Breakdown of Takav je čudak da nigdje ne želi izaći.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
ne
no, not
željeti
to want
izaći
to go out
Questions & Answers about Takav je čudak da nigdje ne želi izaći.
How does the takav ... da structure work here?
It translates to "such a ... that" and shows a cause and its result. Takav acts like an adjective, so it takes the masculine nominative singular form to match čudak (weirdo). Da (that) then introduces the consequence of him being so weird.
Why does the verb je come right after takav instead of after čudak?
The word je is an enclitic, meaning it is a weak word that must sit in the second position of the clause. Since takav is the first word, je has to follow it immediately, splitting the phrase takav čudak (such a weirdo) into Takav je čudak.
The English translation says "doesn't want to go out anywhere", but the Croatian uses nigdje. Why is that?
Croatian strictly requires double negation. When you use a negative pronoun or adverb like nigdje (nowhere), the verb must also be negative. So literally, the second half of the sentence translates to "that nowhere he does not want to go out" (da nigdje ne želi izaći).
What is the root of the word čudak?
It shares a root with the noun čudo (wonder or miracle) and the adjective čudan (strange or weird). Adding the suffix -ak turns it into a masculine noun for a person, meaning a weirdo or an eccentric.