mijenjati / promijeniti (to change) | Croatian Grammar

Mijenjati / promijeniti ("to change") is a high-frequency verb that hides two traps for the learner. First, it is one of the words where the ije/je alternation trips people up: the imperfective is spelled mijenjati (with -ije-) but the related noun is promjena (with -je-) — same root, different vowel length, different spelling. Second, the perfective passive participle undergoes n → nj jotation to give promijenjen ("changed"). On top of that, English "change" is both transitive ("I changed the plan") and intransitive ("the plan changed"), and Croatian splits these with the reflexive se. This page sorts all of it out.

Aspect

Verb	Aspect	Present 1sg	Typical use
mijenjati	imperfective	mijenjam	changing as a process; repeatedly; habitually
promijeniti	perfective	promijenim	one completed change

The split is the usual one. Promijeniti = the change happens and is done (Promijenio sam mišljenje — "I changed my mind"). Mijenjati = the change is ongoing, repeated, or general (Stalno mijenja planove — "He keeps changing his plans"). This is a prefixal pair — the perfective adds pro- to the imperfective base — which is why both members look closely related but the imperfective is the unprefixed one. See aspect overview.

💡

Watch the vowels: the verb is mijenjati / promijeniti with -ije-, but the noun "a change" is promjena with -je-. This isn't a typo or inconsistency — it's the regular Croatian ije/je reflex of the old long ě, which shortens to je in the noun. Spell each one as it is; don't "fix" one to match the other.

Present tense

Mijenjati is an a-class verb (stem mijenja-): mijenjam, mijenjaš…. Promijeniti is an i-class verb (stem promijeni-): promijenim, promijeniš….

Person	mijenjati (impf)	promijeniti (pf)
ja	mijenjam	promijenim
ti	mijenjaš	promijeniš
on/ona/ono	mijenja	promijeni
mi	mijenjamo	promijenimo
vi	mijenjate	promijenite
oni/one/ona	mijenjaju	promijene

Stalno mijenjam lozinke jer ih zaboravim.

I keep changing my passwords because I forget them. — imperfective, a recurring habit.

Ako promijenim mišljenje, javit ću ti.

If I change my mind, I'll let you know. — perfective present, a single change with future reading.

The l-participle

Gender / number	mijenjati	promijeniti
masculine singular	mijenjao	promijenio
feminine singular	mijenjala	promijenila
neuter singular	mijenjalo	promijenilo
masculine plural	mijenjali	promijenili
feminine plural	mijenjale	promijenile
neuter plural	mijenjala	promijenila

Perfect tense (perfekt)

Clitic biti + l-participle. The perfective promijenio sam is the default "I changed [X]"; the imperfective mijenjao sam marks a process or habit ("I was changing / I used to change").

Person	Masculine subject	Feminine subject
ja	promijenio sam	promijenila sam
ti	promijenio si	promijenila si
on / ona	promijenio je	promijenila je
mi	promijenili smo	promijenile smo
vi	promijenili ste	promijenile ste
oni / one	promijenili su	promijenile su

Promijenila sam frizuru i nitko nije primijetio.

I changed my hairstyle and nobody noticed. — feminine speaker, perfective, one done change.

Cijelu godinu smo mijenjali dobavljače dok nismo našli pravog.

All year we kept changing suppliers until we found the right one. — imperfective, a drawn-out process.

Future I (futur prvi)

The infinitive drops its final -i before the clitic: promijenit ću, mijenjat ću — never "promijeniti ću".

Person	mijenjati	promijeniti
ja	mijenjat ću	promijenit ću
ti	mijenjat ćeš	promijenit ćeš
on/ona/ono	mijenjat će	promijenit će
mi	mijenjat ćemo	promijenit ćemo
vi	mijenjat ćete	promijenit ćete
oni/one/ona	mijenjat će	promijenit će

Promijenit ćemo termin sastanka, ne odgovara svima.

We'll change the meeting time, it doesn't suit everyone.

Imperative

The perfective promijeni! asks for one change; the imperfective mijenjaj! leans toward "keep changing / change regularly".

Person	mijenjati (impf)	promijeniti (pf)
ti	mijenjaj	promijeni
mi	mijenjajmo	promijenimo
vi	mijenjajte	promijenite

Promijeni temu, molim te, ne želim sad o tome.

Change the subject, please, I don't want to talk about it now. — perfective imperative.

Conditional I (kondicional prvi)

bih-clitics + l-participle.

Person	promijeniti (masc.)
ja	promijenio bih
ti	promijenio bi
on/ona/ono	promijenio/promijenila/promijenilo bi
mi	promijenili bismo
vi	promijenili biste
oni/one/ona	promijenili bi

Ništa ne bih promijenio da mogu vratiti vrijeme.

I wouldn't change a thing if I could turn back time.

Other forms

Passive participle (perfective): promijenjen, promijenjena, promijenjeno ("changed"). Note the n → nj jotation: the stem promijen-
- the participle suffix triggers softening of n to nj, exactly as in braniti → branjen. So "the plan has been changed" is Plan je promijenjen. The imperfective gives mijenjan.
Verbal adverb (imperfective): mijenjajući ("[while] changing"). The perfective has no present verbal adverb.

Raspored je promijenjen u zadnji čas, provjeri novu verziju.

The schedule was changed at the last minute, check the new version. — passive participle 'promijenjen', n → nj.

Key uses and government

1. The thing changed: accusative

The direct object — what you change — goes in the accusative, like most transitive verbs. See the accusative direct object.

Moramo promijeniti pristup ako želimo bolje rezultate.

We have to change our approach if we want better results. — accusative 'pristup'.

Promijenio je posao tri puta u dvije godine.

He changed jobs three times in two years. — accusative 'posao'.

2. "Change (intransitive)": the reflexive mijenjati se / promijeniti se

When nothing is changed by an outside agent — when the thing itself changes — Croatian adds se. English uses the same verb "change" for both ("I changed the law" / "the law changed"); Croatian distinguishes them: transitive promijeniti (with an object) vs reflexive promijeniti se (the subject itself changes). For the broader pattern of se turning a transitive verb intransitive, see the se-passive and impersonal se.

Jako si se promijenio otkad te zadnji put vidjeh.

You've changed a lot since I last saw you. — reflexive 'promijeniti se', the subject changes.

Vremena se mijenjaju, moramo se prilagoditi.

Times are changing, we have to adapt. — reflexive imperfective 'mijenjati se'.

3. "Exchange / swap": mijenjati (za)

Mijenjati also means "exchange / swap / trade", often with za + accusative for what you get in return: mijenjati eure za kune, zamijeniti X za Y.

Možeš li mi promijeniti stotku, treba mi sitno?

Can you give me change for a hundred, I need coins? — 'promijeniti' = break/change money.

Mijenjam stan u centru za kuću na selu.

I'll swap a flat in the centre for a house in the countryside. — 'mijenjati za' + accusative.

Common Mistakes

❌ Stalno menjam planove.

Spelling — the imperfective keeps '-ije-': 'mijenjam', not 'menjam' (that's the Serbian/ekavian form).

✅ Stalno mijenjam planove.

I keep changing my plans.

❌ Jako si promijenio.

Missing 'se' — 'change (intransitive)' is reflexive: 'promijenio si se'. Without 'se' it needs an object.

✅ Jako si se promijenio.

You've changed a lot.

❌ Plan je promijenen.

Jotation — the passive participle softens n → nj: 'promijenjen', not 'promijenen'.

✅ Plan je promijenjen.

The plan has been changed.

❌ Promijeniti ću frizuru.

Future spelling — drop the infinitive '-i' before the clitic: 'promijenit ću'.

✅ Promijenit ću frizuru.

I'll change my hairstyle.

❌ Velika promijena na bolje.

Wrong noun spelling — the noun is 'promjena' with '-je-', even though the verb has '-ije-'.

✅ Velika promjena na bolje.

A big change for the better.

Key Takeaways

mijenjati (impf, mijenjam, process/habit) vs promijeniti (pf, promijenim, one change). Prefixal pro- pair.
Object = accusative. Add se for the intransitive "change (by itself)": vremena se mijenjaju.
Watch the vowels: verb mijenjati / promijeniti (-ije-) but noun promjena (-je-).
Passive participle promijenjen (n → nj jotation). Future drops -i: promijenit ću, never promijeniti ću.
Mijenjati also = "exchange/swap" (mijenjati za) and "give change" for money.

Now practice Croatian

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

Start learning Croatian→