Instructions — the leaflet inside a flat-pack box, the setup screen of a new app, the safety card on a plane — are some of the most useful real-world Croatian a learner can decode, and they are written in a tight, recognisable register. The whole genre runs on two ways of giving an order (the bare infinitive, Umetnuti, and the polite imperative, Umetnite), a small set of sequencing words (prvo, zatim, nakon toga), and the impersonal se when nobody in particular is being addressed. This page reads a short assembly-and-setup manual line by line, then unpacks the grammar that makes it tick. Each step is its own numbered line, exactly as a manual lays it out.
The text
Upute za sastavljanje i postavljanje
Instructions for assembly and setup
Prije početka provjerite jesu li svi dijelovi u kutiji.
Before starting, check whether all the parts are in the box.
1. Prvo izvadite sve dijelove i poredajte ih na ravnu površinu.
1. First take out all the parts and lay them out on a flat surface.
2. Zatim spojite dvije bočne ploče pomoću priloženih vijaka.
2. Then join the two side panels using the enclosed screws.
3. Nakon toga umetnite policu u gornje utore i lagano je pritisnite.
3. After that insert the shelf into the upper slots and press it gently.
4. Zategnite sve vijke, ali ih nemojte previše stezati.
4. Tighten all the screws, but do not overtighten them.
5. Na kraju preuzmite aplikaciju i prijavite se svojim računom.
5. Finally download the app and log in with your account.
Ako uređaj ne radi, ponovno pokrenite postupak ili nazovite korisničku podršku.
If the device does not work, restart the procedure or call customer support.
Upozorenje: ne dodirivati pokretne dijelove dok je uređaj uključen.
Warning: do not touch moving parts while the device is switched on.
Two ways to give the order: Umetnite vs Umetnuti
A Croatian manual can phrase every step in either of two voices, and you will meet both, so it pays to recognise each on sight.
The first is the polite imperative, the plural vi-form ending in -ite / -ajte / -ite: provjerite ("check"), izvadite ("take out"), spojite ("join"), umetnite ("insert"), zategnite ("tighten"), preuzmite ("download"). A manufacturer addresses an unknown adult reader, so it uses the respectful plural — never the intimate ti-form umetni. This is the default of printed instructions and almost every app screen ("Unesite lozinku", "Enter your password").
The second is the bare infinitive used as an instruction: Umetnuti policu ("insert the shelf"), Ne dodirivati ("do not touch"). The infinitive gives an impersonal, clipped, official tone — it addresses nobody, it simply states what is to be done. You see it most on warnings and very terse step lists, and it is the natural Croatian equivalent of an English sign that says "Do not touch". The two voices mean the same thing; only the register differs.
Umetnite policu u gornje utore.
Insert the shelf into the upper slots. (polite vi-imperative — the standard manual style)
Umetnuti policu u gornje utore.
Insert the shelf into the upper slots. (bare infinitive — the terse, impersonal label style)
Ne dodirivati pokretne dijelove.
Do not touch moving parts. (infinitive as a standing prohibition on a warning label)
The impersonal se: when nobody is addressed
There is a third voice, common in older or more technical manuals: the impersonal se-construction. Instead of telling you to do something, it states that something is done, with a third-person verb plus the clitic se. Vijci *se zategnu odvijačem ("the screws are tightened with a screwdriver"), Polica **se umetne u utore ("the shelf is inserted into the slots"). There is no subject "you" and no named doer; the action floats free, exactly like English "the parts are then assembled". This is the same *se you meet in recipes (Doda se brašno) and on signs, and it is the most neutral, depersonalised way Croatian has of describing a procedure.
Polica se umetne u gornje utore i lagano pritisne.
The shelf is inserted into the upper slots and pressed gently. (impersonal se — no one is addressed)
Vijci se zategnu priloženim odvijačem.
The screws are tightened with the enclosed screwdriver. (impersonal se, instrument in the instrumental)
Aplikacija se preuzima s internetske stranice proizvođača.
The app is downloaded from the manufacturer's website. (impersonal se, ongoing/general action)
Negative orders: nemojte vs ne + infinitive
Manuals are full of "do not" — and Croatian has two clean ways to say it. With the imperative, you do not simply put ne in front; you use the helper nemojte ("don't", polite plural) plus the infinitive: nemojte stezati ("don't tighten"), nemojte dodirivati ("don't touch"). With the bare-infinitive register, the negative is just ne + infinitive: ne dodirivati ("not to touch"), ne otvarati ("not to open"). Notice that both negatives like the imperfective infinitive (stezati, not perfective stegnuti), because a prohibition bans the activity in general, not a single completed act.
Nemojte previše stezati vijke.
Do not overtighten the screws. (negative polite imperative: nemojte + infinitive)
Ne otvarati za vrijeme rada.
Do not open while in operation. (negative bare infinitive on a label)
Nemojte koristiti uređaj ako je kabel oštećen.
Do not use the device if the cable is damaged. (a typical safety instruction)
Sequencing markers and numbered steps
What turns a pile of commands into a procedure is the chain of sequencing adverbs, and you should learn them as a set. Prvo ("first / first of all") opens the sequence; zatim or onda ("then, next") carries the middle steps; nakon toga ("after that") and potom (literary, "thereupon") do the same job a touch more formally; pa ("and then, so") links two actions in one breath; and na kraju ("at the end, finally") closes it. They normally sit at the front of their clause, and they are exactly the words you would use to tell any story in order — so they pay off well beyond the manual. Printed instructions reinforce this order visually with numbered steps (1., 2., 3.), where the numeral is read as an ordinal: prvi korak ("the first step"), drugi korak ("the second step").
Prvo izvadite sve dijelove iz kutije.
First take all the parts out of the box. (prvo opens the sequence)
Nakon toga umetnite policu i zategnite vijke.
After that insert the shelf and tighten the screws. (nakon toga chains the next step)
Na kraju ponovno pokrenite uređaj i provjerite radi li.
Finally restart the device and check whether it works. (na kraju closes the procedure)
How English and Croatian differ here
English instructions use the bare base form — "Insert the shelf", "Press the button" — with no person marking and no choice of register: every manual sounds the same. Croatian forces a register decision in the verb itself. You must pick umetnite (polite, addressing the reader) or umetnuti (impersonal infinitive) or umetne se (impersonal se), and that choice quietly signals how the text positions its reader. English also lacks the clitic se: where Croatian can say polica se umetne in a single neat impersonal clause, English has to reach for the passive ("the shelf is inserted"). And where English negates with a flat "do not", Croatian splits into nemojte (to a person) versus ne + infinitive (on a label). Reading instructions is therefore a fast way to feel how Croatian encodes the reader-relationship that English leaves invisible.
Vocabulary gloss
| Word / phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| upute | instructions (always plural) |
| sastavljanje | assembly, putting together |
| postavljanje | setup, installation |
| dio (pl. dijelovi) | part, component |
| izvaditi | to take out, remove (pf.) |
| spojiti | to join, connect (pf.) |
| umetnuti | to insert (pf.) |
| utor | slot, groove |
| vijak (pl. vijci) | screw |
| zategnuti / stezati | to tighten (pf. / impf.) |
| preuzeti | to download, take over (pf.) |
| prijaviti se | to log in, register (pf.) |
| pokrenuti | to start, launch (pf.) |
| upozorenje | warning |
A note on the instrument. When a step names the tool you do something with, Croatian uses the bare instrumental, with no preposition: zategnite odvijačem ("tighten with a screwdriver"), spojite vijcima ("join with screws"). The register of a manual is neutral-to-formal: the vi-imperative is the polite default, the bare infinitive is the clipped label style, and the se-construction is the most impersonal of all. The intimate ti-imperative (umetni) would feel oddly chummy in printed instructions and appears almost only in casual app copy aimed at a young audience.
Common Mistakes
❌ Ne stegni vijke. (intended as a label warning)
Register/form error — a polite prohibition to the reader is nemojte + infinitive (nemojte stezati); a label uses ne + infinitive (ne stezati). The bare ti-imperative ne stegni is too intimate and uses the wrong aspect.
✅ Nemojte stezati vijke. / Ne stezati vijke.
Do not tighten the screws. (polite imperative / label)
❌ Polica umetne se u utore.
Word-order error — the clitic se must sit in second position, right after the first word: Polica se umetne, not Polica umetne se.
✅ Polica se umetne u utore.
The shelf is inserted into the slots.
❌ Prvo izvaditi sve dijelove i zatim spojite ploče.
Register mismatch — don't mix the infinitive (izvaditi) and the imperative (spojite) within one step list; pick one voice and keep it. Use izvadite … spojite, or izvaditi … spojiti.
✅ Prvo izvadite sve dijelove i zatim spojite ploče.
First take out all the parts and then join the panels.
❌ Zategnite vijke s odvijačem.
Case/preposition error — the tool you act with is the bare instrumental, no s: zategnite odvijačem. (s + instrumental means accompaniment, 'together with', not the instrument.)
✅ Zategnite vijke odvijačem.
Tighten the screws with a screwdriver.
Now practice Croatian
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Croatian→Related Topics
- The se-Passive and Impersonal ConstructionsB1 — Expressing 'one does / it is done' with se — the everyday Croatian passive.
- The Imperative: FormsA1 — Building commands with -j, -i, and the 1pl/2pl endings.
- Using the Imperative PolitelyB1 — Softening commands and the ti/Vi distinction in requests.
- Adverbs of TimeA2 — When, how often, and the high-value već / još contrast and its link to aspect.
- Annotated RecipeA2 — An instruction-by-instruction reading of a simple Croatian recipe for fritule, showing the procedural register: the imperative and the impersonal se for instructions (Pomiješaj / Pomiješa se), quantities followed by the genitive (dvjesto grama brašna), sequencing markers like najprije, zatim and na kraju, and the food vocabulary you need to read any Croatian recipe.