nalaziti / naći (to find) | Croatian Grammar

Naći ("to find") is the result-verb of searching, and it pairs with the imperfective nalaziti. The two stems look unrelated on the surface — perfective naći (present nađem, l-participle našao) against imperfective nalazi- — so this behaves like a near-suppletive pair and the forms must be learned as a set. Two things make this verb especially useful at A2: the reflexive nalaziti se ("be located, be situated"), which is how you ask and say where something is, and the tidy aspect-and-meaning contrast between tražiti ("look for", the process) and naći ("find", the result).

Aspect

Verb	Aspect	Present 1sg	Typical use
naći	perfective	nađem	one act of finding (the result)
nalaziti	imperfective	nalazim	finding repeatedly; reflexive 'be located'

The perfective naći means the search reached its goal: you found the thing. The imperfective nalaziti covers repeated finding (stalno nalazim greške, "I keep finding mistakes") and, crucially, the reflexive sense "be located" (see below). Because the two stems share so little, treat nađem and nalazim as separate facts.

💡

Mind the consonant in the perfective present: naći → nađem, with the soft đ, and the l-participle is našao / našla (masc. with -š-, fem. without the -o-). Don't write *najdem or *nadjem — the standard form is nađem.

Present tense

Naći takes e-class endings on the stem nađ-; nalaziti is a regular i-class verb.

Person	naći (pf)	nalaziti (impf)
ja	nađem	nalazim
ti	nađeš	nalaziš
on/ona/ono	nađe	nalazi
mi	nađemo	nalazimo
vi	nađete	nalazite
oni/one/ona	nađu	nalaze

The perfective present nađem is not a "now" tense; it reads as a future or condition in a subordinate clause: Kad nađem stan, selim se ("When I find a flat, I'm moving").

Stalno nalazim njezine ukosnice po cijelom stanu.

I keep finding her hairpins all over the flat. — imperfective, repeated.

Nadam se da ćeš naći vremena za to.

I hope you'll find the time for it. — perfective infinitive.

The l-participle

Naći has the masculine našao (with -š-) and feminine našla (no -o-): a common irregular shape. Nalaziti is regular: nalazio / nalazila.

Gender / number	naći	nalaziti
masculine singular	našao	nalazio
feminine singular	našla	nalazila
neuter singular	našlo	nalazilo
masculine plural	našli	nalazili
feminine plural	našle	nalazile
neuter plural	našla	nalazila

Perfect tense (perfekt)

Clitic biti + the l-participle. The everyday "I found" is the perfective našao sam / našla sam.

Person	Masculine subject	Feminine subject
ja	našao sam	našla sam
ti	našao si	našla si
on / ona	našao je	našla je
mi	našli smo	našle smo
vi	našli ste	našle ste
oni / one	našli su	našle su

Napokon sam našla ključeve, bili su u jakni.

I finally found the keys, they were in my jacket. — feminine speaker, perfective result.

Jesi li našao posao o kojem si pričao?

Did you find the job you were talking about? — masculine, perfective.

Future I (futur prvi)

Naći ends in -ći, so it keeps the whole infinitive — naći ću (you do not drop anything here). The imperfective nalaziti → nalazit ću drops its -i as usual.

Person	naći	nalaziti
ja	naći ću	nalazit ću
ti	naći ćeš	nalazit ćeš
on/ona/ono	naći će	nalazit će
mi	naći ćemo	nalazit ćemo
vi	naći ćete	nalazit ćete
oni/one/ona	naći će	nalazit će

Ne brini, naći ćemo rješenje.

Don't worry, we'll find a solution. — '-ći' verbs keep the whole infinitive.

💡

Verbs in -ći behave differently in the future from verbs in -ti. Kupiti drops the -i (kupit ću), but naći keeps everything: naći ću, never *nać ću or *nai ću. The same is true of doći ću, reći ću, ići ću.

Imperative

Naći → nađi! (on the nađ- stem); nalaziti → nalazi!.

Person	naći (pf)	nalaziti (impf)
ti	nađi	nalazi
mi	nađimo	nalazimo
vi	nađite	nalazite

Nađi mi to na karti, ne znam gdje smo.

Find it for me on the map, I don't know where we are. — perfective imperative 'nađi'.

Conditional I (kondicional prvi)

bih-clitics + the l-participle.

Person	naći (masc.)
ja	našao bih
ti	našao bi
on/ona/ono	našao/našla/našlo bi
mi	našli bismo
vi	našli biste
oni/one/ona	našli bi

Našao bih bolji termin da sam ranije nazvao.

I'd have found a better slot if I'd called earlier.

Other forms

Passive participle: nađen, nađena, nađeno ("found"), built on the same nađ- stem (the đ is the historical jotation of d). Used in the passive: Izgubljeni pas je nađen ("The lost dog was found"). The imperfective gives nalažen (rare).
Verbal adverb: imperfective nalazeći ("[while] finding / being located"). The perfective has no present adverb.

Novčanik je nađen i vraćen vlasniku.

The wallet was found and returned to its owner. — passive participle 'nađen'.

Key uses and government

1. The thing found: accusative

The object of naći / nalaziti is the accusative — what you find. See the accusative direct object.

Konačno smo našli dobar restoran u blizini.

We finally found a good restaurant nearby. — accusative object.

2. nalaziti se — "be located, be situated"

The reflexive nalaziti se is the everyday way to say where something is — more precise and formal than plain biti. It is the standard verb in directions and descriptions: Gdje se nalazi…? ("Where is… located?"). This se is the reflexive / impersonal se, and the place follows in the locative (a static gdje?, not a directional kamo?).

Gdje se nalazi najbliža ljekarna?

Where is the nearest pharmacy located? — reflexive 'nalaziti se'.

Hotel se nalazi u samom centru grada.

The hotel is located right in the city centre. — reflexive, static location.

3. tražiti (look for) vs naći (find)

This is the key pair to keep straight. tražiti is the process of looking (imperfective by nature) and is itself never "find"; naći is the result. You tražiš for as long as you haven't found, and the moment you succeed you nađeš. So "I'm looking for my keys but I can't find them" needs both verbs: Tražim ključeve, ali ih ne mogu naći. See tražiti / potražiti.

Tražim stan već mjesecima, ali ništa ne mogu naći.

I've been looking for a flat for months, but I can't find anything. — process 'tražiti' vs result 'naći'.

Common Mistakes

❌ Najdem ga svuda.

Wrong present — the perfective of 'naći' is 'nađem' (with đ), and it can't mean 'right now' anyway.

✅ Nalazim ga svuda.

I find it / keep finding it everywhere.

❌ Nać ću rješenje.

Wrong future — '-ći' verbs keep the whole infinitive: 'naći ću', not '*nać ću'.

✅ Naći ću rješenje.

I'll find a solution.

❌ Tražim ključeve i napokon ih tražim.

Wrong verb for the result — once you succeed you 'find' them: use 'naći', not 'tražiti' again.

✅ Tražim ključeve i napokon ih nalazim.

I'm looking for the keys and I finally find them.

❌ Gdje nalazi banka?

Missing 'se' — 'be located' is the reflexive 'nalaziti se': 'Gdje se nalazi banka?'.

✅ Gdje se nalazi banka?

Where is the bank located?

❌ Pas je naden u parku.

Wrong participle — the passive participle of 'naći' is 'nađen' (with đ), not '*naden'.

✅ Pas je nađen u parku.

The dog was found in the park.

Key Takeaways

naći (pf, nađem, našao / našla, imperative nađi!) = the result of finding; nalaziti (impf, nalazim) = repeated finding and the reflexive "be located".
Object = accusative. The reflexive nalaziti se is the standard "be located": Gdje se nalazi…?.
Passive participle nađen (with the soft đ); the present is nađem, never *najdem.
Future of a -ći verb keeps the whole infinitive: naći ću (never *nać ću).
Keep apart tražiti (look for, the process) and naći (find, the result) — you often need both in one sentence.

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