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Croatian

### The Vocative Case and Palatalization

When you address someone directly in Croatian, you use the Vocative case. For most masculine nouns ending in a consonant, the Vocative ending is **-e**.

However, if the noun ends in **k**, **g**, **h**, or **c**, adding **-e** triggers a sound change known as palatalization:

- **k** → **č** 
- **c** → **č**
- **g** → **ž** 
- **h** → **š**

### The k → č Change

When a masculine noun ends in **-k**, the **k** changes to **č** before the Vocative **-e** ending. 

| Nominative | Vocative | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| **vojnik** | **vojniče** | soldier |
| **zapovjednik** | **zapovjedniče** | commander |
| **seljak** | **seljače** | peasant |

Here is how you use these forms to call out or speak directly to someone:

{{item:1081527}}

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{{item:1081533}}

### The c → č Change (and the Fleeting A)

Nouns ending in **-ac** also change before the **-e** ending. Crucially, these nouns almost always have a "fleeting a" (an **a** in the final syllable that drops out in all cases except the Nominative). 

For example, **starac** (old man) loses its **a** to become *starc-*, and then the **c** changes to **č** before the ending, resulting in **starče**.

{{item:1081536}}

{{item:1081551}}

### The g → ž and h → š Changes

When a noun ends in **-g** or **-h**, it shifts to **ž** or **š**, respectively.

- **drug** (comrade) → **druže**
- **siromah** (poor man) → **siromaše**

{{item:1081539}}

{{item:1081543}}

### More Examples in Action

You will see these rules apply to many other roles and titles, especially those ending in **-ik** (which change to **-iče**). 

{{item:1081545}}

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Vocative palatalization (-če, -že, -še)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

prep

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Singular pronouns and to be (sam, si, je)

Noun genders (-Ø, -a, -o/-e)

Demonstrative pronouns (ovaj, ova, ovo)

Plural pronouns and to be (smo, ste, su)

Masculine plural nouns (-i)

Feminine plural nouns (-e)

Neuter plural nouns (-a)

Full verb to be (jesam, jesi)

Negative verb to be (nisam, nisi)

Yes/no questions (je li)

Wh- questions (tko, gdje)

Formal vs informal address (ti vs Vi)

Regular present tense (-ati)

Regular present tense (-iti)

Regular present tense (-jeti)

Verb negation (ne)

The verb to have (imati / nemati)

Inanimate direct objects

Feminine direct objects (-u)

Plural direct objects (-e, -a)

Accusative pronouns (me, te, ga, ju)

Adjective agreement

Plural adjectives

Accusative adjectives

Numbers 1 to 10 (jedan, dva, tri)

The locative case (-u)

Feminine locative (-i)

The verb to go (ići)

Destination (u, na)

The genitive case (-a)

Accusative pronouns (nas, vas, ga, ih)

Animate masculine accusative (-a)

Adjective agreement for animate masculine (-og, -eg)

The verb can (moći)

The verb must (morati)

The verb to want (htjeti, hoću)

The future tense (ću/ćeš + infinitive)

The past tense: l-participle (radio, radila)

Past tense word order (Prvo sam radio...)

Past tense with plural subjects (-li, -le, -la)

Feminine genitive singular (-e)

Possession and origin (od, iz)

Negative existence (nema)

Numbers 2, 3, and 4

Genitive plural (-a)

Numbers 11 to 20

Past tense negation (nisam)

Past tense questions (jeste li)

Dative singular

Dative pronouns (ti, mu, joj)

Past tense negation (nisam, nisi...)

Double object pronouns (mu ga, ti ju...)

Reflexive verbs (se)

Reflexive clitic word order

Commands and requests (radi, radite)

Plural demonstratives (ovi, ove, ova)

Possessive determiners (moj, naš, njegov)

Greetings (Dobar dan, doviđenja)

The body: Boli me glava

Directions (lijevo, desno, ravno)

There is, there are (ima)

Politeness (molim vas, hvala lijepa)

How you feel (Sviđa mi se)

Counting by tens to 100 (trideset, četrdeset...)

Quantifiers with the genitive case (malo, puno...)

Adjective agreement in the genitive singular (-og, -e)

Adjective agreement in the genitive plural (-ih)

Genitive prepositions (kod, do, bez...)

Asking what kind and which (kakav, koji)

Possessive determiners (njegov, njezin...)

Possessives in the accusative case

The reflexive possessive (svoj)

Indefinite pronouns (netko, nešto, neki)

Negative pronouns (nitko, ništa)

The verb to need (trebati)

Reciprocal verbs (se)

Introduction to verbal aspect

Perfective verbs with prefixes

Perfective verbs with stem changes

Irregular perfective verbs

Aspect in the past tense

Aspect in the future tense

Vehicular motion (voziti se, putovati)

Arrival and departure ('doći', 'otići')

Entering and exiting ('ući', 'izaći')

Singular accompaniment ('s', 'sa')

Question	Answer
soldier	vojnik
Soldier, did you see that castle behind the forest?	Vojniče, jesi li vidio onaj dvorac iza šume?
Soldier, you are brave, but that war is terrible.	Vojniče, hrabar si, ali taj rat je strašan.
commander	zapovjednik
Commander, the enemy is in front of the wall!	Zapovjedniče, neprijatelj je ispred zida!
This plan is bad, commander.	Ovaj plan je loš, zapovjedniče.
peasant	seljak
Peasant, do you have enough bread for everyone?	Seljače, imaš li dovoljno kruha za sve?
That soldier stole my beer, peasant.	Onaj vojnik ukrao je moje pivo, seljače.
old man	starac
Old man, can you show me the way toward the castle?	Starče, možeš li mi pokazati put prema dvorcu?
I am cold, old man.	Hladno mi je, starče.
comrade	drug
Comrade, did you stand in front of the king?	Druže, jesi li stao ispred kralja?
I will fight against you, comrade.	Borit ću se protiv tebe, druže.
poor man	siromah
I will help you, poor man.	Pomoći ću ti, siromaše.
Take this warm coat, poor man.	Uzmi ovaj topli kaput, siromaše.
herald	vjesnik
Herald, did you bring good news from the castle?	Vjesniče, jesi li donio dobre vijesti iz dvorca?
Why do you always arrive late, herald?	Zašto uvijek dolaziš kasno, vjesniče?
bandit	razbojnik
You are hiding behind the forest, bandit.	Skrivaš se iza šume, razbojniče.
I know that you stole the treasure, bandit.	Znam da si ukrao blago, razbojniče.
hunter	lovac
Hunter, I saw a bear next to the river!	Lovče, vidio sam medvjeda pored rijeke!
That wolf was fast, hunter.	Onaj vuk bio je brz, lovče.
traitor	izdajnik
Traitor, every word of yours is a lie!	Izdajniče, svaka tvoja riječ je laž!
Do you really think I will believe you, traitor?	Zar misliš da ću ti vjerovati, izdajniče?