tražiti / potražiti (to look for/seek) | Croatian Grammar

Tražiti ("to look for, to seek") is the verb of searching — and it carries the single most common government trap for English speakers. In English you "look for something"; in Croatian tražiti takes a bare accusative with no preposition at all: Tražim ključeve ("I'm looking for the keys"), never *tražim za ključeve. Burn that in early. The aspect partner is the prefixed perfective potražiti ("to go and look for, to look something up"), and the verb has a second, weightier sense — "to demand, to require" — which switches its frame to tražiti od + genitive. Throughout, remember the division of labour with naći: tražiti is the process, naći is the result.

Aspect

Verb	Aspect	Present 1sg	Typical use
tražiti	imperfective	tražim	looking for / searching (the process)
potražiti	perfective	potražim	one bounded act of going to look / looking up

Tražiti is imperfective at its core: searching is an ongoing activity, so the base verb naturally describes the process. The perfective potražiti adds the prefix po- with the sense "have a (single, bounded) look for / go and look something up" — a typical prefix-formed aspect pair. So tražim broj is "I'm searching for the number (right now / generally)", while potražit ću broj is "I'll go look the number up (one quick act)".

💡

The whole point of tražiti is that it is transitive with a direct object — there is no "for". English speakers reflexively insert za, but tražiti za is wrong. The thing sought is simply the accusative object: tražim posao, tražim te, tražim izlaz.

Present tense

Both are regular i-class verbs (the prefix doesn't change the endings).

Person	tražiti (impf)	potražiti (pf)
ja	tražim	potražim
ti	tražiš	potražiš
on/ona/ono	traži	potraži
mi	tražimo	potražimo
vi	tražite	potražite
oni/one/ona	traže	potraže

The imperfective tražim is the verb you actually want for "I'm looking for" in the present. The perfective potražim is not a "now" tense — it reads as a future or condition: Ako ga ne nađeš, potraži u ladici ("If you can't find it, have a look in the drawer").

Tražim posao u struci već pola godine.

I've been looking for a job in my field for half a year. — imperfective process, bare accusative 'posao'.

Potraži taj recept na internetu.

Look that recipe up on the internet. — perfective, a single bounded act.

The l-participle

Both are regular -iti verbs: tražio / tražila, potražio / potražila.

Gender / number	tražiti	potražiti
masculine singular	tražio	potražio
feminine singular	tražila	potražila
neuter singular	tražilo	potražilo
masculine plural	tražili	potražili
feminine plural	tražile	potražile
neuter plural	tražila	potražila

Perfect tense (perfekt)

Clitic biti + the l-participle. The imperfective tražio sam describes the ongoing search; the perfective potražio sam marks a single completed look.

Person	Masculine subject	Feminine subject
ja	tražio sam	tražila sam
ti	tražio si	tražila si
on / ona	tražio je	tražila je
mi	tražili smo	tražile smo
vi	tražili ste	tražile ste
oni / one	tražili su	tražile su

Tražila sam te posvuda, gdje si bio?

I was looking for you everywhere, where were you? — imperfective, the search itself.

Potražili smo te u dvorani, ali te nije bilo.

We had a look for you in the hall, but you weren't there. — perfective, one bounded act.

Future I (futur prvi)

Both drop the final -i: tražit ću, potražit ću.

Person	tražiti	potražiti
ja	tražit ću	potražit ću
ti	tražit ćeš	potražit ćeš
on/ona/ono	tražit će	potražit će
mi	tražit ćemo	potražit ćemo
vi	tražit ćete	potražit ćete
oni/one/ona	tražit će	potražit će

Potražit ću bolju ponudu prije nego što platim.

I'll look for a better offer before I pay.

Imperative

Imperfective traži! ("keep looking / look"); perfective potraži! ("go and look / look it up").

Person	tražiti (impf)	potražiti (pf)
ti	traži	potraži
mi	tražimo	potražimo
vi	tražite	potražite

Ne traži dlaku u jajetu, gotovo je dobro.

Don't nitpick (lit. don't look for a hair in the egg), it's good enough. — set phrase with 'tražiti'.

Conditional I (kondicional prvi)

bih-clitics + the l-participle.

Person	tražiti (masc.)
ja	tražio bih
ti	tražio bi
on/ona/ono	tražio/tražila/tražilo bi
mi	tražili bismo
vi	tražili biste
oni/one/ona	tražili bi

Ja bih tražio drugo mišljenje prije operacije.

I'd seek a second opinion before the surgery.

Other forms

Passive participle: tražen, tražena, traženo ("sought, in demand"). It doubles as a common adjective meaning "sought-after, popular": Ovaj je model jako tražen ("This model is in high demand"). The perfective gives potražen.
Verbal adverb: imperfective tražeći ("[while] looking for"). The perfective has no present adverb.

Stanovi u centru su sve traženiji.

Flats in the centre are more and more sought-after. — participle 'tražen' as an adjective.

Key uses and government

1. The thing sought: accusative, NO preposition

This is the headline rule. Tražiti governs a bare accusative direct object — there is no word for "for". English "look for X" maps onto Croatian "tražiti X". See the accusative direct object and verb government.

Tražim ključeve, jesi li ih ti negdje vidio?

I'm looking for the keys, have you seen them anywhere? — bare accusative, no 'za'.

Policija traži dvojicu osumnjičenika.

The police are looking for two suspects. — direct object in the accusative.

2. The "demand / require" sense: tražiti od + genitive

In the sense "to demand something from someone" or "to require", the person you demand from is marked with od + the genitive (tražiti od nekoga), while the thing demanded stays in the accusative. This is the genitive after a preposition with certain verbs.

Šef traži od nas da radimo vikendom.

The boss is demanding that we work weekends. — 'tražiti od' + genitive 'nas'.

Previše tražiš od sebe, odmori malo.

You demand too much of yourself, take a break. — 'tražiti od' + genitive 'sebe'.

3. tražiti (look for) vs naći (find)

Tražiti is the process; the result is naći ("find"). You keep tražiti until you nađeš. The two verbs share the accusative object, so the contrast is purely aspect-and-meaning, not government. See nalaziti / naći.

Dugo sam tražio prave riječi i napokon ih našao.

I searched a long time for the right words and finally found them. — process 'tražiti' → result 'naći'.

Common Mistakes

❌ Tražim za ključeve.

No preposition — 'tražiti' takes a bare accusative; English 'for' has no equivalent here.

✅ Tražim ključeve.

I'm looking for the keys.

❌ Cijeli dan sam te tražio i napokon te tražio.

Wrong verb for the result — once you succeed it's 'naći' (found), not 'tražiti' again.

✅ Cijeli dan sam te tražio i napokon te našao.

I looked for you all day and finally found you.

❌ Šef traži nas previše.

In the 'demand' sense the person goes in 'od' + genitive: 'traži od nas'.

✅ Šef traži previše od nas.

The boss demands too much of us.

❌ Potražim recept upravo sada.

Aspect error — the act in progress is the imperfective 'tražim'; 'potražim' can't mean 'right now'.

✅ Tražim recept upravo sada.

I'm looking for the recipe right now.

❌ Tražiti ću bolju ponudu.

Wrong future spelling — the infinitive drops its -i before the clitic: 'tražit ću'.

✅ Tražit ću bolju ponudu.

I'll look for a better offer.

Key Takeaways

tražiti (impf, tražim) = the process of looking; potražiti (pf, potražim) = one bounded act of going to look / looking up.
Headline rule: the thing sought is a bare accusative, no preposition — tražim ključeve, never *tražim za ključeve.
Second sense "demand / require": tražiti od
- genitive of the person (tražiti od nekoga), thing still accusative.
Future drops -i: tražit ću (never tražiti ću).
Tražiti is the process, naći is the result — you often need both in one sentence.

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