Breakdown of Ne idu kući, putuju na otok.
ne
no, not
na
on, at / to, onto (with motion) / about (thinking about)
otok
island
ići
to go
Questions & Answers about Ne idu kući, putuju na otok.
Why do we use putuju (they travel) instead of just using idu (they go) again?
While ići is the general word for "to go", it often implies walking or a short, simple trip. When the trip is longer or clearly requires a vehicle—like taking a ferry to an island—Croatian prefers verbs like putovati (to travel) or voziti se (to ride/drive).
Why is the destination "to the island" translated as na otok instead of using u?
In Croatian, islands are treated as open surfaces, so you travel "onto" (na) them rather than "into" (u) them. Because this shows movement toward a destination, the noun takes the accusative case. For masculine, non-living nouns like otok, the accusative form looks exactly like the standard dictionary form.
Why is the word for home kući instead of kuća?
The standard noun for "house" is kuća. However, when expressing the destination "home" (as in "going home"), Croatian uses the special directional form kući. This form has the direction built-in, so you do not use a preposition before it.
Where is the word for "they" in this sentence?
Croatian typically drops subject pronouns like oni (they) because the verb itself tells you who is doing the action. Both idu and putuju end in -u, which is the present tense ending for "they" for these specific verbs.