Živimo u digitalnom dobu.

• Živimo = we live
• u = in
• digitalnom = digital
• dobu = age / era / period

So the whole sentence means We live in the digital age.

In Croatian, the verb ending often already shows who is doing the action.
Here, živimo ends in -mo, which tells you the subject is we.

So:

• Živimo = we live

You can say Mi živimo, but mi is usually unnecessary unless you want emphasis or contrast, such as:

• Mi živimo u digitalnom dobu, a oni još uvijek razmišljaju staromodno.
  We live in the digital age, but they still think in an old-fashioned way.

Živimo is the 1st person plural present tense form of the verb živjeti (to live).

A few present-tense forms are:

• ja živim = I live
• ti živiš = you live
• on/ona/ono živi = he/she/it lives
• mi živimo = we live
• vi živite = you live
• oni/one/ona žive = they live

So živimo specifically means we live.

u usually means in when talking about being inside something or within a period, context, or era.

In this sentence, u digitalnom dobu means in the digital age.

Croatian often uses u for time periods or broader contexts too, not just physical places. For example:

• u školi = in school
• u gradu = in the city
• u 21. stoljeću = in the 21st century
• u digitalnom dobu = in the digital age

Because after u, when it means in and describes location or state, Croatian normally uses the locative case.

The basic form is:

• digitalno doba = digital age
  This is nominative.

But after u, it changes to locative:

• u digitalnom dobu = in the digital age

Both words change to match the case:

• digitalno → digitalnom
• doba → dobu

They are in the locative singular.

Why singular? Because digital age is one age/era.
Why locative? Because it follows u in the sense of in.

So:

• nominative: digitalno doba
• locative: u digitalnom dobu

The adjective digitalnom agrees with the noun dobu in:

• gender
• number
• case

Doba is the dictionary form of the noun, and in this sentence it changes because of case.

Its relevant forms are:

• doba = nominative singular
• dobu = locative singular

So:

• digitalno doba = the digital age
• u digitalnom dobu = in the digital age

This kind of change is very common in Croatian. Nouns usually change form depending on their role in the sentence.

Doba is neuter.

That may feel surprising, because many learners associate nouns ending in -a with feminine nouns. But doba is one of the nouns that ends in -a and is still neuter.

You can see that from the adjective:

• digitalno doba
  The adjective digitalno is in the neuter singular form.

It is a standard Croatian adjective based on the international word digital. Even though it looks familiar to English speakers, it behaves like a normal Croatian adjective and changes its ending according to gender, number, and case.

For example:

• digitalni svijet = digital world
• digitalna tehnologija = digital technology
• digitalno doba = digital age
• u digitalnom dobu = in the digital age

So yes, it may look borrowed, but grammatically it works like a regular Croatian adjective.

Yes, Croatian word order is more flexible than English word order.

The normal, neutral order here is:

• Živimo u digitalnom dobu.

But other orders are possible for emphasis or style, for example:

• U digitalnom dobu živimo.

This still means the same thing, but it sounds more marked or literary, with emphasis on in the digital age.

For everyday use, Živimo u digitalnom dobu is the most natural choice.

A simple pronunciation guide:

• Ž sounds like the s in measure
• živi sounds roughly like zhi-vi
• u sounds like oo
• digitalnom is pronounced clearly with hard consonants, roughly dee-gee-TAHL-nom
• dobu is roughly DOH-boo

A rough English-style approximation is:

ZHEE-vee-mo oo dee-gee-TAHL-nom DOH-boo

Not exact, but close enough to help at first.

No. Croatian does not use articles like a or the.

So digitalno doba can mean:

• a digital age
• the digital age

The exact meaning depends on context. In this sentence, the natural English translation is the digital age.

Yes, depending on context. Croatian present tense often covers both:

• we live
• we are living

In this sentence, the natural meaning is the general statement:

• We live in the digital age.

It is not mainly about a temporary action happening right now, but about the era we are in.

Yes, it is completely natural and idiomatic.

Živimo u digitalnom dobu is a normal, standard way to express the idea We live in the digital age. It sounds like something you could hear in conversation, media, education, or writing about modern society.