stizati / stići (to arrive / manage in time) | Croatian Grammar

Stići is one of the most useful verbs in spoken Croatian, and it leads a double life. Its first meaning is to arrive — to reach a destination. Its second meaning is to manage to / have time for — to get something done within the time available. The same verb covers "I've arrived" and "I can't get to everything", and which one you mean is decided entirely by what follows it: a place means arrive, an infinitive means manage. The pair is also a small phonology lesson: the perfective present is stignem (with a -gn-), while the imperfective present is stižem (with the g → ž softening).

Aspect

Verb	Aspect	Present 1sg	Typical use
stići	perfective	stignem	one completed arrival; managing one thing in time
stizati	imperfective	stižem	arriving (in progress); coping / keeping up; repeated

The perfective stići marks the single point of arrival or the single completed "I made it". The imperfective stizati covers the approach in progress (stižem! "I'm on my way / almost there!"), repeated arrivals, and — very commonly — the sense of keeping up with a workload (ne stižem "I can't keep up"). Note the stem split that surprises learners: perfective stign-, imperfective stiž-. See the aspect overview and the note on stem alternations.

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Two senses, one rule of thumb: stići + a place = "arrive" (stići u Zagreb); stići + an infinitive = "manage to / have time to" (stići doći "manage to come"). The context after the verb tells you which meaning is live.

Present tense

The big thing to drill is the perfective present stignem versus the imperfective present stižem — different stems, easy to confuse.

Person	stići (pf)	stizati (impf)
ja	stignem	stižem
ti	stigneš	stižeš
on/ona/ono	stigne	stiže
mi	stignemo	stižemo
vi	stignete	stižete
oni/one/ona	stignu	stižu

As always with a perfective, stignem is not a "right now" present — it has a future or conditional flavour: čim stignem, javim ti ("as soon as I get there / get a chance, I'll let you know"). For the act in progress you need the imperfective stižem.

Stižem za pet minuta, već sam blizu.

I'll be there in five minutes, I'm already close. — imperfective 'stižem', approach in progress.

Ako ranije završim, stignem i u trgovinu.

If I finish early, I'll manage the shop too. — perfective 'stignem', future flavour.

The l-participle

Note the masculine stigao (with the g preserved and the vocalised -l) versus the feminine stigla — the g stays throughout; it is not the stign- present stem.

Gender / number	stići	stizati
masculine singular	stigao	stizao
feminine singular	stigla	stizala
neuter singular	stiglo	stizalo
masculine plural	stigli	stizali
feminine plural	stigle	stizale
neuter plural	stigla	stizala

Perfect tense (perfekt)

Clitic biti + l-participle. The everyday "I've arrived" is the perfective stigao sam / stigla sam.

Person	Masculine subject	Feminine subject
ja	stigao sam	stigla sam
ti	stigao si	stigla si
on / ona	stigao je	stigla je
mi	stigli smo	stigle smo
vi	stigli ste	stigle ste
oni / one	stigli su	stigle su

Stigao sam, otvori mi vrata.

I've arrived, open the door for me. — masculine speaker, completed arrival.

Nismo stigli sve obaviti prije zatvaranja.

We didn't manage to get everything done before closing. — 'manage' sense + infinitive 'obaviti'.

Future I (futur prvi)

Stići ends in -ći, so — like ići ću and moći ću — the infinitive stays whole before the clitic: stići ću (never stignut ću, never stići-t ću). The imperfective stizati behaves normally: stizat ću.

Person	stići (pf)	stizati (impf)
ja	stići ću	stizat ću
ti	stići ćeš	stizat ćeš
on/ona/ono	stići će	stizat će
mi	stići ćemo	stizat ćemo
vi	stići ćete	stizat ćete
oni/one/ona	stići će	stizat će

Neću stići doći na vrijeme, krenuo sam prekasno.

I won't manage to get there on time, I set off too late. — negated future + 'manage' infinitive.

Imperative

Built on the perfective present stem stign-: stigni! ("get there! / make it!"). In practice it is most natural as an encouragement ("hurry up and make it") or in the negative warning nemoj zakasniti ("don't be late").

Person	stići (pf)	stizati (impf)
ti	stigni	stiži
mi	stignimo	stižimo
vi	stignite	stižite

Požuri, stigni na vlak u sedam!

Hurry up, make the seven o'clock train! — imperative 'stigni'.

Conditional I (kondicional prvi)

bih-clitics + l-participle — handy for the polite "would you manage to…?" request.

Person	Form (masc.)
ja	stigao bih
ti	stigao bi
on/ona/ono	stigao/stigla/stiglo bi
mi	stigli bismo
vi	stigli biste
oni/one/ona	stigli bi

Bi li stigao do pošte prije nego zatvori?

Would you manage to get to the post office before it closes? — polite conditional + 'manage' sense.

Other forms

Verbal adverb: imperfective stižući ("[while] arriving / keeping up"). The perfective has no present adverb.
No passive participle: both senses are intransitive (you arrive somewhere; you manage to do something), so there is no passive.

Key uses and government

1. Arrive: stići u / na + accusative

For the destination, stići takes the same two-case prepositions as other motion verbs: u or na + the accusative for the place you reach. The arrival is a completed point, so the perfective is the default.

Stigli smo u Split oko ponoći.

We arrived in Split around midnight. — 'u' + accusative destination.

Vlak iz Rijeke stiže na peron tri.

The train from Rijeka is arriving at platform three. — imperfective 'stiže' for an arrival in progress.

This overlaps with doći ("to come/arrive"); stići stresses reaching the goal and works well with travel and deadlines, while doći is the neutral "come". For the base motion verb see ići.

2. Manage to / have time for: stići + infinitive

This is the sense English most often misses. Stići + an infinitive means "to find the time / manage to do" something. Negated, it is the everyday complaint ne stignem ("I can't get to it / I'm swamped"). There is no preposition — the infinitive attaches directly.

Ne stignem sve danas, ostavit ću nešto za sutra.

I can't get to everything today, I'll leave some for tomorrow. — 'manage' + implicit infinitive.

Jesi li stigao pročitati onaj izvještaj?

Did you manage to read that report? — 'manage' + infinitive 'pročitati'.

3. Manage to (do) + accusative object

You can also pin the "manage" sense directly to a noun in the accusative, dropping the infinitive: ne stižem doručak ("I don't have time for breakfast"). See the accusative direct object.

Neću stići ručak, pojest ću nešto u hodu.

I won't have time for lunch, I'll grab something on the go. — 'manage' + accusative 'ručak'.

Common Mistakes

❌ Stižem do tebe sutra u podne.

Aspect error — a single, scheduled future arrival is the perfective: 'stići ću'. Reserve 'stižem' for the approach happening right now ('I'm on my way').

✅ Stići ću do tebe sutra u podne.

I'll get to you tomorrow at noon.

❌ Stignut ću na vrijeme.

Wrong future — '-ći' verbs keep the whole infinitive: 'stići ću', not '*stignut ću'.

✅ Stići ću na vrijeme.

I'll make it on time.

❌ Ne stižem da napravim sve.

Avoid the 'da' clause here; standard Croatian prefers the bare infinitive: 'ne stignem napraviti sve'.

✅ Ne stignem napraviti sve.

I can't manage to do everything.

❌ Stiknem za sat vremena.

Wrong present stem — the perfective present is 'stignem' (with -gn-), not '*stiknem'.

✅ Stignem za sat vremena.

I'll get there / make it within an hour.

❌ Stigo sam u Zagreb.

Spelling — the masculine l-participle is written 'stigao' (with -ao), not 'stigo'.

✅ Stigao sam u Zagreb.

I arrived in Zagreb.

Key Takeaways

stići (pf, stignem, stigao/stigla) vs stizati (impf, stižem, stizao) — mind the stem split: perfective stign-, imperfective stiž-.
Two senses, decided by what follows: place = arrive
(stići u Zagreb); infinitive = manage / have time to
(stići doći, ne stignem sve).
Destination = u / na + accusative. The "manage" sense takes a bare infinitive or an accusative object — no da, no preposition.
Future stays whole: stići ću (never stignut ću) — it's a -ći verb like ići ću.
Imperative stigni!; l-participle stigao / stigla (keep the g, write -ao).

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