Describing Materials
To describe what an object is made of in Croatian, you don't use the material noun directly. Instead, you form a specific material adjective derived from the base noun.
| I see the master carving wood for the violin. | Vidim majstora kako rezbari drvo za violinu. |
The Suffixes -en, -ni, and -eni
To turn a material noun into an adjective, attach a suffix like -en, -ni, or -eni:
- drvo (wood) → drven (wooden)
- staklo (glass) → staklen (glass)
- koža (leather) → kožni (leather)
- bakar (copper) → bakreni (copper)
Like all adjectives, they must change their endings to agree with the gender, number, and case of the noun they modify.
| The master keeps the expensive liquid in a glass bottle. | Majstor čuva skupu tekućinu u staklenoj boci. |
| I need copper and silver for the details. | Trebam bakar i srebro za detalje. |
| The master uses a copper string, not a steel string. | Majstor koristi bakrenu žicu, a ne čeličnu. |
| A glass bottle breaks easily, but a leather bag is safe. | Staklena boca se lako razbije, ali kožna torba je sigurna. |
No Comparatives
Material adjectives are absolute—an object is either made of a certain material, or it isn't. Because of this, you cannot logically use them in comparative or superlative forms (for example, you cannot say an object is "more wooden" or "most steel" in standard Croatian).
| Do you really think a steel string can be 'more steel'? | Zar misliš da čelična žica može biti čeličnija? |
| It is simply steel, a material cannot be compared. | Ona je jednostavno čelična, materijal se ne može usporediti. |
You will only ever use material adjectives in their base, positive form, no matter how exquisite the material is.
| The master proudly builds wooden violins with copper parts. | Majstor s ponosom gradi drvene violine s bakrenim dijelovima. |
| He will not put silver or golden details on the violin. | Neće staviti srebrne ni zlatne detalje na violinu. |