'se'.

✅ Slažem se da je tako.

I agree that it's so. — reflexive 'slažem se'.

❌ Slažem se s tebi.

Wrong case — 'agree with' takes 's' + INSTRUMENTAL, not the dative.

✅ Slažem se s tobom.

I agree with you. — instrumental 'tobom'.

❌ Mislim tako.

Calque — 'I think so' isn't 'mislim tako'; use 'mislim da da'.

✅ Mislim da da.

I think so. — the 'da' (that) + 'da' (yes) pair.

❌ Jesi pravo.

Wrong — 'you're right' is 'imaš pravo' (you HAVE right), or 'ti si u pravu' (you're in the right); never bare 'jesi pravo'.

✅ Imaš pravo.

You're right. — 'have right', like German 'du hast recht'.

❌ Nisam siguran. (žena govori)

Wrong agreement — a female speaker uses the feminine 'sigurna'.

✅ Nisam sigurna.

I'm not sure. — feminine 'sigurna' for a woman.

Key Takeaways

„I agree" is the reflexive slažem se — the se is obligatory. To agree with someone, add s
- the instrumental (slažem se s tobom), never the dative.
Confirm with točno (exactly), tako je (that's right), naravno (of course); „you're right" is imaš pravo (you have right).
Tentative agreement uses mislim da da / mislim da ne — the doubled da da is normal („that" + „yes").
Soften disagreement: lead with možda or nisam siguran/sigurna (agree with the speaker) before ne slažem se.
Croatian often answers yes/no by echoing the verb (Jesam. / Nisam. / Mogu.) rather than a bare da/ne.

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