Raditi ("to work / to do / to make") is one of the most useful verbs in Croatian and a perfect model of the i-class present, the second-largest regular conjugation. It covers "work" (Gdje radiš? — "Where do you work?"), the general "do" (Što radiš? — "What are you doing?"), and informally "make / build". Because it is a clean i-class verb with a transparent passive participle (rađen) and a present verbal adverb (radeći), learning raditi in full also teaches you how the entire i-class behaves.
Aspect
Raditi is imperfective: it describes an ongoing or habitual activity, not a finished result. Its perfective partner depends on the meaning you want:
- For "to do / get done" → uraditi (or napraviti): uradio sam zadaću ("I did the homework").
- For "to make / produce" → napraviti / izraditi: napravio sam tortu ("I made a cake").
So raditi itself never "completes" — it is the process. Pick a prefixed perfective when you mean the finished outcome. The raditi / napraviti relationship is detailed on raditi, napraviti.
Present tense
The i-class endings are -im, -iš, -i, -imo, -ite, -e. Take the stem rad- and the theme vowel -i- stays visible everywhere except the 3rd-person plural, where the ending is the bare -e (rade, not radiju).
| Person | Form | Ending | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| ja | radim | -im | I work / I'm doing |
| ti | radiš | -iš | you work |
| on/ona/ono | radi | -i | he/she/it works |
| mi | radimo | -imo | we work |
| vi | radite | -ite | you work |
| oni/one/ona | rade | -e | they work |
Radim od kuće tri dana u tjednu.
I work from home three days a week.
Što radiš ovaj vikend?
What are you doing this weekend?
Oni rade do kasno svaki petak.
They work late every Friday.
The l-participle
Regular for an -iti verb: stem radi- + the l-participle endings. The masculine singular radio shows the vocalised -l.
| Gender / number | Form |
|---|---|
| masculine singular | radio |
| feminine singular | radila |
| neuter singular | radilo |
| masculine plural | radili |
| feminine plural | radile |
| neuter plural | radila |
A spelling reminder: the masculine radio is identical to the noun radio ("a radio") — context disambiguates. Feminine radila, plural radili, etc., keep the -l- visible.
Perfect tense (perfekt)
| Person | Masculine subject | Feminine subject |
|---|---|---|
| ja | radio sam | radila sam |
| ti | radio si | radila si |
| on / ona | radio je | radila je |
| mi | radili smo | radile smo |
| vi | radili ste | radile ste |
| oni / one | radili su | radile su |
Cijeli dan smo radili u vrtu.
We worked in the garden all day. — imperfective: the focus is the ongoing activity.
Prije sam radila u banci, a sad sam frilenserica.
I used to work in a bank, and now I'm a freelancer. — feminine speaker, habitual past.
Future I (futur prvi)
The infinitive raditi ends in -ti, so it drops its final -i before the clitic: radit ću (written without the -i).
| Person | Infinitive first | Clitic first |
|---|---|---|
| ja | radit ću | … ću raditi |
| ti | radit ćeš | … ćeš raditi |
| on/ona/ono | radit će | … će raditi |
| mi | radit ćemo | … ćemo raditi |
| vi | radit ćete | … ćete raditi |
| oni/one/ona | radit će | … će raditi |
Sutra ćemo raditi cijeli dan, pa nas nemoj zvati.
Tomorrow we'll be working all day, so don't call us.
Imperative
i-class imperatives end in -i, -imo, -ite.
| Person | Form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ti | radi | work! / do (it)! |
| mi | radimo | let's work |
| vi | radite | work! (pl./formal) |
Radi što ti kažem, ne raspravljaj.
Do what I tell you, don't argue.
Conditional I (kondicional prvi)
bih-clitics + l-participle.
| Person | Form (masc.) |
|---|---|
| ja | radio bih |
| ti | radio bi |
| on/ona/ono | radio/radila/radilo bi |
| mi | radili bismo |
| vi | radili biste |
| oni/one/ona | radili bi |
Radio bih i vikendom da plaćaju bolje.
I'd work weekends too if they paid better.
Other forms
- Passive participle: rađen, rađena, rađeno ("done, made"). Note the đ: the i-class passive participle of a -d- stem regularly palatalises d → đ (the same jotation that gives mlad → mlađi). It is mostly used of products: ručno rađen "handmade".
- Present verbal adverb: radeći ("[while] working"), common in writing for backgrounded simultaneous action.
Ovaj namještaj je ručno rađen od hrastovine.
This furniture is handmade from oak. — passive participle 'rađen'.
Radeći u inozemstvu, naučio je tri jezika.
Working abroad, he learned three languages. — verbal adverb 'radeći'.
Key uses and government
1. "to work" — intransitive, with u / na / kao
In the "work" sense raditi is intransitive. Where you work takes a place phrase: raditi u + locative (institution), raditi na + locative (a project), raditi kao + nominative (a job title).
Radim u bolnici kao medicinska sestra.
I work in a hospital as a nurse. — 'u' + locative, 'kao' + nominative.
Radimo na novom projektu već mjesecima.
We've been working on a new project for months. — 'raditi na' + locative.
2. "to do" — transitive, with the accusative
In the "do" sense it takes a direct object in the accusative; Što radiš? ("What are you doing?") is the single most common spoken use.
Što radiš? — Ništa posebno, gledam seriju.
What are you doing? — Nothing special, I'm watching a show.
Radimo domaću zadaću zajedno.
We're doing our homework together.
3. "to function / run" — of machines
Raditi also means "to work" in the sense of a device functioning.
Ne radi mi internet, možeš li ti provjeriti?
My internet isn't working, can you check?
Ovaj sat više ne radi, treba mu baterija.
This clock doesn't work anymore, it needs a battery.
4. Idiom: raditi + a person doing well/badly
The phrase Kako radiš? informally asks how someone is doing / how business is going.
Kako ide posao? — Ne mogu se žaliti, radimo dobro.
How's business? — Can't complain, we're doing well.
Common Mistakes
❌ Oni radiju u tvornici.
Incorrect — the i-class 3pl is the bare -e: 'rade', not the a-class '-aju/-iju'.
✅ Oni rade u tvornici.
They work in a factory.
❌ Radim u bolnicu.
Incorrect — static location ('work at') needs the locative, not the accusative; 'u bolnici'.
✅ Radim u bolnici.
I work in a hospital.
❌ Radio sam zadaću za pet minuta.
Aspect clash — a completed result in a set time wants the perfective 'napravio/uradio'.
✅ Napravio sam zadaću za pet minuta.
I did the homework in five minutes.
❌ Raditi ću sutra od kuće.
Incorrect — before the future clitic the infinitive drops its -i: 'radit ću'.
✅ Radit ću sutra od kuće.
I'll work from home tomorrow.
❌ Ovaj stol je ručno radjen.
Spelling — the passive participle palatalises d → đ: 'rađen', not 'radjen' (in careful orthography).
✅ Ovaj stol je ručno rađen.
This table is handmade.
Key Takeaways
- Raditi is imperfective; perfectives are uraditi / napraviti depending on "do" vs "make".
- It is the model i-class verb: radim, radiš, radi, radimo, radite, rade — watch the bare -e in the 3pl.
- Three meanings: "work" (intransitive, u/na/kao), "do" (transitive, accusative — Što radiš?), and "function" (of devices).
- Passive participle rađen (note the đ); verbal adverb radeći; future radit ću.
- "Work at a place" is static → locative (u bolnici), not the accusative.
Now practice Croatian
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Start learning Croatian→Related Topics
- Present Tense: -i- VerbsA1 — The -im conjugation for many -iti and -jeti verbs.
- raditi/napraviti, raditi vs pravitiA2 — Doing and making.
- Locative: 'About' and Other UsesB1 — The o-locative for topics and the po/pri uses.
- The Passive Participle (trpni pridjev)B1 — The -n/-t participle for passives and resultant states.
- Verbal Aspect: The Big PictureA2 — Why nearly every verb comes in an imperfective/perfective pair.
- popravljati / popraviti (to repair/fix)B1 — The fixing pair — perfective 'popraviti' (popravim) and imperfective 'popravljati' (popravljam) — with the v→vlj jotation, the passive participle 'popravljen', and the reflexive 'popraviti se' (improve / clear up).