radovati se / obradovati se (to look forward / be glad) | Croatian Grammar

Radovati se is the everyday Croatian verb for both "to look forward to" and "to be glad / rejoice" — two English ideas that share one verb here. It governs the dative: Radujem se ljetu ("I'm looking forward to summer"). That dative is the single biggest trap, because "look forward to" makes English speakers expect a preposition, and "be glad about" makes them expect o or za — but Croatian simply puts the thing in the dative. There's also a stem surprise: the infinitive radovati has the -ova- shape, so the present runs on -uje- (radujem se), exactly like kupovati → kupujem. This is among the most useful B1 verbs to get fully right.

Aspect

Verb	Aspect	Present 1sg	Sense
radovati se	imperfective	radujem se	to look forward / be glad (state)
obradovati se	perfective	obradujem se	to be gladdened / rejoice (the moment)

The everyday verb is the imperfective radovati se — looking forward to something and being glad are ongoing states, so the imperfective dominates. The perfective obradovati se (prefix o-) marks the moment joy arrives: Obradovao se poklonu ("He was delighted by the gift / the gift made him happy"). See verb government overview.

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"Look forward to" is the trap. English wires it as verb + "to" + a thing/gerund; Croatian uses radovati se + dative — no preposition, no infinitive. Radujem se putovanju = "I'm looking forward to the trip." If the thing is an action, use radujem se što… or radujem se da ću…, never a bare infinitive.

The present stem: -ova- → -uje-

This is the formal surprise of the verb. The infinitive radovati contains -ova-, but the present drops it and inserts -uje-: radujem se, not radovam se. This is the same swap as kupovati → kupujem, putovati → putujem, darovati → darujem — a regular and very common Croatian pattern.

Person	radovati se (impf)	obradovati se (pf)
ja	radujem se	obradujem se
ti	raduješ se	obraduješ se
on/ona/ono	raduje se	obraduje se
mi	radujemo se	obradujemo se
vi	radujete se	obradujete se
oni/one/ona	raduju se	obraduju se

Radujem se ljetu, jedva čekam more.

I'm looking forward to summer, I can't wait for the sea. — dative 'ljetu', present 'radujem'.

Djeca se raduju snijegu kao da ga prvi put vide.

The kids are thrilled about the snow as if they're seeing it for the first time. — dative 'snijegu', 3pl 'raduju'.

The l-participle

The l-participle keeps the -ova- of the infinitive: masculine radovao se (vocalised -l), feminine radovala se.

Gender / number	radovati se	obradovati se
masculine singular	radovao se	obradovao se
feminine singular	radovala se	obradovala se
neuter singular	radovalo se	obradovalo se
masculine plural	radovali se	obradovali se
feminine plural	radovale se	obradovale se
neuter plural	radovala se	obradovala se

Perfect tense (perfekt)

Clitic biti + l-participle, se in the cluster. Note the participle is radovao (-ova-), not raduo.

Person	Masculine subject	Feminine subject
ja	radovao sam se	radovala sam se
ti	radovao si se	radovala si se
on / ona	radovao se	radovala se
mi	radovali smo se	radovale smo se
vi	radovali ste se	radovale ste se
oni / one	radovali su se	radovale su se

Toliko sam se radovala tom putovanju, a sve je propalo.

I was so looking forward to that trip, and it all fell through. — feminine, imperfective for the prolonged anticipation.

Baka se jako obradovala kad smo došli nenajavljeni.

Grandma was overjoyed when we came unannounced. — perfective 'obradovati se', the moment of joy.

Future I (futur prvi)

The infinitive drops its final -i before the clitic: radovat ću se, obradovat ću se — never "radovati ću se".

Person	radovati se	obradovati se
ja	radovat ću se	obradovat ću se
ti	radovat ćeš se	obradovat ćeš se
on/ona/ono	radovat će se	obradovat će se
mi	radovat ćemo se	obradovat ćemo se
vi	radovat ćete se	obradovat ćete se
oni/one/ona	radovat će se	obradovat će se

Radovat ćemo se svakom tvom dolasku.

We'll look forward to every visit of yours.

Imperative

The imperative is built on the -uj- present stem: raduj se ("rejoice / be glad"). It is a warm, often celebratory form.

Person	radovati se (impf)	obradovati se (pf)
ti	raduj se	obraduj se
mi	radujmo se	obradujmo se
vi	radujte se	obradujte se

Raduj se životu dok možeš, brzo prolazi.

Rejoice in life while you can, it goes by fast. — imperative 'raduj se' + dative 'životu'.

Conditional I (kondicional prvi)

bih-clitics + l-participle, se in the cluster.

Person	radovati se (masc.)
ja	radovao bih se
ti	radovao bi se
on/ona/ono	radovao/radovala/radovalo bi se
mi	radovali bismo se
vi	radovali biste se
oni/one/ona	radovali bi se

Radovao bih se i maloj pomoći, ne tražim mnogo.

I'd be glad of even a little help, I'm not asking for much.

Other forms

Verbal adverb (imperfective): radujući se ("[while] looking forward / rejoicing"), built on the -uj- stem and common in writing: Radujući se susretu, krenula je ranije ("Looking forward to the meeting, she set off early").
Related adjective/noun: radostan ("joyful"), radost ("joy") — the root sense of joy. Note the parallel with the formula Drago mi je ("I'm glad", lit. "it is dear to me"), a dative-experiencer construction that overlaps in meaning.

Radujući se odmoru, već je počela pakirati.

Looking forward to the holiday, she'd already started packing. — verbal adverb 'radujući se'.

Key uses and government

1. radovati se + dative — "look forward to / be glad of"

The thing you look forward to or are glad about goes in the dative. No preposition. This is the same dative-object behaviour as čuditi se and smijati se; see dative with verbs and adjectives.

Radujem se vikendu kao malo dijete.

I'm looking forward to the weekend like a little kid. — dative 'vikendu'.

Svi se radujemo tvojem povratku.

We're all looking forward to your return. — dative 'tvojem povratku'.

2. radovati se što… / da ću… — "be glad that / look forward to [an action]"

When what you're glad about is a whole situation, use što + clause ("glad that…"). When you look forward to a future action, use da ću / ćeš… + clause — never a bare infinitive, which is the English-driven error. For why Croatian often prefers a da-clause over the bare infinitive, see the infinitive.

Radujem se što ćemo se napokon vidjeti.

I'm glad / looking forward to finally seeing each other. — 'radovati se što' + future clause.

Radujem se da ću te uskoro upoznati.

I look forward to meeting you soon. — 'radovati se da ću' + clause, not a bare infinitive.

3. obradovati (nekoga) — transitive "to gladden someone"

Without se, the perfective obradovati is transitive and takes the accusative of the person made happy — "to gladden / delight someone". A common, warm verb for giving good news or a gift.

Tvoja poruka me jako obradovala.

Your message made me really happy. — transitive 'obradovati' + accusative experiencer 'me', no 'se'.

Common Mistakes

❌ Radovam se ljetu.

Wrong stem — '-ovati' verbs take the '-uje-' present: 'radujem se', not 'radovam se'.

✅ Radujem se ljetu.

I'm looking forward to summer.

❌ Radujem se na ljeto.

No preposition — 'radovati se' takes the bare dative: 'ljetu', not 'na + accusative'.

✅ Radujem se ljetu.

I'm looking forward to summer.

❌ Radujem se vidjeti te.

No bare infinitive — for a future action use a clause: 'radujem se što ću te vidjeti' / 'da ću te vidjeti'.

✅ Radujem se što ću te vidjeti.

I'm looking forward to seeing you.

❌ Radovati ću se tvom dolasku.

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

✅ Radovat ću se tvom dolasku.

I'll look forward to your visit.

❌ Radujem se za tebe.

Wrong frame for 'glad for you' — Croatian uses the dative ('drago mi je zbog tebe' / 'radujem se tvojem uspjehu'), not 'radovati se za'.

✅ Radujem se tvojem uspjehu.

I'm glad about your success.

Key Takeaways

radovati se (impf, radujem se, "look forward / be glad") vs obradovati se (pf, the moment of joy).
Governs the DATIVE — no preposition: radujem se ljetu. "Look forward to" = dative, the classic transfer trap.
Present stem -ova- → -uje-: radujem se (like kupujem), but l-participle keeps -ova-: radovao se.
For an action, use radovati se što / da ću…
- clause, never a bare infinitive.
Future drops -i: radovat ću se, never radovati ću se. Transitive obradovati + accusative = "gladden someone".

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