pisati / napisati (to write) | Croatian Grammar

Pisati ("to write") looks regular in the infinitive but hides a stem change in the present that trips up nearly every learner: the present is pišem, not *pisam. It belongs to the e-class, and the stem-final s palatalises to š (pis- → piš-) before the -e- endings. Its perfective partner is napisati ("to write [and finish]"). Together they give you a second clean aspect pair to set alongside čitati / pročitati, plus a first taste of consonant alternation in conjugation.

Aspect

	Imperfective	Perfective
Verb	pisati	napisati
Core sense	write, be writing (process, habit)	write [and finish] (result)
Present stem	piš- (with s → š)	napiš-
Typical use	Pišem pismo. "I'm writing a letter."	Napisao sam ga. "I've written it."

The aspect logic is the same as for čitati: pisati names the act of writing, napisati the finished product. Pišem članak ("I'm writing an article") leaves it open; napisao sam članak ("I've written the article") says it's done. The prefix na- is the default perfectiviser here; pair-formation by prefix is covered on pair formation by prefixes.

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The whole difficulty of pisati is the present stem. The infinitive and past are built on pis- (pisati, pisao, pisala), but the present and imperative are built on piš- (pišem, piši). Memorise the pair pisati → pišem as a unit, the way you'd memorise an English irregular.

Present tense (e-class, s → š)

The e-class endings are -em, -eš, -e, -emo, -ete, -u. The stem s shifts to š throughout (this is jotation, the same process behind pisati → piše).

Person	pisati (impf)	napisati (pf — future/subordinate sense)
ja	pišem	napišem
ti	pišeš	napišeš
on/ona/ono	piše	napiše
mi	pišemo	napišemo
vi	pišete	napišete
oni/one/ona	pišu	napišu

Pišem ti iz vlaka, pa oprosti na greškama.

I'm writing to you from the train, so excuse the typos.

Što ti piše u poruci?

What does the message say (lit. what writes to you in the message)? — impersonal 'piše' = 'it says'.

Čim napišem ovaj odlomak, zovem te.

As soon as I finish writing this paragraph, I'll call you. — perfective present 'napišem' with future sense after 'čim'.

The e-class as a whole is on the e-class present.

The l-participle

The past is built on the infinitive stem pis- — the š does not appear here. Masculine pisao shows the vocalised -l.

Gender / number	pisati	napisati
masculine singular	pisao	napisao
feminine singular	pisala	napisala
neuter singular	pisalo	napisalo
masculine plural	pisali	napisali
feminine plural	pisale	napisale
neuter plural	pisala	napisala

Perfect tense (perfekt)

Clitic biti + l-participle. The aspect contrast is sharp: pisao sam pismo ("I was writing a letter") versus napisao sam pismo ("I wrote / have written the letter").

Person	pisati (masc.)	napisati (masc.)
ja	pisao sam	napisao sam
ti	pisao si	napisao si
on / ona	pisao / pisala je	napisao / napisala je
mi	pisali smo	napisali smo
vi	pisali ste	napisali ste
oni / one	pisali su	napisali su

Cijelu sam večer pisala diplomski rad.

I spent the whole evening writing my thesis. — imperfective, feminine speaker: the ongoing activity.

Napisao sam ti popis za dućan, na frižideru je.

I've written you a shopping list, it's on the fridge. — perfective: a finished list.

Future I (futur prvi)

Pisati drops its -i before the clitic: pisat ću. Likewise napisat ću.

Person	pisati	napisati
ja	pisat ću	napisat ću
ti	pisat ćeš	napisat ćeš
on/ona/ono	pisat će	napisat će
mi	pisat ćemo	napisat ćemo
vi	pisat ćete	napisat ćete
oni/one/ona	pisat će	napisat će

Napisat ću ti čim stignem u hotel.

I'll write to you as soon as I get to the hotel. — perfective future for a single message.

Imperative

The imperative is built on the present stem piš-, so it keeps the š: piši, pišimo, pišite (impf) / napiši, napišimo, napišite (pf).

Person	pisati	napisati
ti	piši	napiši
mi	pišimo	napišimo
vi	pišite	napišite

Napiši mi adresu, ne mogu je zapamtiti.

Write down the address for me, I can't remember it. — perfective: produce one written thing.

Piši mi dok si na putu, makar kratko.

Write to me while you're travelling, even if briefly. — imperfective: do it repeatedly.

Conditional I (kondicional prvi)

bih-clitics + l-participle.

Person	pisati (masc.)	napisati (masc.)
ja	pisao bih	napisao bih
ti	pisao bi	napisao bi
on/ona/ono	pisao bi	napisao bi
mi	pisali bismo	napisali bismo
vi	pisali biste	napisali biste
oni/one/ona	pisali bi	napisali bi

Napisao bih recenziju, ali nemam vremena ovaj tjedan.

I'd write a review, but I don't have time this week.

Other forms

Passive participle: pisan, pisana, pisano ("written", impf) and napisan, napisana, napisano (pf). The perfective is the everyday one: pismo je napisano "the letter has been written". Built on the -s- stem, not š. Compare rukom pisan "handwritten".
Present verbal adverb (pisati only): pišući ("[while] writing"), built on the present stem with š. Perfectives instead form the past verbal adverb napisavši ("having written"), literary.

Ugovor je napisan na hrvatskom i engleskom.

The contract is written in Croatian and English. — passive participle 'napisan'.

Pišući brzo, napravio je nekoliko grešaka.

Writing quickly, he made a few mistakes. — verbal adverb 'pišući'.

Government

Pisati / napisati is doubly transitive in the typical "write X to Y" frame: the thing written goes in the accusative, the recipient in the dative. This mirrors the English ditransitive "write someone a letter", but Croatian marks the recipient with a case rather than word order or "to".

Pišem pismo prijatelju u Australiju.

I'm writing a letter to a friend in Australia. — accusative 'pismo' (thing) + dative 'prijatelju' (recipient).

Napisala je baki razglednicu iz Rima.

She wrote her grandmother a postcard from Rome. — dative 'baki' + accusative 'razglednicu'.

The dative recipient is the same indirect-object pattern as dati and reći; see the dative indirect object. You can also "write about" something with o + locative: pisati o politici "to write about politics".

A common derived verb worth noting: potpisati ("to sign", pf) / potpisivati ("to be signing", impf), from pot- + pisati. The perfective present is potpišem; the imperfective potpisujem. Potpiši ovdje "Sign here."

Molim vas, potpišite na dnu stranice.

Please sign at the bottom of the page. — perfective 'potpišite', from 'potpisati'.

Common Mistakes

❌ Pisam ti iz Zagreba.

Incorrect — 'pisati' is e-class with s → š: the present is 'pišem', not '*pisam'.

✅ Pišem ti iz Zagreba.

I'm writing to you from Zagreb.

❌ Pišao sam pismo jučer.

Wrong stem in the past — the l-participle uses 'pis-', not 'piš-': 'pisao sam'.

✅ Pisao sam pismo jučer.

I was writing a letter yesterday.

❌ Pišem pismo prijatelja.

Wrong case on the recipient — the person you write TO is dative ('prijatelju'), not genitive.

✅ Pišem pismo prijatelju.

I'm writing a letter to a friend.

❌ Napisao sam pismo cijeli sat.

Aspect clash — an activity lasting an hour is imperfective 'pisao sam'; perfective 'napisao' = finished it.

✅ Pisao sam pismo cijeli sat.

I was writing the letter for a whole hour.

❌ Pisi mi sutra.

Spelling — the imperative is on the present stem with š: 'piši', not '*pisi'.

✅ Piši mi sutra.

Write to me tomorrow.

Key Takeaways

Pisati (impf) / napisati (pf) is a clean aspect pair; the prefix na- perfectivises.
It is e-class with s → š in the present and imperative: pišem… pišu, imperative piši — but the past keeps pis- (pisao, pisala).
Government: accusative thing + dative recipient (pišem pismo prijatelju); "about" = o
- locative.
Past contrast: pisao sam (activity) vs napisao sam (finished product).
Passive participle napisan (on the -s- stem); future pisat ću; derived potpisati / potpisivati "to sign".

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