govoriti / reći (to speak / say)

Croatian splits English "speak / say / tell" across a suppletive aspect pair: the imperfective govoriti ("to speak, talk, be saying") and the perfective reći ("to say, tell" — once, completed). They share no root, which is exactly what makes them a pair worth learning together: where you would use a single English verb, Croatian forces a choice between the ongoing govoriti and the punctual reći. Get the division of labour right — Govorim hrvatski ("I speak Croatian") versus Reci mi! ("Tell me!") — and a huge swath of everyday conversation opens up.

The aspect pair

Because the pair is suppletive, the perfective borrows its present from yet another root: reći's present is kažem (from kazati), not *rečem. This is the single most important fact on the page. There is also a fuller secondary-imperfective kazivati and a regional rekoh-aorist, but for daily use the pattern is: govoriti (impf) ↔ reći / kažem (pf). The mechanism is explained on suppletive and bi-aspectual verbs.

A third verb sits nearby: razgovarati ("to converse, have a conversation with someone") — see razgovarati. Don't confuse "speaking a language / saying something" (govoriti, reći) with "having a chat" (razgovarati).

govoriti — present (i-class)

Regular i-class: govor- + -im, -iš, -i, -imo, -ite, -e.

reći — present (kažem)

The perfective reći takes its present from the kaž- stem (an e-class verb with the k → ž alternation in some persons of its source kazati). Because reći is perfective, this "present" does not mean "I say now" — it has future/subordinate meaning. There is also an older/regional reknem set, but kažem is the living standard.

The l-participle

Reći's participle is built on yet another stem, rek-: masculine rekao (with vocalised -l), feminine rekla. So the perfective's stems are reć- (infinitive), kaž- (present), rec- (imperative), rek- (participle/aorist).

Perfect tense (perfekt)

This is where the aspect contrast is sharpest. Govorio sam describes ongoing or habitual speaking; rekao sam states one completed utterance.

Future I (futur prvi)

Govoriti drops its -i before the clitic (govorit ću); reći ends in -ći and stays full (reći ću).

Imperative

The perfective reci! ("say it! / tell me!") is by far the more common command — you usually want a single piece of speech, not an open-ended "keep talking". Govori! ("speak / keep speaking") is used to encourage continued talking.

Note the c in reci, recimo, recite — the second palatalisation (k → c before -i), a different alternation from the present's k → ž.

Conditional I (kondicional prvi)

Other forms

• Aorist of reći (literary / narrative; also alive in a few set phrases): rekoh, reče, reče, rekosmo, rekoste, rekoše. The 3sg reče ("said he/she") is common in storytelling and reported speech in older or stylised prose. See the aorist.
• Passive participle: govoren ("spoken") is used of languages — govoreni jezik "the spoken language"; rečen / rečeno ("said") — kako je već rečeno "as has already been said".
• Present verbal adverb (govoriti): govoreći ("[while] speaking"), as in iskreno govoreći "frankly speaking".

Key uses and government

1. govoriti + a language (accusative or instrumental)

"To speak a language" takes the language name in the accusative: Govorim hrvatski. (You may also hear na hrvatskom, "in Croatian", for the manner of speaking on a given occasion.)

2. govoriti o + locative — "to talk about"

The topic of speech takes o + the locative.

3. govoriti s / razgovarati s + instrumental — "to speak with"

The person you speak with takes s(a) + the instrumental.

4. reći nekomu nešto — dative + accusative

"To tell someone something" takes the dative of the person and the accusative of the thing. This is the standard ditransitive pattern, and clitics (mi, ti, mu, joj, nam…) line up in second position.

For relaying a whole statement, reći / kazati introduces a da-clause (reported speech): Rekao je da dolazi ("He said he was coming"). See reported speech.

Common Mistakes

Key Takeaways

• Govoriti (impf, "speak/talk") and reći (pf, "say/tell") are a suppletive aspect pair.
• Reći borrows its present from kažem; its other stems are reci (imperative), rekao/rekla (participle), rekoh / reče (aorist).
• Government: govoriti
  • language (accusative), o
    • locative ("about"), s
      • instrumental ("with"); reći nekomu nešto = dative + accusative.
• Use the perfective reci when you want one completed utterance ("Tell me!"), the imperfective govori for ongoing or habitual speaking.
• Don't confuse this pair with razgovarati ("to have a conversation").