Checking Your Vision
When it is time to check your vid (vision), you will usually visit an oftalmolog (ophthalmologist) and then an optičar (optician).
When expressing that you are going to see a professional, such as a doctor, Croatian typically uses the dative case without a preposition.
| I must go to the ophthalmologist, and then to the optician. | Moram ići oftalmologu, a zatim optičaru. |
| The ophthalmologist claims that my vision is weaker than before. | Oftalmolog tvrdi da je moj vid slabiji nego prije. |
Nearsightedness and Eye Charts
If you struggle to read things far away, you might have kratkovidnost (nearsightedness) and find yourself needing to žmirkati (squint) to clearly see the slova (letters) on the eye chart.
When stating the cause of an issue, use the preposition zbog (due to / because of) followed by the genitive case. To express doing something "without" an item, use the preposition bez, which also requires the genitive case.
| Due to nearsightedness, I cannot see the board. | Zbog kratkovidnosti ne mogu vidjeti ploču. |
| Can you read those letters without glasses? | Možete li čitati ta slova bez naočala? |
Corrections and Cases
You will eventually find out whether you are kratkovidan (nearsighted) or dalekovidan (farsighted), and the optician will suggest a specific korekcija (correction). To keep your new lenses safe, you will need a futrola (case) to provide zaštita (protection).
When you want to say "for the sake of," you can use the preposition radi with the genitive case. While most prepositions always come before the noun, radi is unique because it is often placed after the noun it modifies.
| I am farsighted, so I need a different correction. | Ja sam dalekovidan, pa trebam drugačiju korekciju. |
| You should carry the case everywhere for the sake of protection. | Trebao bi svugdje nositi futrolu zaštite radi. |
