Weather Expressions | Croatian Grammar

Weather is the universal small-talk topic, and in Croatian it is also a clean window onto one of the language's defining features: the subjectless sentence. English cannot say „is raining" — it must prop the sentence up with a meaningless „it" (it's raining, it's cold). Croatian simply does not. Pada — one word, no subject, no „it" — is a complete sentence meaning „it's raining." This page gives you the everyday weather phrases and, alongside them, the two grammatical patterns that drive them: the subjectless impersonal (the weather itself) and the experiencer dative (how the weather makes you feel).

What's the weather like?

The question is Kakvo je vrijeme? — „What's the weather like?", literally „What kind is the weather?" (vrijeme means both „weather" and „time"). Note kakvo (neuter, agreeing with neuter vrijeme), not kako.

Expression	Meaning	Pattern
Kakvo je vrijeme?	What's the weather like?	'kakvo' agrees with neuter 'vrijeme'
Lijepo je.	It's nice.	neuter adverb + 'je'
Ružno je.	It's nasty / ugly (out).	neuter adverb + 'je'
Sunčano je.	It's sunny.	neuter adverb + 'je'
Oblačno je.	It's cloudy.	neuter adverb + 'je'

Kakvo je danas vrijeme vani?

What's the weather like outside today? — 'kakvo' (neuter) agreeing with 'vrijeme'.

Lijepo je, idemo na more!

It's nice out, let's go to the seaside! — 'lijepo je' = neuter adverb + 'je', no subject.

Ružno je, bolje da ostanemo doma.

It's nasty out, we'd better stay home. — 'ružno je'.

The subjectless weather verbs

This is the heart of the page. A whole set of weather events are expressed by a bare third-person-singular verb with no subject at all. Pada is „it's falling" → „it's raining/snowing"; grmi is „it's thundering"; puše is „it's blowing" → „it's windy." There is nothing for the English „it" to translate, and the verb agrees with nothing.

Expression	Meaning	Note
Pada kiša.	It's raining.	„rain is falling"; 'kiša' optional
Pada snijeg.	It's snowing.	„snow is falling"; 'snijeg' optional
Sunce sja.	The sun is shining.	here 'sunce' is a real subject
Puše (vjetar).	It's windy.	„(wind) is blowing"
Grmi.	It's thundering.	purely subjectless
Magla je.	It's foggy.	noun 'magla' + 'je'

Pada, ponesi kišobran.

It's raining, take an umbrella. — just 'pada', no subject and no word for rain needed.

Vani puše jak vjetar.

There's a strong wind blowing outside. — 'puše' (it blows) with optional 'vjetar'.

Grmi i sijeva, bit će oluja.

It's thundering and lightning, there'll be a storm. — 'grmi' is fully subjectless.

Sunce sja, savršen dan za šetnju.

The sun is shining, a perfect day for a walk. — here 'sunce' (the sun) is the real subject.

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The key habit to break: stop looking for an „it" to translate. Pada is a complete sentence — „(it's) raining." You can add the logical subject in the nominative for clarity — pada kiša („rain is falling") — but you can also drop it, which is exactly what proves the construction is fundamentally subjectless. Inserting a dummy pronoun (ono pada) is the one thing that is always wrong.

For the wider family of subjectless sentences — necessity, the se-impersonal, and more — see impersonal and subjectless sentences. And „there is fog / there's a storm coming" overlaps with existential sentences.

Temperature: hot, cold, warm

Ambient temperature uses a neuter adverb + je: Hladno je („it's cold"), Toplo je („it's warm"), Vruće je („it's hot"). These describe the air — the world out there.

Hladno je, obuci jaknu.

It's cold, put on a jacket. — 'hladno je' describes the ambient temperature.

Ljeti je u Dalmaciji jako vruće.

In summer it's very hot in Dalmatia. — 'vruće je', the air temperature.

The dative twist: how the weather makes you feel

Here is the distinction English collapses. To say the air is cold, you say Hladno je. But to say you personally feel cold, Croatian does not make „I" the subject — it puts you in the dative and leaves the sentence subjectless: Hladno mi je = literally „cold to-me is" → „I'm cold." Change the dative pronoun to change who feels it: hladno *ti je („you're cold"), hladno **joj je („she's cold"). The verb stays a frozen *je.

Croatian	Literal	Natural English
Hladno je.	cold is	It's cold (out).
Hladno mi je.	cold to-me is	I'm cold.
Vruće mi je.	hot to-me is	I'm hot.
Toplo joj je.	warm to-her is	She's warm.

Hladno mi je, možeš li zatvoriti prozor?

I'm cold, can you close the window? — dative 'mi'; 'I' is NOT the subject.

Je li ti vruće? Mogu uključiti klimu.

Are you hot? I can turn on the AC. — dative 'ti' for 'you'; 'je li' frames the yes/no question.

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Two meanings, one ambient adverb. Hladno je = the world is cold (the weather). Hladno mi je = I feel cold (my body). The difference is just the dative pronoun. The English reflex — making yourself the subject, ja sam hladan — actually means „I am a cold person" (emotionally distant). For the sensation, always use the dative.

This experiencer-dative pattern is one of the most important constructions in the language; its full range (feelings, states, „I feel sick," „I'm glad") is laid out on impersonal and subjectless sentences.

Common Mistakes

❌ Ono pada kiša.

Wrong — there is no dummy 'it' / 'ono'; weather sentences are subjectless: 'Pada kiša'.

✅ Pada kiša.

It's raining. — no subject pronoun.

❌ Ja sam hladan. (misleći 'osjećam hladnoću')

Wrong sense — 'ja sam hladan' = 'I'm a cold (unfeeling) person'. For the sensation use the dative.

✅ Hladno mi je.

I'm cold. — experiencer dative 'mi' + neuter 'hladno je'.

❌ Kako je vrijeme?

Wrong agreement — ask 'Kakvo je vrijeme?' ('what kind'), since 'kakvo' agrees with neuter 'vrijeme'.

✅ Kakvo je vrijeme?

What's the weather like? — 'kakvo' (neuter) agreeing with 'vrijeme'.

❌ To je kiša. (za 'pada kiša')

Wrong — 'to je kiša' means 'that is rain' (pointing at it). 'It's raining' is the verb 'Pada (kiša)'.

✅ Pada kiša.

It's raining. — the verb does the work, no 'it is' frame.

Key Takeaways

Ask with Kakvo je vrijeme? — note neuter kakvo agreeing with vrijeme („weather").
Weather verbs are subjectless: pada (kiša) „it's raining," pada (snijeg) „it's snowing," grmi „it's thundering," puše (vjetar) „it's windy." Never add a dummy „it" (ono).
Ambient state uses neuter adverb + je: lijepo je, ružno je, hladno je, vruće je, magla je.
Personal feeling uses the experiencer dative: hladno mi je („I'm cold"), vruće ti je („you're hot") — change the dative pronoun, keep je frozen. Do not make yourself the subject.

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