smjeti (may/be allowed) | Croatian Grammar

Smjeti ("to be allowed, may") is the permission modal — the verb behind Smijem li…? ("May I…?") and, crucially, Ne smiješ ("You mustn't / you're not allowed"). English buries permission inside "can" and "may", and buries prohibition inside "mustn't", so for an English speaker smjeti is less a vocabulary item than a habit to build: learn to reach for smjeti the moment the meaning is about rules and permission rather than physical ability (moći) or learned skill (znati). The negative ne smjeti is where it earns its keep — it is the standard Croatian way to say "mustn't".

Aspect

Smjeti is imperfective and has no aspectual partner. Permission, like ability, is a standing state rather than a completed event, so there is no perfective "smjeti". The complement infinitive can be of either aspect according to meaning.

Present tense

The present stem is smij- (the infinitive's je surfaces as ij before the endings), with regular endings -em, -eš, -e, -emo, -ete, -u. This is the form to memorise carefully, because smijem does not look like the infinitive smjeti.

Person	Form	Meaning
ja	smijem	I may / am allowed
ti	smiješ	you may
on/ona/ono	smije	he/she/it may
mi	smijemo	we may
vi	smijete	you may
oni/one/ona	smiju	they may

The negative is the two-word ne smijem, ne smiješ… (written separately, like ne mogu).

Smijem li otvoriti prozor?

May I open the window?

Ovdje se ne smije parkirati.

You're not allowed to park here. / No parking here. — impersonal 'ne smije se'.

Djeca smiju gledati film, ali samo do osam.

The kids may watch the film, but only until eight.

💡

Watch the spelling: the present has -ij- everywhere (smijem, smiješ, smije, smijemo, smijete, smiju), while the infinitive and l-participle keep -je- / -jela (smjeti, smio, smjela). This split is the ije/je alternation in action.

The l-participle

The participle stem is smje-, with the same ije/je shape as vidio/vidjela: masculine singular shortens to smio, everything else keeps je.

Gender / number	Form
masculine singular	smio
feminine singular	smjela
neuter singular	smjelo
masculine plural	smjeli
feminine plural	smjele
neuter plural	smjela

Note the adjective smion / smjela ("bold, daring") is a different word that happens to share this shape — context keeps them apart.

Perfect tense (perfekt)

Clitic biti + l-participle. In the past, smjeti means "was allowed to / was permitted".

Person	Masculine subject	Feminine subject
ja	smio sam	smjela sam
ti	smio si	smjela si
on / ona	smio je	smjela je
mi	smjeli smo	smjele smo
vi	smjeli ste	smjele ste
oni / one	smjeli su	smjele su

Kao klinci nismo smjeli izlaziti poslije mraka.

As kids we weren't allowed to go out after dark.

Nije smjela ništa reći dok istraga traje.

She wasn't allowed to say anything while the investigation was ongoing.

Future I (futur prvi)

The infinitive smjeti ends in -ti, so it drops the final -i before the clitic: smjet ću.

Person	Infinitive first	Clitic first
ja	smjet ću	… ću smjeti
ti	smjet ćeš	… ćeš smjeti
on/ona/ono	smjet će	… će smjeti
mi	smjet ćemo	… ćemo smjeti
vi	smjet ćete	… ćete smjeti
oni/one/ona	smjet će	… će smjeti

Kad napuniš osamnaest, smjet ćeš sam potpisati ugovor.

When you turn eighteen, you'll be allowed to sign the contract yourself.

Imperative

Like the other modals, smjeti has no natural imperative — you cannot command someone "be allowed!". To grant permission you simply use the present (Smiješ… "You may…") or the impersonal Smije se… ("One may…").

Slobodno uđi, smiješ sjesti gdje god želiš.

Come on in, you may sit wherever you like. — present grants permission.

Conditional I (kondicional prvi)

bih-clitics + l-participle — used for tentative permission and reproach ("you could have / you shouldn't have").

Person	Form (masc.)
ja	smio bih
ti	smio bi
on/ona/ono	smio/smjela/smjelo bi
mi	smjeli bismo
vi	smjeli biste
oni/one/ona	smjeli bi

Ne bi smio tako razgovarati s majkom.

You shouldn't talk to your mother like that. — conditional of reproach: 'ne bi smio'.

The negative conditional ne bi smio ("you shouldn't / you'd better not") is extremely common as a gentle warning.

Other forms

As a modal taking an infinitive complement, smjeti has no passive participle and no everyday verbal adverb.

Key uses and government

1. Permission: smjeti + infinitive

The core construction is smjeti + a bare infinitive. (The da-clause is colloquial; the western standard prefers the infinitive — see da + present vs the Infinitive.)

Smijem li te nešto pitati?

May I ask you something?

Pacijent još ne smije ustajati iz kreveta.

The patient isn't allowed to get out of bed yet.

2. The negative: ne smjeti = "mustn't / be forbidden"

This is the most important use. While English splits "may not" and "mustn't", Croatian funnels both prohibitions into ne smjeti. Ne smiješ is the standard way to tell someone something is forbidden.

Ne smiješ to nikome reći, obećaj mi.

You mustn't tell anyone that, promise me.

Na benzinskoj se ne smije pušiti.

You're not allowed to smoke at the petrol station.

3. ne smjeti vs ne moći vs ne morati

These three negatives are the classic minefield. Ne smijem = "I'm not allowed" (a rule forbids it). Ne mogu = "I can't" (I'm physically/circumstantially unable). Ne moram = "I don't have to" (no obligation). They are not interchangeable.

Ne smijem jesti orašaste plodove jer sam alergičan.

I mustn't eat nuts because I'm allergic. — a rule/risk forbids it: 'ne smijem'.

Ne mogu podići ruku iznad glave.

I can't raise my arm above my head. — physical inability: 'ne mogu'.

Ne moram danas raditi, slobodan sam.

I don't have to work today, I'm off. — no obligation: 'ne moram'.

For the full ability/permission cluster, see Ability and Permission: moći, smjeti, znati and the "can" cluster; for the obligation modal, morati.

Common Mistakes

❌ Smijem li platiti karticom? — pitam jer ne mogu gotovinom.

Wrong verb in the second clause — 'I'm not allowed' would be 'ne smijem'; 'ne mogu' means 'I'm unable'.

✅ Smijem li platiti karticom? Nemam gotovine.

May I pay by card? I don't have cash. — permission with 'smijem'.

❌ Ne možeš pušiti unutra.

Meaning slip — this says 'you're unable to smoke inside'. A prohibition needs 'ne smiješ'.

✅ Ne smiješ pušiti unutra.

You mustn't smoke inside.

❌ Smjem li ući?

Spelling — the present has -ij-: 'smijem', not '*smjem'.

✅ Smijem li ući?

May I come in?

❌ Ona nije smio ostati.

Agreement error — the participle must match a feminine subject: 'smjela'.

✅ Ona nije smjela ostati.

She wasn't allowed to stay.

❌ Ne smiješ da kasniš.

Substandard in the western norm — use a bare infinitive: 'Ne smiješ kasniti'.

✅ Ne smiješ kasniti.

You mustn't be late.

Key Takeaways

Smjeti is imperfective, no pair; present stem smij-: smijem, smiješ, smije, smijemo, smijete, smiju.
Spelling split: present -ij- (smijem) vs infinitive/participle -je- (smjeti, smio, smjela).
Core meaning is permission (Smijem li…? "May I…?"); the negative ne smjeti = "mustn't / forbidden".
Keep the three negatives apart: ne smijem (not allowed), ne mogu (unable), ne moram (don't have to).
Takes a bare infinitive; future smjet ću; the conditional ne bi smio is a common gentle warning.

Now practice Croatian

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

Start learning Croatian→