primati / primiti (to receive / accept) | Croatian Grammar

Primati / primiti is the receiving end of transfer — what dati "give" and poslati "send" reach toward. It is a clean aspect pair, imperfective primati / perfective primiti, with a passive participle that shows a textbook jotation: primljen (m → mlj). The verb spans a wider range than English "receive": you primiti mail and a salary, you primiti an offer or an invitation (= accept), and a doctor prima patients while a host prima guests (= admits, sees, takes in). The reflexive primiti se adds "take, catch on" — of a plant that roots, an idea that sticks, a flame that catches. The one distinction to internalise is primiti vs dobiti: dobiti is the neutral "get", primiti leans toward "formally receive / accept".

Aspect

The pair splits along the usual line: primati is the process or habit of receiving/accepting, primiti is one completed reception. The -iti / -ati alternation here is purely aspectual — same root, no prefix.

Verb	Aspect	Present 1sg	Typical use
primati	imperfective	primam	receive regularly; be receiving; "see/admit" (patients)
primiti	perfective	primim	one completed reception / acceptance

So "I receive my salary on the 15th" — a recurring fact — is Plaću primam 15-og; "I received the package" — one event — is Primio sam paket. For the underlying logic, see the aspect overview.

💡

Two participle shapes to keep apart: the active l-participle is regular — primio / primila — but the passive participle jotates m → mlj: primljen. Compare the same change in kupiti → kupljen: an i-class verb with a labial stem inserts -lj-.

Present tense

Primiti is a regular i-class verb (prim-); primati is a regular a-class verb (prima-).

Person	primati (impf)	primiti (pf)
ja	primam	primim
ti	primaš	primiš
on/ona/ono	prima	primi
mi	primamo	primimo
vi	primate	primite
oni/one/ona	primaju	prime

The perfective primim is not a "now" tense: Čim primim potvrdu, krećem "As soon as I get the confirmation, I'm off". For the habitual or in-progress reading use primam.

Doktorica danas prima do tri sata.

The doctor sees patients today until three o'clock. — imperfective 'primati' = admit/see, habitual.

Čim primim plaću, vraćam ti novac.

As soon as I get my salary, I'll pay you back. — perfective present 'primim' with future reading.

The l-participle

Regular for both — masculine primao / primio, feminine primala / primila.

Gender / number	primati	primiti
masculine singular	primao	primio
feminine singular	primala	primila
neuter singular	primalo	primilo
masculine plural	primali	primili
feminine plural	primale	primile
neuter plural	primala	primila

Perfect tense (perfekt)

Clitic biti + l-participle. The everyday "I received / accepted" is the perfective primio sam; the imperfective primao sam marks a habit or repeated past.

Person	primiti (masc.)	primiti (fem.)
ja	primio sam	primila sam
ti	primio si	primila si
on / ona	primio je	primila je
mi	primili smo	primile smo
vi	primili ste	primile ste
oni / one	primili su	primile su

Jesi li primila moju poruku jučer navečer?

Did you get my message last night? — perfective 'primiti', feminine addressee.

Mjesecima nismo primali nikakvu poštu na tu adresu.

For months we received no mail at all at that address. — imperfective 'primati' for an extended past state.

Future I (futur prvi)

Primiti → primit ću (drops -i); primati → primat ću. Never primiti ću.

Person	primati	primiti
ja	primat ću	primit ću
ti	primat ćeš	primit ćeš
on/ona/ono	primat će	primit će
mi	primat ćemo	primit ćemo
vi	primat ćete	primit ćete
oni/one/ona	primat će	primit će

Direktor će vas primiti u deset, samo pričekajte.

The director will see you at ten, just wait. — future I 'primiti' = admit/receive a visitor.

Imperative

Perfective primi ("receive/accept [it]!"); imperfective primaj (rarer, "keep receiving"). The set phrase Primi moju iskrenu sućut "Accept my sincere condolences" is a fixed polite use.

Person	primati	primiti
ti	primaj	primi
mi	primajmo	primimo
vi	primajte	primite

Primi moju iskrenu sućut zbog gubitka.

Please accept my sincere condolences for your loss. — fixed polite formula with 'primi'.

Conditional I (kondicional prvi)

bih-clitics + l-participle.

Person	primiti (masc.)
ja	primio bih
ti	primio bi
on/ona/ono	primio / primila / primilo bi
mi	primili bismo
vi	primili biste
oni/one/ona	primili bi

Rado bismo vas primili, ali nas neće biti kod kuće.

We'd gladly have you over, but we won't be home. — conditional 'primiti' = receive guests.

Other forms

Passive participle: primljen / primljena / primljeno ("received, accepted, admitted"). The m → mlj jotation is the headline form — Pismo je primljeno "The letter was received", Primljen je na fakultet "He was admitted to the university". The imperfective gives priman.
Verbal adverb: imperfective primajući ("[while] receiving"). The perfective has none.

Primljen je na posao nakon drugog kruga razgovora.

He was taken on after the second round of interviews. — passive participle 'primljen' = hired/admitted.

Key uses and government

1. Receive (mail, money, signals): accusative

The core sense is "take in / get" something sent or due, with the object in the accusative: primiti pismo, paket, plaću, poruku. See the accusative as direct object.

Svaki mjesec primamo račun za struju krajem mjeseca.

Every month we receive the electricity bill at the end of the month. — imperfective, recurring.

2. Accept (an offer, an invitation): accusative

Primiti also means "accept" — to take in and agree to. Primiti ponudu "accept an offer", primiti poziv "accept an invitation", primiti ostavku "accept a resignation".

Nakon dugog razmišljanja primio je ponudu konkurencije.

After long deliberation he accepted the competitor's offer. — 'primiti' = accept.

3. Admit / see (a patient, a guest): accusative

When the object is a person, primiti means "see, admit, take in" — a doctor prima pacijente, a host prima goste, a faculty prima studente.

Liječnik me primio bez najave jer je bilo hitno.

The doctor saw me without an appointment because it was urgent. — 'primiti' = see/admit a patient.

4. primiti se — "take, catch on" (reflexive)

Add se and the verb turns intransitive: something takes hold. A plant or cutting primi se (roots, takes), a fire primi se (catches), an idea or a name primi se (catches on). Primiti se posla / čega also means "set about, get down to" a task (+ genitive).

Presadila sam ružu i lijepo se primila.

I transplanted the rose and it took nicely. — reflexive 'primiti se' = root/take.

Nadimak mu se brzo primio u razredu.

The nickname caught on quickly in his class. — figurative 'primiti se' = catch on.

This is the same se that builds passives and impersonals; see the reflexive se: passive and impersonal.

5. primiti vs dobiti — receive/accept vs simply get

Both can translate "get a letter", but they are not interchangeable in tone. Dobiti is the neutral, all-purpose "get/obtain" — you dobiti a present, a cold, a child, a good grade. Primiti foregrounds the act of taking-in or formally accepting, and is the natural verb in official and transactional registers (receiving mail, a salary, a delegation; accepting an offer). You can dobiti a job offer (it lands in your inbox) and then primiti it (you accept it). See dobiti.

Dobio sam ponudu i odmah sam je primio.

I got an offer and accepted it right away. — 'dobiti' = it came to me; 'primiti' = I accepted it.

Common Mistakes

❌ Pismo je primio.

Ambiguous/wrong as a passive — for 'the letter was received' use the passive participle: 'Pismo je primljeno'. ('primio' is the active masculine — 'he received'.)

✅ Pismo je primljeno.

The letter was received.

❌ Primit ću tvoj poklon sutra.

Odd register — for casually 'getting' a present, 'dobiti' is more natural: 'Dobit ću tvoj poklon sutra'; 'primiti' sounds like a formal acceptance.

✅ Dobit ću tvoj poklon sutra.

I'll get your present tomorrow.

❌ Biljka se primijenila u novoj zemlji.

Wrong word — 'primijeniti' means 'apply'; the plant 'took/rooted' is 'primila se'.

✅ Biljka se lijepo primila u novoj zemlji.

The plant took nicely in the new soil.

❌ Primiti ću tvoju ispriku.

Spelling — the future drops the infinitive's -i: 'primit ću', never 'primiti ću'.

✅ Primit ću tvoju ispriku.

I'll accept your apology.

Key Takeaways

primati (impf, primam) = receive/accept regularly or in progress; primiti (pf, primim) = one completed reception/acceptance.
Active l-participle is regular primio / primila; the passive participle jotates m → mlj: primljen.
Object = accusative. Senses: receive (mail/salary), accept (offer/invitation), admit/see (patient/guest).
primiti se (reflexive) = take/root/catch on (a plant, a fire, an idea); + genitive = set about (a task).
primiti "accept / formally receive" vs dobiti "get/obtain" (neutral) — see dobiti. Future drops -i: primit ću.

Now practice Croatian

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

Start learning Croatian→