Breakdown of Najveća brzina je sto kilometara na sat.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
sto
one hundred
najveći
biggest
sat
hour
Questions & Answers about Najveća brzina je sto kilometara na sat.
Why do we use na sat to say "an hour" in this sentence?
The preposition na followed by a noun in the accusative case is the standard way to express rate and frequency. Here, na sat acts like the English "per hour" or "an hour". You will use this exact same pattern for prices and frequencies, such as pedeset eura na noć (fifty euros a night) or dva puta na dan (twice a day).
Why is the word for kilometers (kilometara) in the genitive plural?
This is a quick reminder of the Croatian number rules: quantities of five or more (including sto for 100) always force the following noun into the genitive plural. If it were a smaller number like two, three, or four, you would use the genitive singular (dva kilometra).
Why is the adjective najveća (biggest/largest) used to describe speed instead of a word for "highest" or "fastest"?
It is just a difference in common word pairings between the two languages. While English speakers talk about "high" or "fast" speeds, Croatian pairs speed (brzina) with the concepts of big (velik) and small (mali). Therefore, the "highest speed" naturally becomes najveća brzina (literally "the biggest speed").
Why doesn't the number sto change its ending in this sentence?