Volition and Wishes: htjeti, željeti, voljeti | Croatian Grammar

To say what you want in Croatian, you have a small ladder of verbs that climb from blunt to polished: htjeti ("want"), željeti ("wish, desire" — a touch more formal), and the conditional htio/htjela bih or volio/voljela bih ("would like"). Two things make this area genuinely tricky for English speakers. First, htjeti leads a double life — it is both the everyday "want" and the future auxiliary, so the same word means "I want" and "I will" depending on its shape. Second, bare hoću ("I want") is far blunter in Croatian than "I want" is in English; an adult ordering coffee says Htio bih ("I'd like"), not Hoću. Getting the politeness register right matters as much as getting the verb right.

htjeti: "want" (and its double life)

Htjeti is the core "want" verb. As we saw on biti and htjeti: the two auxiliaries, it has a full form (hoću, the lexical "want"), a clitic form (ću, the future auxiliary), and a fused negative (neću).

Person	Full ("want")	Negative
ja	hoću	neću
ti	hoćeš	nećeš
on/ona/ono	hoće	neće
mi	hoćemo	nećemo
vi	hoćete	nećete
oni/one/ona	hoće	neće

The full hoću takes a noun object (in the accusative), an infinitive, or a da-clause.

Hoću kavu s mlijekom.

I want a coffee with milk. — object (accusative).

Hoćeš li ići s nama u kino?

Do you want to go to the cinema with us? — infinitive.

Neću da ideš sam, prekasno je.

I don't want you to go alone, it's too late. — 'da'-clause: wanting someone else to act.

Watch the double life carefully. Hoću raditi means "I want to work"; Radit ću means "I will work." Same verb, different shape, different meaning. The full hoću is "want"; the clitic ću (which leans on another word and slots into second position) is the future.

Hoću raditi, ali danas sam preumoran.

I want to work, but today I'm too tired. — 'hoću' = want.

Radit ću cijeli vikend.

I'll work all weekend. — 'ću' = future auxiliary.

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One verb, two jobs: full hoću / hoćeš / hoće… means "want," while the clitic ću / ćeš / će… builds the future. Hoću jesti = "I want to eat"; Jest ću = "I will eat." If the form is stressed and stands on its own, it's "want"; if it's a little unstressed clitic leaning on the verb, it's the future.

Wanting someone else to do something: da + present

English uses an infinitive across a subject change — "I want you to go." Croatian cannot do that. When the wanter and the doer are different people, you must switch to a da-clause with a present-tense verb: Hoću da ideš ("I want you to go," literally "I want that you go"). With the same subject, the infinitive is fine.

Hoću ići.

I want to go. — same subject: infinitive.

Hoću da ti ideš.

I want you to go. — different subject: 'da' + present.

Roditelji žele da djeca studiraju.

The parents want the children to study. — different subjects: 'da' + present.

This da-versus-infinitive split applies to all the volition verbs and is covered fully on da + present vs the infinitive.

željeti: "wish, desire" (more formal)

Željeti overlaps with htjeti but sits one notch higher in register — more considered, more polite, more "wish" than "want." It is the verb of greetings, good wishes, and formal requests, and it famously takes a dative + accusative pattern: you wish something (accusative) to someone (dative).

Person	željeti (present)
ja	želim
ti	želiš
on/ona/ono	želi
mi	želimo
vi	želite
oni/one/ona	žele

Želim vam puno sreće u novoj godini.

I wish you lots of luck in the new year. — dative 'vam' + genitive 'sreće' (the quantifier 'puno' takes the genitive).

Što želite naručiti?

What would you like to order? — 'željeti' is the polite waiter's verb.

Želimo ti sve najbolje.

We wish you all the best. — the standard good-wishes formula.

In a shop, restaurant, or office, Želite li…? ("Would you like…?") is noticeably more courteous than Hoćete li…?, much as English "Would you like" outranks "Do you want."

The polite "would like": htio bih / volio bih

This is the register move that separates a learner from someone who sounds natural. The blunt Hoću kavu ("I want coffee") is fine among close friends but sounds curt, even childish, in a café or with strangers. The polished form is the conditional: htio bih ("I would like") or, equally common, volio bih (literally "I would love/like"). Because both are built on the l-participle, they agree in gender and number — see Conditional I.

Speaker	"I would like" (htjeti)	"I would like" (voljeti)
male	htio bih	volio bih
female	htjela bih	voljela bih
plural (we)	htjeli bismo	voljeli bismo

Htio bih jednu veliku kavu, molim.

I'd like one large coffee, please. — male speaker, polite request.

Voljela bih otputovati u Japan jednog dana.

I'd love to travel to Japan one day. — female speaker, a softened wish.

Htjeli bismo rezervirati stol za dvoje.

We'd like to reserve a table for two. — polite plural.

Another fully polite route is Mogu li dobiti…? ("Can I have…?"), which sidesteps "want" entirely.

Mogu li dobiti čašu vode, molim?

Can I have a glass of water, please? — a polite request without 'want'.

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The wanting ladder, from blunt to gracious: Hoću kavu (blunt — friends only) → Želim kavu (more polite) → Htio/Htjela bih kavu / Volio/Voljela bih kavu ("I'd like," polite) → Mogu li dobiti kavu? ("Could I have," very polite). For ordering and requests with strangers, climb to at least the third rung.

voljeti vs sviđati se: "like" and "love"

English "like" hides another split. voljeti is enduring affection or preference — to love, or to like as a settled taste. sviđati se is "to be pleasing," a more momentary or first-impression liking, and crucially it is a dative experiencer construction: the thing liked is the subject, and the liker is in the dative (Sviđa mi se, literally "it is pleasing to me"). For a one-off reaction, Croatian uses sviđa mi se, not volim.

Volim te.

I love you. — deep, enduring affection: 'voljeti'.

Volim čitati prije spavanja.

I like reading before bed. — a settled habit/taste: 'voljeti'.

Sviđa mi se tvoja nova frizura.

I like your new haircut. — a fresh reaction, dative experiencer: 'sviđa mi se'.

Sviđa li ti se ovaj film?

Do you like this film? — asking about the impression it makes.

So Volim ovaj grad means "I love this city" (a deep, settled feeling), while Sviđa mi se ovaj grad means "I like this city" (it appeals to me, perhaps on first acquaintance). The full contrast lives on voljeti vs sviđati se.

Common Mistakes

❌ Hoću da kavu.

Wrong — with a plain object you don't need 'da'; just take the accusative.

✅ Hoću kavu. / Htio bih kavu.

I want / I'd like a coffee. — object in the accusative.

❌ Hoću te ići.

Wrong — across a subject change you need 'da' + present, not an infinitive.

✅ Hoću da ideš.

I want you to go. — different subject: 'da' + present.

❌ Volim tvoju novu frizuru.

Odd for a fresh reaction — sounds like deep love of the haircut.

✅ Sviđa mi se tvoja nova frizura.

I like your new haircut. — a momentary liking is 'sviđa mi se'.

❌ Htjela bih kavu.

Incorrect if a man is speaking — the participle must agree in gender.

✅ Htio bih kavu.

I'd like a coffee. — 'htio' for a male speaker.

Key Takeaways

htjeti = "want" (full hoću), but the clitic ću is the future — the same verb does both jobs.
Wanting someone else to act needs da + present (Hoću da ideš), never a cross-subject infinitive.
željeti ("wish, desire") is more formal and powers good wishes with dative + accusative (Želim vam sreću).
The polite "I'd like" is the conditional htio/htjela bih or volio/voljela bih, which agrees in gender; bare hoću is blunt for requests.
"Like" splits: enduring voljeti (Volim te) vs momentary, dative sviđa mi se (Sviđa mi se).

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