S jedne strane probni rok traje, s druge strane plaća raste.

Yes. This is a very common and natural Croatian expression for presenting two sides of a situation.

Literally, s jedne strane means from one side, and s druge strane means from the other side, but in actual use they often correspond to English on the one hand / on the other hand.

So in this sentence, the speaker is setting up a contrast or balancing two facts:

• one fact: probni rok traje
• the other fact: plaća raste

It can be used for true opposites, but also more loosely for two different aspects of the same situation.

They agree with strane, which is a feminine singular noun.

The base noun is strana = side.
After the preposition s in this expression, the phrase is in the genitive, so:

• jedna strana → s jedne strane
• druga strana → s druge strane

So:

• jedne = feminine singular genitive of jedan / jedna / jedno
• druge = feminine singular genitive of drugi / druga / drugo

A learner might expect something more like nominative forms, but the preposition changes the case.

Because the expression uses the genitive singular form.

The dictionary form is:

• strana = side

But after s in this meaning, Croatian uses the genitive:

• s jedne strane
• s druge strane

So:

• nominative singular: strana
• genitive singular: strane

This is part of a fixed, very common phrase, so it is worth learning as a chunk:

• s jedne strane
• s druge strane

Both s and sa are forms of the same preposition, but sa is mainly used when pronunciation would otherwise be awkward.

For example, sa is common before words beginning with certain consonants or clusters, such as:

• sa sestrom
• sa školom

Here, s jedne strane is easy to pronounce, so plain s is the normal form.

Also, this s is not the same as s meaning with in every context. In this phrase, it is part of the fixed expression s jedne strane / s druge strane, historically meaning something like from one side / from the other side.

Probni rok usually means probation period or trial period, especially in a work context.

The two words are:

• probni = trial, test, probationary
• rok = period, term, deadline, time limit

In employment language, probni rok is the period at the beginning of a job when the employee is still being evaluated.

In this sentence, probni rok is the subject of the first clause, so it is in the nominative singular.

Traje is from trajati, which means to last, to continue, or to be ongoing.

So probni rok traje means that the probation period is still in progress. It has not finished yet.

This is a very natural choice in Croatian. It does not mean merely exists; it specifically suggests duration or continuation.

Compare:

• Probni rok traje. = The probation period is still going on.
• Probni rok je tri mjeseca. = The probation period is three months long.

So traje focuses on the fact that it is ongoing.

This is a very common difference between English and Croatian.

Croatian does not have a separate progressive tense like English is lasting or is rising. The ordinary present tense often covers both:

• general present
• ongoing present

So:

• traje can mean lasts or is lasting / is continuing
• raste can mean grows or is growing / is increasing

In this sentence, both verbs are understood as ongoing present situations.

Yes. Plaća is the subject, and raste is the verb.

• plaća = salary, pay
• raste = rises, grows, increases

So the structure is simply:

• plaća = subject
• raste = verb

This is perfectly natural Croatian for salary is increasing or pay is going up.

A native English speaker might expect something more like the employer increases the salary, but Croatian often uses this intransitive style:

• Cijene rastu. = Prices are rising.
• Plaća raste. = Salary is rising.

In standard Croatian, plaća is the normal word for salary/pay.

You may also hear related words in the wider South Slavic area, especially depending on region or neighboring standards, but for standard Croatian:

• plaća is the safest and most natural choice

So for a learner of Croatian, plaća raste is a very good phrase to know.

No, Croatian word order is relatively flexible, but the given version is very natural and balanced.

The sentence is structured in parallel:

• S jedne strane probni rok traje
• s druge strane plaća raste

That parallelism makes it sound neat and idiomatic.

You could rearrange it, for example:

• S jedne strane traje probni rok, s druge strane raste plaća.

That is possible, but the original is more neutral and easier for learners to process because the subject comes before the verb in both clauses.

Croatian can link these two clauses with just a comma because s jedne strane ... s druge strane ... already creates a clear paired contrast.

So the comma is enough here.

However, you may also hear:

• S jedne strane probni rok traje, a s druge strane plaća raste.

Adding a is also natural. It makes the contrast a little more explicit, but the meaning stays basically the same.

Using ali would usually sound stronger, as if the second clause is more directly opposing the first. In this sentence, a would be more natural than ali if you wanted a conjunction.

Croatian has no articles like English a and the.

So probni rok can mean:

• a probation period
• the probation period

and plaća can mean:

• a salary
• the salary

You understand which one is meant from context. In this sentence, English would most naturally use the because the speaker is talking about a specific situation already known in context:

• the probation period
• the salary

That is normal in Croatian: definiteness is usually inferred rather than marked with an article.

Not necessarily a direct contradiction. It expresses two different sides of the same situation.

The feeling is something like:

• there is a downside or ongoing condition: the probation period is still continuing
• but there is also a positive development: the salary is increasing

So it is more of a contrast between two aspects than a strict logical contradiction.

That is exactly the kind of context where s jedne strane ... s druge strane ... is commonly used.