To express "What a...!" in Croatian, use the word kakav followed by a noun or an adjective-noun phrase. Because kakav acts like an adjective, it must agree with the gender and number of the noun it modifies.
Gender Agreement for "Kakav"
For masculine nouns, use kakav:
| What an incredible sight! The danger is greater. | Kakav nevjerojatan prizor! Opasnost je veća. |
For feminine nouns, use kakva:
| What a magnificent performance! | Kakva veličanstvena izvedba! |
For neuter nouns, use kakvo:
| What unexpected destruction! | Kakvo neočekivano uništenje! |
Exclaiming "How...!" with "Kako"
When you want to exclaim "How...!" (e.g., "How beautiful!", "How terrible!"), use the adverb kako. It can be used directly with an adverb or an adjective to form a short exclamation. Since kako is an adverb here, it never changes its form.
| How magnificent! | Kako veličanstveno! |
When building a full sentence (like "How amazing this performance is!"), kako is followed by the verb and the adjective describing the subject:
| How amazing this performance is! | Kako je čudesna ova izvedba! |
| How terrible this sight is! | Kako je užasan ovaj prizor! |
Combining Reactions
You can easily combine these two constructions to react to spectacles, performances, or sudden disasters.
| What a magnificent sight! How beautiful! | Kakav veličanstven prizor! Kako lijepo! |
| What a brilliant performance! How incredibly they dance! | Kakva briljantna izvedba! Kako nevjerojatno plešu! |
