Going and Coming (ići, doći, otići) | Croatian Grammar

Three verbs cover almost all your everyday talk about movement: ići ("to go"), doći ("to come / arrive"), and otići ("to leave / go away"). They form a clean little triad pointed in three directions — going in general, arriving here, and leaving from here. ići is the all-purpose imperfective "go"; doći and otići are its perfective directional partners. Good news for English speakers worried about Russian: Croatian does not make you choose between "go on foot" and "go by vehicle," so there is no manner pairing to memorise — ići does both. Add a destination with u or na + the accusative (Idem u školu — "I'm going to school"), throw in hajde ("come on!"), and you can already move yourself around in Croatian.

ići: the all-purpose "to go"

ići is the basic, imperfective verb of going. It is irregular and very frequent, so its present is worth knowing cold. Note that the stem is id- throughout: 1sg idem, 3pl idu.

Person	ići (present)
ja	idem
ti	ideš
on/ona/ono	ide
mi	idemo
vi	idete
oni/one/ona	idu

Idem u školu svaki dan biciklom.

I go to school every day by bike. — habitual 'idem'; no on-foot/by-vehicle split.

Kamo ideš tako rano?

Where are you going so early? — 'ideš' for movement in progress.

Idemo na plažu, jesi za?

We're going to the beach, you in? — 'idemo' + 'na' for a destination.

Because ići is imperfective, it covers both "I go (regularly)" and "I'm going (right now/soon)" — Croatian does not separate these the way English does. And there is no separate verb for going on foot versus by car: Idem u Zagreb vlakom ("I'm going to Zagreb by train") uses the very same ići. The means of transport is just added in the instrumental (biciklom, vlakom, autom).

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Forget the Russian-style worry about "go on foot" vs "go by vehicle." Croatian ići does both. The manner of travel, if you want to state it, goes in the instrumental: idem pješice ("I go on foot"), idem autom ("I go by car"). The verb stays ići either way.

Destination: ići + u / na + accusative

To say where you are going, use a preposition of direction — most often u ("to / into") or na ("to / onto") — followed by the accusative case. The accusative is the case of motion toward a goal; the same nouns would take the locative for static location.

Idem u grad poslijepodne.

I'm going into town this afternoon. — 'u' + accusative 'grad' for direction.

Sutra idemo na more.

Tomorrow we're going to the seaside. — 'na' + accusative 'more'.

Ide li ona na fakultet ove godine?

Is she going to university this year? — 'na' + accusative 'fakultet'.

The choice between u and na is partly fixed by the noun (u školu but na fakultet, u grad but na more) — see u vs na. The key grammar point is that direction = accusative: Idem u školu (going there, accusative) versus Sam u školi (being there, locative). For the case logic, see accusative of motion and direction.

doći: "to come / to arrive"

doći is the perfective "to come / arrive" — it views the motion as a single completed event of reaching a place. Its present (dođem, dođeš, dođe…) does not mean a plain present; as a perfective it points to a completed or future arrival.

Person	doći (present-perfective)
ja	dođem
ti	dođeš
on/ona/ono	dođe
mi	dođemo
vi	dođete
oni/one/ona	dođu

Došao sam prekasno, vlak je već otišao.

I arrived too late, the train had already left. (male) — past 'došao'.

Dođi k meni večeras.

Come over to mine tonight. — imperative 'dođi'.

Kad dođeš, javi mi se.

When you arrive, let me know. — perfective present 'dođeš' for a future arrival in a 'kad'-clause.

Notice the difference from ići: Idem describes being on the way or going as a rule; Došao sam reports the completed event of arriving. ići is the journey, doći is the arrival.

otići: "to leave / go away"

otići is the perfective "to leave / depart / go away" — the mirror of doći. It views the act of leaving a place as a single completed event. Its present is odem, odeš, ode…

Person	otići (present-perfective)
ja	odem
ti	odeš
on/ona/ono	ode
mi	odemo
vi	odete
oni/one/ona	odu

Otišao je bez pozdrava.

He left without saying goodbye. — past 'otišao'.

Moram otići prije devet.

I have to leave before nine. — infinitive 'otići'.

Idem, odoh!

I'm off, I'm out of here! — colloquial 'odoh' (aorist) for an immediate departure.

The little word odoh (literally an aorist "I went") is a common, breezy "I'm off!" as you head out the door — a nice piece of everyday idiom built on this verb.

The three-verb triad

The cleanest way to feel the system is to watch all three around one place — going, arriving, leaving:

Idem u kafić, dođi i ti kad stigneš, a Marko je već otišao kući.

I'm going to the café, you come too when you get there, and Marko has already left for home. — 'idem' (going) / 'dođi' (come/arrive) / 'otišao' (left).

Here idem is the journey (imperfective), dođi invites an arrival (perfective), and otišao reports a completed departure (perfective). English shifts between "go," "come," and "leave"; Croatian carries the same shifts plus the aspect — process vs completed event.

Verb	Aspect	Meaning	Present 1sg	Imperative (ti)
ići	imperfective	go (general / in progress)	idem	idi
doći	perfective	come / arrive	dođem	dođi
otići	perfective	leave / go away	odem	otiđi / odi

For the wider family of motion verbs and prefixed directionals, see ići and basic motion.

Present-for-future: Sutra idem…

With ići, the plain present very often expresses a planned future, exactly like English "I'm going to school tomorrow." Add a future time word and the present does the job:

Sutra idem u Zagreb na koncert.

Tomorrow I'm going to Zagreb for a concert. — present 'idem' for a scheduled future.

Sljedeći tjedan idemo na planinarenje.

Next week we're going hiking. — present 'idemo' with future meaning.

This is the most natural way to talk about upcoming plans with ići — you do not need the full future tense for a definite arrangement.

Imperatives and hajde

The imperatives are everyday: idi! ("go!"), dođi! ("come!"), and the very common hajde ("come on! / go on!") with its plural/inclusive hajdemo ("let's go!"). Hajde is an interjection-like form that urges action; it pairs naturally with these motion verbs.

Hajde, idemo, kasnimo!

Come on, let's go, we're late! — 'hajde' urging + 'idemo'.

Hajdemo na kavu poslije posla.

Let's go for a coffee after work. — inclusive 'hajdemo'.

Idi kući i odmori se.

Go home and rest. — imperative 'idi'.

In casual speech hajde is often shortened to ajde (and daj "come on" works similarly) — you will hear Ajde, idemo! constantly.

Common Mistakes

❌ Idem u školi.

Wrong — direction takes the accusative, not the locative.

✅ Idem u školu.

I'm going to school. — 'u' + accusative for direction.

❌ Dođem sutra u tri.

Off — the bare perfective present doesn't state a plain plan; use the future or 'kad'-clause.

✅ Doći ću sutra u tri.

I'll come tomorrow at three. — future of 'doći'.

❌ Idem doma jer sam umoran.

Off — for the completed act of leaving for home, use 'otići' (idem is just 'going').

✅ Idem kući jer sam umoran.

I'm going home because I'm tired. — 'kući' = '(to) home'; 'idem' is fine for the journey.

❌ Idem u Zagreb pješice vlakom.

Contradiction — pick one manner; don't combine 'on foot' and 'by train'.

✅ Idem u Zagreb vlakom.

I'm going to Zagreb by train. — manner in the instrumental 'vlakom'; verb stays 'ići'.

Key Takeaways

ići (idem, ideš, ide…) is the all-purpose imperfective "go" — no on-foot/by-vehicle split; manner goes in the instrumental (idem autom).
Destination = u / na + accusative: Idem u školu, Idemo na more (direction, not the locative of location).
doći (dođem…) = perfective "come / arrive"; otići (odem…) = perfective "leave / go away" — the directional partners of ići.
The plain present of ići readily means a planned future: Sutra idem u Zagreb.
Imperatives idi!, dođi!, and the everyday hajde / hajdemo ("come on / let's go") get you moving.

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