The passive participle (trpni glagolski pridjev, "suffering verbal adjective") is the form behind napisan "written", otvoren "open(ed)", slomljen "broken". It does double duty: it builds the passive voice with biti (Pismo je napisano "The letter was written"), and it works as a full adjective in its own right (pročitana knjiga "a read book", otvorena vrata "an open door"). Two things make it worth real study: it agrees like any adjective in gender, number, and case, and its formation triggers Croatian's pervasive jotation — the same consonant changes you meet everywhere else in the language. Master it and you gain both a grammatical tool and a small factory for adjectives.
The three endings: -n, -en/-jen, -t
Every passive participle is built on the verb stem with one of two basic suffixes, -n- or -t-, plus the regular adjective endings. Which suffix a verb takes depends on its class, but the patterns are learnable.
-n verbs (the -ati / -irati type)
Verbs whose stem ends in -a simply add -n: take the infinitive, drop -ti, add -n + adjective ending.
| Infinitive | m. sg. | f. sg. | n. sg. |
|---|---|---|---|
| napisati (to write) | napisan | napisana | napisano |
| pročitati (to read) | pročitan | pročitana | pročitano |
| poslati (to send) | poslan | poslana | poslano |
| organizirati (to organise) | organiziran | organizirana | organizirano |
Pismo je napisano i poslano.
The letter has been written and sent. — neuter 'napisano', 'poslano' agreeing with 'pismo'.
Knjiga je već pročitana.
The book has already been read. — feminine 'pročitana' agreeing with 'knjiga'.
-en / -jen verbs (the -iti / -jeti / -sti type)
Verbs with stems in -i, -je, or a consonant typically take -en, and here the magic happens: the final stem consonant often undergoes jotation before the suffix. This is the same set of alternations you know from comparatives and noun cases.
| Infinitive | Change | m. sg. | f. sg. |
|---|---|---|---|
| otvoriti (to open) | none | otvoren | otvorena |
| vidjeti (to see) | d + j → đ | viđen | viđena |
| nositi (to carry) | s + j → š | nošen | nošena |
| baciti (to throw) | c + j → č | bačen | bačena |
| platiti (to pay) | t + j → ć | plaćen | plaćena |
| donijeti (to bring) | special | donesen | donesena |
Vrata su bila otvorena cijelu noć.
The door was open all night. — neuter pl. 'otvorena' agreeing with 'vrata'.
Nigdje ga nisam vidjela, ali bio je viđen u centru.
I didn't see him anywhere, but he was spotted downtown. — masc. 'viđen', from 'vidjeti' with d → đ.
Račun je već plaćen.
The bill is already paid. — masc. 'plaćen', from 'platiti' with t → ć.
The -lj-, -bl-, -pl- epenthesis (labial stems)
When the stem ends in a labial consonant (b, p, m, v) or in l, jotation inserts an epenthetic l, giving the cluster -lj-, -blj-, -plj-, -mlj-, -vlj-. This is the same l you see in zemlja, grm → grmlje, and it is extremely common in passive participles.
| Infinitive | Change | m. sg. | f. sg. |
|---|---|---|---|
| slomiti (to break) | m → mlj | slomljen | slomljena |
| kupiti (to buy) | p → plj | kupljen | kupljena |
| izgubiti (to lose) | b → blj | izgubljen | izgubljena |
| ostaviti (to leave) | v → vlj | ostavljen | ostavljena |
Telefon mi je slomljen, ekran je razbijen.
My phone is broken, the screen is shattered. — 'slomljen' (m → mlj), 'razbijen'.
Karte su kupljene, idemo na koncert.
The tickets are bought, we're going to the concert. — fem. pl. 'kupljene' (p → plj).
Ključevi su izgubljeni već tjedan dana.
The keys have been lost for a week now. — masc. pl. 'izgubljeni' (b → blj).
-t verbs (short monosyllabic stems)
A smaller class takes -t instead of -n, mostly short verbs in -iti, -uti, -eti whose stem is a single open syllable.
| Infinitive | m. sg. | f. sg. |
|---|---|---|
| popiti (to drink up) | popijen | popijena |
| uzeti (to take) | uzet | uzeta |
| početi (to begin) | započet | započeta |
| oprati (to wash) | opran | oprana |
Note that popiti actually surfaces as popijen (with -jen and an epenthetic j), while uzeti → uzet and započeti → započet take the bare -t. These short verbs are worth memorising individually.
Sva kava je popijena.
All the coffee has been drunk. — fem. 'popijena'.
Mjesto je već uzeto, žao mi je.
The seat is already taken, I'm sorry. — neuter 'uzeto'.
It agrees like a full adjective
This is the heart of the matter: the passive participle is an adjective, so it inflects for gender, number, AND case like dobar or velik. In a passive sentence with biti it agrees with the subject; used attributively it agrees with its noun in all cases.
Otvoreni prozori puštaju propuh.
The open windows let in a draught. — masc. pl. nominative 'otvoreni'.
Sjedila je kraj otvorenog prozora.
She was sitting by the open window. — masc. sg. genitive 'otvorenog'.
Pročitane knjige vrati u knjižnicu.
Return the read books to the library. — fem. pl. accusative 'pročitane'.
Three uses
1. The periphrastic passive (with biti)
Combine biti + the passive participle to form the analytic passive across tenses. The participle agrees with the subject; biti carries the tense.
Most je sagrađen 1962. godine.
The bridge was built in 1962. — past passive, masc. 'sagrađen'.
Odluka će biti donesena sutra.
The decision will be made tomorrow. — future passive, fem. 'donesena'.
More on the construction at the periphrastic passive. Note that Croatian often prefers the se-passive instead (Most se sagradio), covered at the se-passive.
2. Resultant-state adjective
Here the participle describes the state that results from the action, not the action itself — much like English "the door is open" versus "the door was opened". The same word otvoren covers both; context decides.
Vrata su otvorena, slobodno uđi.
The door is open, come on in. — a state, not an event: 'otvorena'.
Trgovina je zatvorena nedjeljom.
The shop is closed on Sundays. — resultant state 'zatvorena'.
3. The impersonal -no / -eno
The neuter singular form, used impersonally and agentlessly, is a favourite of officialese and signage. It states that something has been done without naming a doer — close to English "It is forbidden to…", "No smoking".
Zabranjeno je pušenje.
Smoking is forbidden. — impersonal neuter 'zabranjeno'.
Rečeno je da počinjemo u devet.
It was said that we start at nine. — impersonal 'rečeno'.
Sve je dogovoreno.
Everything's been arranged. — neuter 'dogovoreno', a settled result.
Common Mistakes
❌ Knjiga je napisan.
Incorrect — the participle must agree: 'knjiga' is feminine, so 'napisana'.
✅ Knjiga je napisana.
The book was written. — feminine agreement.
❌ Telefon je slomen.
Incorrect — labial 'm' takes the epenthetic 'l': 'slomljen'.
✅ Telefon je slomljen.
The phone is broken. — 'slomljen' with -mlj-.
❌ Račun je platen.
Incorrect — 't' jotates to 'ć' before -en: 'plaćen'.
✅ Račun je plaćen.
The bill is paid. — 'plaćen' with t → ć.
❌ Vrata su otvoren.
Incorrect — 'vrata' is neuter plural, so neuter plural 'otvorena'.
✅ Vrata su otvorena.
The door is open. — neuter plural agreement.
❌ Sjedila je kraj otvoreni prozor.
Incorrect — after 'kraj' (genitive) the participle declines: 'otvorenog prozora'.
✅ Sjedila je kraj otvorenog prozora.
She sat by the open window. — genitive agreement.
Key Takeaways
- The passive participle is formed with -n / -en/-jen or -t on the verb stem; the -en suffix usually triggers jotation.
- Labial and l stems insert an epenthetic l: slomljen, kupljen, izgubljen, ostavljen.
- It is a full adjective: it agrees in gender, number, and case (otvoreni prozori, otvorenog prozora, pročitane knjige).
- Three uses: the periphrastic passive (Pismo je napisano), the resultant-state adjective (Vrata su otvorena), and the impersonal -no/-eno (Zabranjeno je pušenje).
- The same jotation rules you know from comparatives and cases govern its spelling — learn them once, use them everywhere.
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Start learning Croatian→Related Topics
- The Periphrastic Passive (biti + participle)B1 — The 'be + done' passive, its agreement, and when Croatian actually uses it.
- The se-Passive and Impersonal ConstructionsB1 — Expressing 'one does / it is done' with se — the everyday Croatian passive.
- Jotation (jotacija)B2 — The consonant + j fusion behind comparatives, passive participles, and verbal nouns.
- Participles Used as AdjectivesB2 — Passive participles and lexicalised active participles in attributive use.
- Adjective AgreementA1 — How adjectives match nouns in gender, number, and case.
- The Active Past Participle as AdjectiveC1 — Using the l-participle and -vsi forms attributively.