Što god pitaju, odgovorite jasno i sa samopouzdanjem.

Što god means whatever or no matter what.

In this sentence, Što god pitaju means whatever they ask / no matter what they ask.

A useful contrast:

• što god kažu = whatever they say
• što god učiniš = whatever you do

So this pattern is very common in Croatian when you want to express it doesn’t matter what X is.

Because Što god pitaju is a subordinate clause placed before the main clause.

So the structure is:

• Što god pitaju, = dependent clause
• odgovorite jasno i sa samopouzdanjem. = main clause

Croatian normally separates this kind of introductory clause with a comma, just as English often does in sentences like Whatever they ask, answer clearly and confidently.

Pitaju means they ask.

The sentence leaves they unspecified. It could mean:

• interviewers
• examiners
• reporters
• other people in general

Croatian often uses a normal third-person plural verb when the people involved are understood from context.

So Što god pitaju is literally whatever they ask.

Yes. Odgovorite is the imperative form of odgovoriti for:

• you all
• formal/polite you to one person
• formal/polite you to more than one person

So this sentence is either:

• speaking to several people, or
• speaking politely to one person

Compare:

• odgovori = answer! (to one friend, informal)
• odgovorite = answer! (to several people, or politely)

It comes from odgovoriti, which means to answer.

Here are the key forms:

• infinitive: odgovoriti
• present: odgovorim, odgovoriš, odgovori...
• imperative: odgovori / odgovorite

So odgovorite means answer!

This is about aspect, which is very important in Croatian.

• odgovoriti = perfective
• odgovarati = imperfective

So:

• odgovorite suggests give an answer
• odgovarajte suggests be answering / answer repeatedly / answer as a general activity

In this sentence, odgovorite sounds more natural because the idea is when they ask something, give a clear answer. It focuses on the completed response.

Because jasno is an adverb, and it modifies the verb odgovorite.

It tells you how to answer:

• odgovorite jasno = answer clearly

Compare:

• jasan odgovor = a clear answer → adjective modifying a noun
• odgovorite jasno = answer clearly → adverb modifying a verb

This is the same kind of difference as English clear vs clearly.

Samopouzdanjem is in the instrumental singular.

That is because it follows the preposition s/sa, which here means with:

• sa samopouzdanjem = with confidence / with self-confidence

The base noun is:

• samopouzdanje = self-confidence

Its instrumental singular form is:

• samopouzdanjem

So the phrase literally means with self-confidence, even though natural English often says confidently.

Croatian normally uses sa instead of s when pronunciation would otherwise be awkward.

Because samopouzdanjem begins with s, sa samopouzdanjem is easier to say than s samopouzdanjem.

So this is mainly a pronunciation-related choice. In standard Croatian, sa is expected in combinations like this.

Yes, absolutely.

• Što god pitaju = whatever they ask
• Što god vas pitaju = whatever they ask you

Adding vas makes the person being asked explicit.

In the original sentence, vas is omitted because it is already obvious from the context: the instruction is directed at you, so Croatian does not need to spell that out.

Not exactly.

They are related, but they are used differently.

• što god = whatever / no matter what
• bilo što = anything

Examples:

• Što god kažu, ostani miran. = Whatever they say, stay calm.
• Možeš uzeti bilo što. = You can take anything.

So in your sentence, što god is the right choice because it introduces the idea no matter what they ask.

They are related, but in standard Croatian, što is the normal form.

• što = standard Croatian
• šta = common in Serbian and also heard in some regional or colloquial speech

So in a standard Croatian sentence like this one, Što god pitaju is the expected form.

Yes, but the given version is very natural.

The sentence starts with the whatever-clause for emphasis:

• Što god pitaju, odgovorite jasno i sa samopouzdanjem.

That order works well because it first sets up the situation, then gives the instruction.

Croatian word order is fairly flexible, but not every rearrangement sounds equally natural. The original is smooth, clear, and idiomatic.

Not exactly, but they are close.

• sa samopouzdanjem = with confidence / with self-confidence
• samouvjereno = confidently / self-assuredly

Both work in similar contexts, but the sentence with sa samopouzdanjem sounds slightly more like answer with confidence, using a noun phrase instead of an adverb.

So a similar alternative would be:

• Što god pitaju, odgovorite jasno i samouvjereno.

That is also natural, but it is not identical in wording.