studirati / učiti (to study) | Croatian Grammar

English "study" hides a split that Croatian makes with two different verbs. Studirati means to be a university student of a field — to pursue a degree, to be enrolled, to "read" a subject in the British sense. Učiti is the day-to-day "study / cram / learn" — putting in the hours, getting something into your head. You studirate law for five years; you učite for tomorrow's exam tonight. Mixing them up is one of the most common B1 errors, so this page draws the line clearly and sends you to the full učiti / naučiti entry for that verb's own paradigm and aspect story.

A second thing to learn here: studirati is one of the big family of -irati verbs (loanword verbs: organizirati, informirati, telefonirati…), and these are bi-aspectual — one and the same form does duty as both imperfective and perfective, with context telling you which.

Aspect

Verb	Aspect	Present 1sg	Core sense
studirati	bi-aspectual	studiram	be a university student of; pursue a degree in
učiti	imperfective	učim	study, cram, learn (effort/process) — see its own page
naučiti	perfective	naučim	learn [and retain], master — see its own page

Studirati being bi-aspectual means it has no separate perfective partner: the single form studirati / studiram covers both "I study (ongoing)" and, in the right frame, "I (will) complete a course of study". In practice studirati is almost always used imperfectively — being a student is by nature an ongoing state — and when you need the clean perfective "finish university" you switch to završiti (završiti fakultet "to graduate"). The general behaviour of these verbs is on bi-aspectual and suppletive verbs; the broader logic is on aspect overview.

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The -irati verbs are a learner's friend: one form, both aspects, no pair to memorise. Studiram, organiziram, informiram — context (a "right now" reading vs a completed-result reading) does the work that a separate perfective would do in a native verb. The price is that studirati can't sharply mark "I finished my degree" on its own; for that you reach for završiti.

Present tense

Studirati is a regular a-class -irati verb (stem studira-, endings -m, -š, -∅, -mo, -te, -ju). For učiti (i-class), see its own entry.

Person	studirati (bi-asp.)	učiti (impf, for contrast)
ja	studiram	učim
ti	studiraš	učiš
on/ona/ono	studira	uči
mi	studiramo	učimo
vi	studirate	učite
oni/one/ona	studiraju	uče

Studiram medicinu na trećoj godini.

I'm studying medicine, I'm in my third year. — 'studirati' = enrolled in a degree.

Studiram pravo, ali večeras moram učiti za kolokvij.

I study law, but tonight I have to study for the test. — the whole contrast in one sentence.

The l-participle

Regular for an -irati verb: stem studira- + endings. Masculine studirao shows the vocalised -l.

Gender / number	studirati
masculine singular	studirao
feminine singular	studirala
neuter singular	studiralo
masculine plural	studirali
feminine plural	studirale
neuter plural	studirala

Perfect tense (perfekt)

Clitic biti + l-participle. Because studirati is bi-aspectual, studirao sam can read as "I studied / used to study (at uni)" or, in context, "I studied [a full course]". For "I graduated" the idiomatic choice is završio sam fakultet.

Person	Masculine subject	Feminine subject
ja	studirao sam	studirala sam
ti	studirao si	studirala si
on / ona	studirao je	studirala je
mi	studirali smo	studirale smo
vi	studirali ste	studirale ste
oni / one	studirali su	studirale su

Studirala je u Zagrebu, a magistrirala u Beču.

She studied in Zagreb and did her master's in Vienna. — past enrolment, feminine subject.

Future I (futur prvi)

Studirati → studirat ću (drops -i). Never write studirati ću.

Person	studirati
ja	studirat ću
ti	studirat ćeš
on/ona/ono	studirat će
mi	studirat ćemo
vi	studirat ćete
oni/one/ona	studirat će

Iduće godine studirat ću u inozemstvu na razmjeni.

Next year I'll study abroad on an exchange.

Imperative

a-class imperatives end in -aj, -ajmo, -ajte. Studiraj is uncommon as a command (you don't usually order someone to be a student), but it appears in advice.

Person	studirati
ti	studiraj
mi	studirajmo
vi	studirajte

Studiraj ono što te stvarno zanima, ne ono što drugi žele.

Study what really interests you, not what others want. — advice with the imperative.

Other forms

Passive participle: studiran is rare — a degree subject is "studied at" rather than "studied" as an object, so you seldom need it. The related adjective studiozan ("studious, thorough") is a separate word, not a participle of this verb.
Verbal adverb: studirajući ("[while] studying at university"): Studirajući, radio je honorarno "While at university, he worked part-time".
Noun to know: studij "(a course of) study, a degree programme", student / studentica "(university) student". Učenik / učenica is a school pupil — another place the studirati / učiti split surfaces in the vocabulary.

Studirajući u drugom gradu, naučio sam se snalaziti sam.

Studying in another city, I learned to fend for myself. — verbal adverb 'studirajući'.

Key uses and government

1. studirati + accusative — "study [a field] at university"

The field of study takes the accusative, with no preposition: studirati pravo, medicinu, informatiku, povijest. See the accusative direct object and the overview of verb government.

Brat studira arhitekturu, a ja ekonomiju.

My brother studies architecture, and I study economics. — accusative fields.

2. studirati + place — "study at / in"

For the institution use na + locative (na fakultetu, na Filozofskom), and for the city u + locative (u Splitu). You can also say it intransitively: Studiram u Rijeci "I study in Rijeka".

Studira na Medicinskom fakultetu u Zagrebu.

She studies at the Faculty of Medicine in Zagreb.

3. učiti vs studirati — the core split

This is the whole point of the page. Učiti = the act of studying/learning (cramming for a test, learning a skill); studirati = being a university student of a subject. You can studirati pravo for years and on any given night učiti for one exam. Reach for učiti whenever there is effort, repetition, or a specific thing to get into your head; reach for studirati only for the university enrolment. The verb učiti has its own full entry with conjugation.

Ne studiram engleski, samo ga učim u školi stranih jezika.

I don't study English at university, I just learn it at a language school. — 'učiti', not 'studirati'.

Studira psihologiju, ali ovaj tjedan uči samo statistiku.

She's studying psychology, but this week she's only studying statistics. — degree (studirati) vs cramming one subject (učiti).

4. završiti fakultet — "to graduate"

Croatian has no single verb "to graduate"; the everyday phrase is završiti fakultet / studij ("finish university / one's studies"), perfective. Diplomirati (another -irati verb) means specifically "to take one's degree / defend one's thesis". See završiti.

Završila je fakultet s odličnim uspjehom.

She graduated with top marks. — 'završiti fakultet' for 'graduate'.

Common Mistakes

❌ Studiram za ispit večeras.

False friend — 'studirati' = be enrolled at university; for cramming use 'učiti'.

✅ Učim za ispit večeras.

I'm studying for the exam tonight.

❌ Učim pravo na fakultetu.

For 'read law / be a law student' use 'studirati': 'studiram pravo'.

✅ Studiram pravo na fakultetu.

I study law at university.

❌ Studiram svirati gitaru.

Learning a skill is 'učiti', never 'studirati': 'učim svirati gitaru'.

✅ Učim svirati gitaru.

I'm learning to play the guitar.

❌ Studirao sam fakultet prošle godine.

To say 'I graduated' use the perfective 'završiti': 'završio sam fakultet'.

✅ Završio sam fakultet prošle godine.

I graduated last year.

❌ Studirati ću medicinu.

The infinitive must drop its -i before the clitic: 'studirat ću', never 'studirati ću'.

✅ Studirat ću medicinu.

I'll study medicine.

Key Takeaways

studirati (studiram, studirao) = be a university student of a field; učiti = study/cram/learn (see its own page). Don't confuse them.
Studirati is bi-aspectual — one form for both aspects, like all -irati loan verbs (organizirati, informirati). It has no separate perfective.
Government: accusative field (studirati pravo); na
- locative for the institution (na fakultetu).
For "graduate", use završiti fakultet / studij (or diplomirati) — studirati can't carry that on its own.
Future drops -i: studirat ću (never studirati ću).

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