In English, we often use "where" for both a static location ("Where are you?") and a destination ("Where are you going?"). In Croatian, these concepts require entirely different words:
- Gdje asks about a stationary location (where at).
- Kamo asks about a destination (where to).
| Where are you and where are you going? | Gdje si i kamo ideš? |
The Route: Kuda
When you want to know which way or which path someone is taking, use kuda. While kamo focuses on the final destination, kuda focuses on the route itself.
| I know where he is traveling to, but which way? | Znam kamo putuje, ali kuda? |
| Which way are we going to the center? | Kuda idemo u centar? |
Answering "Kuda": This Way and That Way
Just like Croatian points to objects based on distance, it has three distinct adverbs to answer kuda (which way). These indicate the path or side (strana) being taken:
- ovuda (this way, close to the speaker)
- tuda (that way, close to the listener)
- onuda (that way over there, far from both)
| We are going this way because the street is on this side. | Idemo ovuda jer je ulica na ovoj strani. |
When navigating, you might need to point out the right direction (pravac).
| That is not the right direction, we are not going that way! | To nije pravi pravac, ne idemo tuda! |
| We are not going that way, but this way. | Ne idemo tuda, nego ovuda. |
| We do not pass that way over there because the street is closed. | Ne prolazimo onuda jer je ulica zatvorena. |
Giving Directions: Passing Through
To describe a route, you will often use verbs meaning "to pass": the perfective proći (for a completed action of passing) or the imperfective prolaziti (for the continuous action of passing). You might need to instruct someone to pass an intersection or a pedestrian crossing (pješački prijelaz).
| You will pass the intersection and the pedestrian crossing. | Proći ćeš križanje i pješački prijelaz. |
Let's put it all together. Here is a sentence that perfectly demonstrates the difference between the location (gdje), the destination (kamo), and the path (kuda):
| I don't know where the bridge is, where we are going, and which way we are passing. | Ne znam gdje je most, kamo idemo i kuda prolazimo. |
