buditi se / probuditi se (to wake up) | Croatian Grammar

Probuditi se ("to wake up") is the verb of opening your eyes and coming out of sleep — and it has a useful double life. Add the reflexive se and it is intransitive ("I wake up"); drop the se and it is transitive ("wake someone up", probuditi nekoga + accusative). The aspect pair is the imperfective buditi se against the perfective probuditi se, and the perfective's passive participle, probuđen, shows off the d → đ jotation that trips up almost every learner. Finally, English speakers must keep probuditi se (the eyes-open moment) apart from ustati ("get up", out of bed) — two distinct events Croatian never blurs.

Aspect

Verb	Aspect	Present 1sg	Typical use
probuditi se	perfective	probudim se	one waking event (woke up at a moment)
buditi se	imperfective	budim se	waking habitually; in the process of waking

The members split between the moment of waking and the process/habit of waking. Probudio sam se u šest ("I woke up at six") names one event; Budim se svako jutro u šest ("I wake up at six every morning") states a routine, and Polako se budim ("I'm slowly waking up") describes the process in progress. This is a prefixal-plus-suffixal relationship: the base imperfective buditi (se) gains the perfectivising prefix pro- to give probuditi (se); see forming aspect pairs.

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Two contrasts to hold at once. Aspect: budim se (every day / in progress) vs probudim se (one moment). Voice: with se you wake up (intransitive); without it you wake someone (probuditi nekoga, + accusative). The se is the whole difference between "I woke up" and "I woke him".

Present tense

Both are regular i-class verbs (stem bud- + -im, -iš, -i, -imo, -ite, -e). The reflexive se is a clitic that sits in second position, not glued to the verb.

Person	probuditi se (pf)	buditi se (impf)
ja	probudim se	budim se
ti	probudiš se	budiš se
on/ona/ono	probudi se	budi se
mi	probudimo se	budimo se
vi	probudite se	budite se
oni/one/ona	probude se	bude se

As ever, the perfective probudim se is not a "right now" present; the live, in-progress sense is the imperfective budim se.

Budim se prije alarma otkad imam bebu.

I've been waking up before the alarm ever since I had the baby. — habit, imperfective.

Čim se probudim, popijem kavu.

The moment I wake up, I have a coffee. — perfective present, habitual sequence.

The l-participle

Regular i-class: masculine probudio se / budio se (vocalised -l).

Gender / number	probuditi se	buditi se
masculine singular	probudio se	budio se
feminine singular	probudila se	budila se
neuter singular	probudilo se	budilo se
masculine plural	probudili se	budili se
feminine plural	probudile se	budile se
neuter plural	probudila se	budila se

Perfect tense (perfekt)

Clitic biti + l-participle + the reflexive se. Watch the clitic order: in probudio sam se the auxiliary sam precedes se. The everyday "I woke up" is the perfective probudio sam se / probudila sam se.

Person	Masculine subject	Feminine subject
ja	probudio sam se	probudila sam se
ti	probudio si se	probudila si se
on / ona	probudio se	probudila se
mi	probudili smo se	probudile smo se
vi	probudili ste se	probudile ste se
oni / one	probudili su se	probudile su se

Note the 3rd person: je + se contracts so the spoken/written form is probudio se, probudila se (the je drops before se).

Probudila sam se usred noći od neke buke.

I woke up in the middle of the night because of some noise. — one event, feminine speaker.

Cijeli tjedan budio sam se umoran.

All week I'd been waking up tired. — imperfective: a recurring state over a span.

Future I (futur prvi)

Probuditi → probudit ću se (drops -i); buditi → budit ću se. Never probuditi ću se. The reflexive se trails the auxiliary.

Person	probuditi se	buditi se
ja	probudit ću se	budit ću se
ti	probudit ćeš se	budit ćeš se
on/ona/ono	probudit će se	budit će se
mi	probudit ćemo se	budit ćemo se
vi	probudit ćete se	budit ćete se
oni/one/ona	probudit će se	budit će se

Ako rano legnem, probudit ću se odmoran.

If I go to bed early, I'll wake up rested.

Imperative

The transitive perfective probudi! ("wake [someone]!") is the everyday command; with se it's the reflexive probudi se! ("wake up!"). The imperfective budi se is rarer — but beware the homograph: budi is also the imperative of biti ("be"), so Budi miran means "Be calm", not "wake calm". Context (and the se) keeps them apart.

Person	probuditi se (refl.)	probuditi (trans.)
ti	probudi se	probudi (me/ga…)
mi	probudimo se	probudimo
vi	probudite se	probudite (me/ga…)

Probudi me u sedam, imam let.

Wake me at seven, I have a flight. — transitive imperative + accusative 'me'.

Probudi se, zaspao si pred televizorom.

Wake up, you fell asleep in front of the TV. — reflexive imperative.

Conditional I (kondicional prvi)

bih-clitics + l-participle + se — for hypotheticals.

Person	Form (masc.)
ja	probudio bih se
ti	probudio bi se
on/ona/ono	probudio/probudila/probudilo bi se
mi	probudili bismo se
vi	probudili biste se
oni/one/ona	probudili bi se

Da nije bilo grmljavine, ne bih se ni probudio.

If it hadn't been for the thunder, I wouldn't even have woken up.

Other forms

Passive participle: probuđen, probuđena, probuđeno ("woken, awakened"). Here is the orthography lesson: the stem-final d jotates to đ before the participial -en (probud- + -jen → probuđen) — the same change as roditi → rođen, voditi → vođen. It is used both literally (Probuđen u zoru, nije više mogao zaspati — "Woken at dawn, he couldn't fall back asleep") and figuratively (probuđena nada — "awakened hope"). The imperfective gives buđen.
Verbal adverb: the imperfective budeći se ("[while] waking") and the transitive budeći ("waking [someone]") exist but are uncommon. You'll more often meet the verbal noun buđenje ("waking, the act of waking").

Probuđen telefonom, jedva je shvatio gdje je.

Woken by the phone, he could barely tell where he was. — passive participle 'probuđen', d → đ.

Key uses and government

1. Reflexive: probuditi se — "wake up" (intransitive)

With se, the verb is intransitive — you wake up, no object. This is the form you use for yourself.

Probudio sam se prerano i više nisam mogao zaspati.

I woke up too early and couldn't fall back asleep.

Budim se nekoliko puta tijekom noći.

I wake up several times during the night. — imperfective, repeated.

2. Transitive: probuditi nekoga — "wake someone" (+ accusative)

Drop the se and the verb takes a direct object in the accusative — the person you wake. The thing-or-feeling roused (interest, memories, hope) also goes in the accusative, often figuratively. See the accusative direct object.

Nemoj buditi djecu, tek su zaspala.

Don't wake the kids, they've only just fallen asleep. — imperfective transitive + accusative 'djecu'.

Ta pjesma u meni budi davne uspomene.

That song awakens distant memories in me. — figurative, accusative 'uspomene'.

3. probuditi se vs ustati — wake up vs get up

This is the key contrast for English speakers, who often say "get up" for both. Probuditi se = your eyes open, you come out of sleep (still possibly in bed). Ustati = you get out of bed / to your feet. They are two separate events and Croatian keeps them distinct; the typical sequence is probuditi se then ustati. See ustajati / ustati.

Probudio sam se u šest, ali sam ustao tek u sedam.

I woke up at six, but I didn't get up until seven. — two distinct events: 'probuditi se' then 'ustati'.

Budi se rano, ali voli ostati u krevetu.

She wakes up early, but she likes to stay in bed. — awake (probuditi se) without getting up (ustati).

Common Mistakes

❌ Jutros sam ustao u šest i odmah popio kavu.

If you mean your eyes opened (not that you got out of bed), this is the wrong verb — waking is 'probudio sam se', getting up is 'ustao sam'.

✅ Jutros sam se probudio u šest.

This morning I woke up at six.

❌ Probudio sam dijete se.

Clitic placement / voice — for 'I woke up' you need 'se' with the verb ('probudio sam se'); to wake the child it's transitive with no 'se': 'probudio sam dijete'.

✅ Probudio sam dijete.

I woke the child.

❌ Beba je probudjena bukom.

Jotation — the passive participle is 'probuđena' (d → đ), not '*probudjena'.

✅ Beba je probuđena bukom.

The baby was woken by the noise.

❌ Svako jutro se probudim u šest.

Aspect — for a daily habit Croatian prefers the imperfective: 'Svako jutro se budim u šest'. The perfective fits a one-off or a 'whenever' sequence.

✅ Svako jutro se budim u šest.

Every morning I wake up at six.

❌ Probuditi ću se rano.

The infinitive drops -i before the future clitic: 'probudit ću se', never '*probuditi ću se'.

✅ Probudit ću se rano.

I'll wake up early.

Key Takeaways

probuditi se (pf, probudim se, probudio se) = wake up at a moment; buditi se (impf, budim se, budio se) = wake habitually / in the process.
The se is the voice switch: with se = wake up (intransitive); without se = probuditi nekoga (wake someone, + accusative), also figurative (probuditi uspomene).
Passive participle probuđen — the d → đ jotation (like rođen, vođen); never probudjen.
Keep probuditi se (eyes open) apart from ustati (out of bed) — two events, never merged.
Future drops -i: probudit ću se (never probuditi ću se); mind clitic order in probudio sam se.

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