ELONIO
Log inSign up

The First 20 Verbs to Know

If you learn only twenty verbs well, choose these. They are the highest-frequency verbs in spoken Croatian, and between them they let you say where you are, what you have, what you want, what you can do, and what you are doing — the entire backbone of beginner conversation. There is a second, sharper reason to learn them as a set: the 1st person singular present is not predictable from the infinitive. Hoću, mogu, idem, jedem, pijem are all irregular or e-class surprises. The fastest path for a beginner is therefore not to learn rules first, but to memorise these twenty 1sg forms as whole words, the way you memorise vocabulary — then conjugate the rest by class once the forms are automatic.

The reference table

For each verb: the infinitive, the 1st person singular present (the form you must store), its conjugation class, and its aspect. Several of these double as auxiliaries or modals, marked in the notes.

Infinitive1sg presentClassAspectMeaning
bitisam / jesamirregularimpf.to be (also past-tense auxiliary)
imatiimam-a-impf.to have
htjetihoćuirregularimpf.to want (clitic 'ću' = future)
moćimoguirregularimpf.can, be able to
moratimoram-a-impf.must, have to
ićiidemirregular (e-)impf.to go
doćidođeme-pf.to come, arrive
raditiradim-i-impf.to work, to do
znatiznam-a-impf.to know
vidjetividim-i-impf./pf.to see
govoritigovorim-i-impf.to speak, to talk
rećikažeme-pf.to say (suppletive present)
jestijedeme-impf.to eat
pitipijeme-impf.to drink
živjetiživim-i-impf.to live
voljetivolim-i-impf.to love, to like
mislitimislim-i-impf.to think
gledatigledam-a-impf.to watch, to look
slušatislušam-a-impf.to listen
datidam-a- (irreg.)pf.to give

The four "engine" verbs

Biti, htjeti, moći and morati do more than describe actions — they combine with other verbs to build tenses and express necessity and possibility. Master these four first; nearly every sentence beyond the simplest leans on one of them.

Student sam, iz Zagreba sam.

I'm a student, I'm from Zagreb.

Hoću naučiti hrvatski ove godine.

I want to learn Croatian this year.

Ne mogu sada razgovarati, na sastanku sam.

I can't talk right now, I'm in a meeting.

Moram ići, kasnim na vlak.

I have to go, I'm late for the train.

Coming and going

Ići ("go") is imperfective and suppletive (idem); its perfective partner doći ("come/arrive") shares the -đ- stem (dođem). Together they cover most movement talk.

Idem na more ovo ljeto.

I'm going to the seaside this summer.

Dođi k meni večeras, gledamo film.

Come over to mine tonight, we're watching a film.

Having, doing, knowing

Imam dva brata i jednu sestru.

I have two brothers and one sister.

Što radiš za vikend?

What are you doing this weekend?

Znaš li gdje je najbliža ljekarna?

Do you know where the nearest pharmacy is?

Saying and seeing

Note reći ("say"), whose present is the suppletive kažem — there is no rečem in standard everyday speech; the imperfective partner govoriti ("speak/talk") covers ongoing talking.

Kažem ti, neće upaliti.

I'm telling you, it won't work.

Govorim malo engleski, ali ne baš dobro.

I speak a little English, but not very well.

Vidim te u ponedjeljak, onda.

I'll see you on Monday, then.

Eating, drinking, living, loving

These four are everyday workhorses. Jesti → jedem and piti → pijem are e-class; živjeti → živim and voljeti → volim are i-class despite their -jeti infinitives.

Jedem doručak u sedam.

I eat breakfast at seven.

Pijem puno vode ljeti.

I drink a lot of water in summer.

Živim u maloj garsonijeri u centru.

I live in a small studio flat in the centre.

Volim šetati uz more navečer.

I love walking by the sea in the evening.

Thinking, watching, listening, giving

Mislim da je ovo dobra ideja.

I think this is a good idea.

Gledam vijesti svaku večer.

I watch the news every evening.

Slušam glazbu dok kuham.

I listen to music while I cook.

Daj mi tu olovku, molim te.

Give me that pen, please. — perfective 'dati', here as a request/imperative.

💡
Notice how many "they look like one class but belong to another" verbs are in this top twenty: vidjeti → vidim and voljeti → volim (i-class, not e-class), jesti → jedem and piti → pijem (e-class with a stem you can't see in the infinitive), reći → kažem (suppletive). This is exactly why the smart move is to memorise the 1sg form, not to guess it.

How to actually learn these

Do not try to derive hoću from htjeti or idem from ići — you can't, and that is the point. Treat the 1sg present as the headword. Once idem, hoću, mogu, jedem, pijem, kažem are automatic, the other five forms of each verb come for free from the class endings you already know: i-class -im/-iš/-i/-imo/-ite/-e, e-class -em/-eš/-e/-emo/-ete/-u, a-class -am/-aš/-a/-amo/-ate/-aju. The twenty headwords plus three sets of endings get you the bulk of beginner Croatian.

Common Mistakes

❌ Ja htijem kavu.

Incorrect — the present of 'htjeti' is the irregular 'hoću', not a regular form.

✅ Hoću kavu.

I want a coffee.

❌ Ja idjem na posao.

Incorrect — 'ići' has the suppletive stem 'id-': idem, not *idjem.

✅ Idem na posao.

I go to work.

❌ Ja rečem ti istinu.

Incorrect — the everyday present of 'reći' is the suppletive 'kažem'.

✅ Kažem ti istinu.

I'm telling you the truth.

❌ Ja videm prijatelja.

Incorrect — 'vidjeti' is i-class: vidim, not *videm.

✅ Vidim prijatelja.

I see a/my friend.

❌ Ja piem sok.

Incorrect — 'piti' inserts a glide -j-: pijem, not *piem.

✅ Pijem sok.

I'm drinking juice.

Key Takeaways

  • These twenty verbs cover the core of beginner conversation; learn them before any others.
  • The 1sg present is unpredictable from the infinitive, so memorise it as the headword (hoću, mogu, idem, jedem, pijem, kažem).
  • Once the 1sg is automatic, the rest of each paradigm follows from the three class endings.
  • biti, htjeti, moći, morati are "engine" verbs that build other tenses and express necessity/possibility — prioritise them.

Now practice Croatian

Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.

Start learning Croatian→

Related Topics