Ono što je lomljivo nije uvijek lako spasivo.
That which is fragile is not always easily salvageable.
Breakdown of Ono što je lomljivo nije uvijek lako spasivo.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
ne
no, not
uvijek
always
ono
it (neuter pronoun: on, ona, ono)
što
which, that (relative pronoun)
lak
easy; light (weight)
lomljiv
fragile
spasiv
salvageable
Questions & Answers about Ono što je lomljivo nije uvijek lako spasivo.
How is lomljivo formed, and what does the -ljiv suffix mean here?
It comes from the verb lomiti (to break). Adding the suffix -ljiv creates an adjective that shows passive potential—meaning "capable of being [verb]ed". So, lomljiv translates perfectly to "breakable" or "fragile". It takes the neuter ending -o (lomljivo) to match the abstract pronoun ono.
Why does spasivo use the -iv suffix instead of -ljiv?
Both -iv and -ljiv do the exact same job, working like the English suffixes "-able" or "-ible". The choice mostly depends on what sounds natural with the base verb. Verbs whose stems end in s or z, like spasiti (to save), typically take -iv because adding -ljiv would create an awkward consonant cluster (spasljiv is hard to say). Thus, we get spasiv, which takes the neuter ending here to become spasivo (salvageable).
Why start with the phrase Ono što instead of just Što?
In English, you could say "What is fragile..." but Croatian prefers to anchor abstract, unspecified concepts with Ono što (literally "That what"). The neuter pronoun Ono acts as a placeholder in the main clause, and što introduces the relative clause that defines it. This pairing is the standard way to express "That which" or "The thing that".
Is lako acting as an adjective or an adverb in this sentence?
It acts as an adverb modifying the adjective spasivo, so it translates to "easily" ("easily salvageable"). While lako is also the neuter singular form of the adjective "easy", in this context it isn't describing a noun; it is telling us how salvageable the thing is.
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