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Rodio sam se tisuću devetsto devedeset pete godine.

Rodio sam se tisuću devetsto devedeset pete godine.
I was born in nineteen ninety-five.
From Lesson 152:Expressing years (godine)·Croatian

Questions & Answers about Rodio sam se tisuću devetsto devedeset pete godine.

Why is it pete godine instead of just the regular number pet?
In Croatian, years are expressed as ordinal numbers (like first, second, fifth) in the genitive case, paired with the genitive noun godine (of the year). You are literally saying 'of the one thousand nine hundred and ninety-fifth year.'
Do all the words in the number 1995 change their endings to be ordinal?
No, only the very last number changes! Tisuću (1000), devetsto (900), and devedeset (90) stay as regular numbers. Only the final part, pet (5), turns into the ordinal form pete (5th).
The English translation says 'in nineteen ninety-five'. Why is there no word for 'in'?
Croatian doesn't use a preposition for years. Putting the year and the word godine into the genitive case automatically gives it the meaning of 'in the year...' all by itself.
Why is there a se in Rodio sam se?
The verb meaning 'to be born' is roditi se. It is a reflexive verb, meaning it requires the short word se. If you drop the se, the verb roditi simply means 'to give birth'.
How would a woman say this exact same sentence?
A woman would say Rodila sam se... because the past tense action word must match the gender of the speaker. The rest of the sentence, including the year, stays exactly the same.

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