misliti (to think) | Croatian Grammar

Misliti ("to think") is the verb you reach for to give opinions, to report what is going on in your head, and to talk about thinking of and thinking about things. It is a clean i-class verb, so the conjugation holds no surprises — but its government is where the work lies, because Croatian splits English "think about" into two different prepositions depending on whether you mean "have someone/something on your mind" (na + accusative) or "hold an opinion about" (o + locative). Sorting out that na-vs-o contrast is the whole game.

Aspect

Misliti is imperfective: it describes the ongoing process or state of thinking. Its perfective partner is pomisliti ("to think [a single thought], to have a passing thought, to it-crossed-my-mind"). The two divide cleanly: Mislim na tebe ("I'm thinking of you", ongoing) versus Pomislio sam na tebe ("I thought of you / you crossed my mind", one flash). There is also smisliti ("to think up, devise") and promisliti ("to think over"), but those are separate prefixed verbs with their own meanings, not aspect partners of the bare misliti.

Present tense

Regular i-class: stem misl- + -im, -iš, -i, -imo, -ite, -e. The 3rd-person plural is the bare -e (misle), not *misliju.

Person	Form	Meaning
ja	mislim	I think
ti	misliš	you think
on/ona/ono	misli	he/she/it thinks
mi	mislimo	we think
vi	mislite	you (pl.) think
oni/one/ona	misle	they think

Mislim da imaš pravo.

I think you're right. — the everyday opinion frame 'mislim da'.

Što misliš o tome?

What do you think about that? — asking for an opinion, 'o' + locative.

Svi misle isto, ali nitko ne govori.

Everyone thinks the same, but nobody says it. — note 3pl 'misle'.

💡

The two most useful present forms are mislim da… ("I think that…") for stating an opinion and što misliš? ("what do you think?") for asking one. Build them into reflexes early — they carry an enormous amount of A2 conversation.

The l-participle

Regular for an -iti verb. Masculine singular mislio shows the vocalised -l.

Gender / number	Form
masculine singular	mislio
feminine singular	mislila
neuter singular	mislilo
masculine plural	mislili
feminine plural	mislile
neuter plural	mislila

Perfect tense (perfekt)

Clitic biti + l-participle. The imperfective misliti in the past covers "was thinking", "used to think", and — very commonly — "meant / intended": Nisam to tako mislio ("I didn't mean it that way").

Person	Masculine subject	Feminine subject
ja	mislio sam	mislila sam
ti	mislio si	mislila si
on / ona	mislio je	mislila je
mi	mislili smo	mislile smo
vi	mislili ste	mislile ste
oni / one	mislili su	mislile su

Mislila sam da ćeš nazvati.

I thought you'd call. — feminine speaker; 'misliti da' in the past.

Oprosti, nisam tako mislio.

Sorry, I didn't mean it that way. — 'misliti' = 'to mean / intend'.

Future I (futur prvi)

The infinitive misliti drops its final -i before the clitic: mislit ću.

Person	Form
ja	mislit ću
ti	mislit ćeš
on/ona/ono	mislit će
mi	mislit ćemo
vi	mislit ćete
oni/one/ona	mislit će

Mislit ću na tebe cijeli dan.

I'll be thinking of you all day. — 'misliti na' + accusative.

Imperative

i-class imperative: misli, mislimo, mislite. The negative Ne misli da… ("Don't think that…") and the standalone Misli! ("Think!") are both common.

Person	Form	Meaning
ti	misli	think!
mi	mislimo	let's think
vi	mislite	think! (pl./formal)

Ne misli na to sada, odmori se.

Don't think about that now, get some rest. — negative imperative + 'na' + accusative.

Conditional I (kondicional prvi)

bih-clitics + l-participle. Often used to hedge an opinion politely: Mislio bih da… ("I'd think that…").

Person	Form (masc.)
ja	mislio bih
ti	mislio bi
on/ona/ono	mislio/mislila/mislilo bi
mi	mislili bismo
vi	mislili biste
oni/one/ona	mislili bi

Tko bi mislio da će ovako završiti?

Who'd have thought it would end like this? — conditional in a rhetorical question.

Other forms

Passive participle: mišljen exists (note sl → šlj jotation) but is rare; you will far more often meet the related noun mišljenje ("opinion") — po mom mišljenju "in my opinion".
Present verbal adverb: misleći ("[while] thinking"), e.g. Misleći na posljedice, odustao je ("Thinking of the consequences, he gave up").

Po mom mišljenju, to je loša ideja.

In my opinion, that's a bad idea. — the noun 'mišljenje' is far more common than the participle.

Key uses and government

This is the core of the page. Misliti takes three different complements, and choosing the right one is the difference between sounding native and sounding translated.

1. misliti da + clause — "to think that…"

For stating an opinion or belief, misliti introduces a da-clause. This is the default frame for "I think (that)…". English can drop "that"; Croatian keeps da. See the subordinating conjunction da.

Mislim da neće stići na vrijeme.

I think he won't make it on time. — 'misliti da' + clause; 'da' is obligatory.

Misliš li da je to istina?

Do you think that's true? — question with the particle 'li'.

2. misliti na + accusative — "to think of / about" (have on your mind)

When something or someone is on your mind — you are picturing them, worrying about them, keeping them in focus — use na + the accusative. This is the "thinking of you" sense.

Stalno mislim na mamu otkad je u bolnici.

I keep thinking about Mum since she went into hospital. — 'na' + accusative, someone on your mind.

Moraš misliti i na budućnost, ne samo na danas.

You have to think about the future too, not just today. — 'na' + accusative.

3. misliti o + locative — "to think about" (have an opinion on)

When you are forming or expressing a judgement about something — what you make of it — use o + the locative. This pairs with the question Što misliš o…? ("What do you think of…?"). See topic and other uses of the locative.

Što misliš o novom šefu?

What do you think of the new boss? — 'o' + locative, asking for a judgement.

Ne znam što da mislim o cijeloj toj priči.

I don't know what to make of the whole story. — 'o' + locative.

💡

accusative = "have on your mind" (focus, worry, longing). o
- locative = "have an opinion about" (judgement). Test: if you could swap in "I keep thinking of…", it's na; if you could swap in "What's your opinion of…?", it's o.

4. misliti = "to mean / intend"

Standalone, misliti often means "to mean" (what someone intends): Što time misliš? ("What do you mean by that?"). And misliti + infinitive/da-clause can mean "to intend to": Mislim ostati ovdje ("I'm planning to stay here").

Mislim sutra otići ranije s posla.

I'm thinking of leaving work early tomorrow. — 'misliti' + infinitive = intention.

Common Mistakes

❌ Mislim ti imaš pravo.

Incorrect — 'misliti' needs the conjunction 'da' before the clause; you can't drop it the way English drops 'that'.

✅ Mislim da imaš pravo.

I think you're right.

❌ Što misliš na novi film?

Wrong preposition — asking for an opinion uses 'o' + locative, not 'na' + accusative.

✅ Što misliš o novom filmu?

What do you think of the new film?

❌ Mislim o tebi cijeli dan.

Wrong preposition — 'having someone on your mind' is 'na' + accusative, not 'o' + locative.

✅ Mislim na tebe cijeli dan.

I'm thinking of you all day.

❌ Oni misliju da je gotovo.

Conjugation error — i-class 3pl is the bare '-e': 'misle', not '-iju'.

✅ Oni misle da je gotovo.

They think it's over.

❌ Mislim na to da je kasno.

Overbuilt — for an opinion-clause you don't need 'na to'; just 'mislim da'.

✅ Mislim da je kasno.

I think it's late.

Key Takeaways

Misliti is imperfective ("to think, be thinking"); perfective pomisliti is a single passing thought.
It is a regular i-class verb: mislim, misliš, misli, mislimo, mislite, misle (bare -e in the 3pl).
Three governments: misliti da
- clause ("think that"), misliti na
  - accusative ("have on your mind"), misliti o
    - locative ("have an opinion about").
na
- accusative = focus/longing; o
  - locative = judgement. This is the contrast English collapses into one "about".
Misliti also means "to mean / intend": Što misliš? ("What do you mean?"), Mislim ostati ("I plan to stay").

Now practice Croatian

Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.

Start learning Croatian→