Questions & Answers about Je li mlijeko toplo?
Why do we use two words, je li, just to ask 'is'?
Je is the verb meaning 'is', and li is a special question word. Putting them together as je li at the start of a sentence is the standard way to form a yes/no question in Croatian.
Why does the word for warm end in 'o' (toplo)?
In Croatian, adjectives must match the gender of the noun they describe. The noun mlijeko (milk) is a neuter noun, which you can usually tell because it ends in 'o'. Therefore, the adjective takes its neuter form, toplo.
Could I ask this question without using je li?
Yes! You could just say the statement Mlijeko je toplo? and make your voice go up at the end. However, starting with je li is the proper way to ask a yes/no question and makes it instantly clear you are asking something.
How do I pronounce the ije part of mlijeko?
The letter j in Croatian sounds like the English 'y'. The group ije sounds roughly like 'ee-yeh', making the whole word sound like 'mlee-yeh-ko'.