Breakdown of Snijeg je mekši na planini.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
na
on, at / to, onto (with motion) / about (thinking about)
planina
mountain
snijeg
snow
Questions & Answers about Snijeg je mekši na planini.
Why does the comparative for 'soft' use the -ši ending instead of the more common -iji?
The basic adjective for 'soft' is mek. While most regular adjectives add -iji to form the comparative, a small handful of one-syllable adjectives use -ši. You simply have to memorize these exceptions. Another common example is lak (easy), which becomes lakši.
Does mekši change its ending depending on the noun it describes?
Yes! Even though it is a comparative, it still acts like a normal adjective and must match the gender, number, and case of the noun. Because snijeg (snow) is a masculine noun in the nominative (subject) case, the adjective takes the masculine singular ending, remaining mekši. If you were describing a feminine noun, it would be mekša.
I learned the word mekan for 'soft'. Can I use that here instead?
Yes, you can! Both mek and mekan mean 'soft' and are often used interchangeably. Because mekan is a longer word, its comparative follows the regular rule and takes the -iji ending. So you could also perfectly say Snijeg je mekaniji na planini.
Why does the word for 'mountain' change from planina to planini?