Applying for a university grant means proving you meet specific academic criteria. You will often need to talk about minimum requirements—whether it's the number of credits you have earned or the recommendations you have collected.
The Particle "barem"
To express "at least" in Croatian, use the particle barem. As a restrictive particle, it highlights the absolute minimum expectation. It is typically placed immediately before the word or phrase it applies to, which is most commonly a number or quantity.
| The grant requires at least thirty credits in one semester. | Stipendija zahtijeva barem trideset bodova u jednom semestru. |
The Short Form "bar"
You will also frequently encounter the shorter form bar. It means exactly the same thing as barem, and the two can be used completely interchangeably.
| The new grant asks for at least one recommendation for academic work. | Nova stipendija traži bar jednu preporuku za akademski rad. |
Scope and Placement
The placement of barem and bar is highly specific: their restrictive meaning applies strictly to the phrase that immediately follows them. While they are usually placed before numbers, they can also sit right before an adjective or noun to set a baseline quality expectation.
| We had to prove high attendance, in other words, at least eighty hours. | Visoku smo prisutnost morali dokazati, drugim riječima, barem osamdeset sati. |
| A multitude of students want the grant, but you need at least one extracurricular project. | Mnoštvo studenata želi stipendiju, ali trebate bar jedan izvannastavni projekt. |
| Your mentor has to send at least a short recommendation at the end. | Tvoj mentor mora na kraju poslati barem kratku preporuku. |
Expressing Wishes with "bar"
Beyond establishing minimum academic requirements, bar (and sometimes barem) is also heavily used alongside the conditional to express a strong wish or hypothetical desire, translating to "if only".
| If only they had that academic result, the grant would be certain. | Kad bi bar imali taj akademski rezultat, stipendija bi bila sigurna. |
