Learn Croatian: Je li novi šef iz Njemačke? - Is the new boss from Germany?

The preposition iz (from) always requires the noun that follows it to be in the genitive case. For feminine nouns that end in -a like Njemačka, the ending changes to -e in the genitive case.

Both iz and od can mean 'from'. Why do we use iz here?

We use iz when talking about origin, such as what country, city, or enclosed place someone comes from. You use od when talking about coming away from a person, or starting from a specific time or point.

How does the question structure Je li work here?

To make a yes/no question in Croatian, you often start with the verb and add the question particle li. Here, je is the verb 'is', so Je li translates simply to 'Is...?' at the start of the question.

Why does the adjective novi end in -i?

Novi is an adjective describing the masculine noun šef (boss). Because the boss is the subject of the sentence, the adjective takes the masculine subject ending -i.