čistiti / očistiti (to clean) | Croatian Grammar

Čistiti / očistiti ("to clean") is a core household verb and one of the first you'll use to talk about chores — cleaning a room, the kitchen, your shoes, the fish you're about to cook. It is a tidy aspect pair (imperfective čistiti, perfective očistiti) that takes a straightforward accusative object. Its real teaching value is the passive participle očišćen ("cleaned"), which shows a striking consonant change: the cluster st softens to šć when the jotation hits it. Learn it alongside two neighbours in the same domain — prati ("to wash", with water) and pospremiti ("to tidy up", to put things back in order).

Aspect

Verb	Aspect	Present 1sg	Typical use
čistiti	imperfective	čistim	the activity of cleaning; repeated/habitual
očistiti	perfective	očistim	one completed cleaning (it's clean now)

This is a prefixal pair: the base imperfective čistiti takes the prefix o- to form the perfective očistiti (see forming aspect pairs by prefix). Use čistim for cleaning as an activity or a habit — "I'm cleaning / I clean every Saturday" — and očistim for the finished result — "I cleaned it (and now it's clean)". So "I'm cleaning the bathroom right now" is čistim, while "I've cleaned the bathroom" is očistio sam.

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Default to the perfective očistiti for "clean it!" and "I cleaned it" — a single act with a result. Reach for the imperfective čistiti only when the cleaning is in progress, repeated, or habitual. This perfective-as-default instinct works across most chore verbs.

Present tense

Both are regular i-class verbs. Note the č stays throughout — it's part of the root čist-.

Person	čistiti (impf)	očistiti (pf)
ja	čistim	očistim
ti	čistiš	očistiš
on/ona/ono	čisti	očisti
mi	čistimo	očistimo
vi	čistite	očistite
oni/one/ona	čiste	očiste

The perfective present očistim is not a "now" tense — it lives in subordinate clauses and future readings (kad očistim — "when I clean"). For the cleaning in progress you need čistim.

Upravo čistim kuhinju, nazvat ću te kasnije.

I'm cleaning the kitchen right now, I'll call you later. — in progress, imperfective 'čistim'.

Kad očistim sobu, mogu izaći van.

When I clean my room, I can go out. — perfective present, subordinate clause.

The l-participle

Both are regular -iti verbs.

Gender / number	čistiti (impf)	očistiti (pf)
masculine singular	čistio	očistio
feminine singular	čistila	očistila
neuter singular	čistilo	očistilo
masculine plural	čistili	očistili
feminine plural	čistile	očistile
neuter plural	čistila	očistila

Perfect tense (perfekt)

Clitic biti + l-participle. Everyday "I cleaned it" is the perfective očistio sam; the imperfective čistio sam marks a process or habit.

Person	Masculine subject	Feminine subject
ja	očistio sam	očistila sam
ti	očistio si	očistila si
on / ona	očistio je	očistila je
mi	očistili smo	očistile smo
vi	očistili ste	očistile ste
oni / one	očistili su	očistile su

Očistila sam cijeli stan prije nego su gosti došli.

I cleaned the whole flat before the guests arrived. — perfective, a single done job.

Dok smo mi čistili dvorište, oni su gledali film.

While we were cleaning the yard, they were watching a film. — imperfective process, 'čistili'.

Future I (futur prvi)

The infinitive drops its -i before the clitic: očistit ću (pf), čistit ću (impf). Separate word — never očistiti ću.

Person	čistiti (impf)	očistiti (pf)
ja	čistit ću	očistit ću
ti	čistit ćeš	očistit ćeš
on/ona/ono	čistit će	očistit će
mi	čistit ćemo	očistit ćemo
vi	čistit ćete	očistit ćete
oni/one/ona	čistit će	očistit će

Očistit ću prozore u subotu, danas nemam vremena.

I'll clean the windows on Saturday, I don't have time today.

Imperative

Chore instructions live in the imperative. The perfective očisti! is the normal "clean it (now, fully)!"; the imperfective čisti! means "keep cleaning / do the cleaning". This is the form parents and flatmates actually use.

Person	čistiti (impf)	očistiti (pf)
ti	čisti	očisti
mi	čistimo	očistimo
vi	čistite	očistite

Očisti sobu prije nego što izađeš van!

Clean your room before you go out! — perfective command, one full job.

Molim vas, očistite za sobom kad završite.

Please clean up after yourselves when you finish. — formal plural imperative.

Conditional I (kondicional prvi)

bih-clitics + l-participle.

Person	očistiti (masc.)
ja	očistio bih
ti	očistio bi
on/ona/ono	očistio/očistila/očistilo bi
mi	očistili bismo
vi	očistili biste
oni/one/ona	očistili bi

Očistio bih garažu, ali pada kiša cijeli dan.

I'd clean the garage, but it's been raining all day.

Other forms

Passive participle: očišćen, očišćena, očišćeno ("cleaned"). This is the form to study. The stem čist- ends in the cluster -st, and when jotation applies (the -j- of the participle-forming suffix), st → šć: čist- + -jen → očišćen. The same st → šć cluster shift shows up elsewhere when a softening -j- meets -st-, e.g. in comparatives like čest → češći ("frequent → more frequent") and gust → gušći ("thick → thicker"). The model to remember is čist- + -jen → očišćen. Use it as a resultant-state adjective — Soba je očišćena ("The room is clean / has been cleaned") — and in the passive: Cijela zgrada je očišćena ("The whole building was cleaned"). The imperfective gives čišćen (same šć).
Verbal adverb: imperfective čisteći ("[while] cleaning"). The perfective has no present verbal adverb.

Riba je već očišćena, samo je treba ispeći.

The fish is already cleaned, it just needs to be grilled. — resultant-state 'očišćena', st → šć.

Čisteći tavan, naišla je na kutiju starih fotografija.

While cleaning the attic, she came across a box of old photos. — verbal adverb 'čisteći'.

Key uses and government

1. očistiti + accusative — the thing cleaned

Both members are transitive and take a direct object in the accusative: what you clean. See the accusative direct object.

Moraš očistiti cipele prije nego uđeš unutra.

You have to clean your shoes before you come inside. — accusative 'cipele'.

2. čistiti se — the reflexive

With se the verb turns intransitive — something "cleans (itself)" or "gets clean". It is most common with materials and surfaces that are easy or hard to clean: Ova tkanina se lako čisti ("This fabric cleans easily"). For the se-as-intransitive mechanism, see the se passive and impersonal.

Ova ploča za kuhanje se lako čisti, samo je prebrišeš.

This hob cleans easily, you just wipe it down. — reflexive 'se', intransitive.

3. Neighbours: prati "to wash" and pospremiti "to tidy up"

These three carve up the chore vocabulary differently from English. čistiti = remove dirt from a surface (clean the floor, the windows, your shoes). prati = wash with water, especially clothes, dishes, body — see prati. pospremiti / spremati = tidy up, put things back where they belong (you can pospremiti a clean room that is merely messy). You pospremiš the toys, opereš the dishes, and očistiš the floor — three different verbs for what English might lump under "clean up".

Prvo ću pospremiti, a onda očistiti pod.

First I'll tidy up, then clean the floor. — 'pospremiti' vs 'očistiti'.

Common Mistakes

❌ Sada očistim sobu.

Aspect/tense error — a perfective present can't mean 'right now'; the cleaning in progress is 'čistim'.

✅ Sada čistim sobu.

I'm cleaning my room now.

❌ Riba je očistena.

Missing jotation — the cluster 'st' softens to 'šć': the participle is 'očišćena', not '*očistena'.

✅ Riba je očišćena.

The fish is cleaned.

❌ Operi pod, molim te.

Wrong verb — you 'wash' (prati) clothes and dishes, but a floor you 'clean'; or you can mop it. For removing dirt say 'očisti pod'.

✅ Očisti pod, molim te.

Clean the floor, please.

❌ Soba je očišćen.

Agreement error — the participle must agree with feminine 'soba': 'očišćena'.

✅ Soba je očišćena.

The room is clean / has been cleaned.

❌ Očistiti ću prozore.

Spelling error — the future clitic is a separate word and the infinitive drops '-i': 'očistit ću'.

✅ Očistit ću prozore.

I'll clean the windows.

Key Takeaways

čistiti (impf, čistim) / očistiti (pf, očistim) — an o- prefix pair; object = accusative.
The passive participle is očišćen, with the st → šć jotation — never *očisten.
Use the imperfective čistim for "I'm cleaning now"; the perfective očistim can't mean a present action.
Chore verbs split: čistiti (clean a surface), prati (wash with water — see prati), pospremiti (tidy up).
Future drops -i: očistit ću (never očistiti ću). The chore imperative Očisti sobu! is everyday speech.

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