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Learn Hardcore Croatian: Roaming je skup. - Roaming is expensive.

Hardcore Croatian
/Choosing a mobile phone plan
/Roaming je skup.

Roaming je skup.

Word

Roaming je skup.

Meaning

Roaming is expensive.

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

Hardcore Croatian

Lesson

Choosing a mobile phone plan

Breakdown of Roaming je skup.

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Questions & Answers about Roaming je skup.

What does each word do in Roaming je skup?

It breaks down like this:

roaming = roaming as a noun, usually meaning mobile roaming/the roaming service
je = is
skup = expensive

So the structure is:

subject: roaming
copula: je
predicate adjective: skup

In other words, it is a very straightforward Croatian sentence: X is expensive.

Why is there no word for the or a?

Because Croatian does not have articles.

English says the roaming, a service, and so on, but Croatian normally does not use separate words for that. So Roaming je skup can mean something like:

Roaming is expensive
The roaming service is expensive

The exact nuance depends on context.

Is roaming really a Croatian word?

It is a very common loanword from English used in Croatian, especially in telecom and everyday speech.

Croatian speakers often say roaming when talking about mobile phone use abroad. So even though it comes from English, it is normal and widely understood in Croatian.

It is usually treated as a masculine noun in Croatian.

What is je exactly?

Je is the 3rd person singular present tense of biti, which means to be.

So:

ja sam = I am
ti si = you are
on/ona/ono je = he/she/it is

In this sentence, roaming is singular, so Croatian uses je.

Why is it skup and not skupa or skupo?

Because the adjective has to agree in gender and number with the noun.

Here, roaming is treated as a masculine singular noun, so the adjective is also masculine singular:

masculine: skup
feminine: skupa
neuter: skupo

So:

Roaming je skup.
Usluga je skupa. = The service is expensive.
Putovanje je skupo. = The trip is expensive.

Why is it skup and not skupi?

This is a very common learner question.

In Croatian, masculine adjectives can appear in a short form and a long form. In predicate position, after je, Croatian normally uses the short form.

So you say:

Roaming je skup.
Hotel je skup.
Telefon je skup.

The form skupi is the long form and is more typical when the adjective comes before a noun in certain uses, for example:

skupi telefon = the expensive phone / an expensive phone

So:

Telefon je skup. = The phone is expensive.
skupi telefon = expensive phone

Does skup only mean expensive?

In this sentence, yes: skup means expensive or costly.

Be aware that Croatian words can have other meanings in other contexts, but here the meaning is clearly expensive.

A useful opposite is:

jeftin = cheap

So:

Roaming je skup. = Roaming is expensive.
Roaming nije jeftin. = Roaming is not cheap.

Is the word order fixed?

The most neutral and natural order here is:

Roaming je skup.

Croatian word order is fairly flexible, so other orders are possible, but they usually add emphasis or sound less neutral. For example:

Skup je roaming.

This is possible, but it sounds marked and would usually be used only for emphasis or contrast.

For everyday learning, Roaming je skup is the best model.

How is Roaming je skup pronounced?

A simple learner-friendly approximation is:

roaming: roughly like English roaming
je: pronounced like ye
skup: roughly skoop

A few notes:

Croatian j sounds like English y
Croatian u sounds like oo in food
Croatian spelling is generally very phonetic

So a rough pronunciation is:

RO-ming ye skoop

The exact stress can vary a bit, especially with loanwords, but this approximation is good enough for a learner.

Does this mean roaming in general, or roaming charges?

Usually it means roaming is expensive in a general practical sense, often referring to the cost of using your phone abroad.

In real life, speakers may use roaming as a kind of shorthand for:

roaming service
roaming usage
roaming charges

So even if the sentence literally just says Roaming is expensive, the real-world meaning is often closer to Using roaming costs a lot.

Can this noun change form in other cases?

Yes, it often can.

Because roaming is usually treated as a masculine noun, Croatian speakers may decline it like other masculine nouns, especially in more careful or formal usage. For example:

nominative: roaming
genitive: roaminga
dative/locative: roamingu

So you may see things like:

Cijena roaminga je visoka. = The price of roaming is high.
Pričamo o roamingu. = We are talking about roaming.

In your sentence, though, it is in the nominative because it is the subject: Roaming je skup.

How could I make this sentence stronger or softer?

You can add adverbs very easily:

Roaming je jako skup. = Roaming is very expensive.
Roaming je prilično skup. = Roaming is quite expensive.
Roaming je preskup. = Roaming is too expensive.

You can also negate it:

Roaming nije skup. = Roaming is not expensive.

This sentence pattern is very useful, so once you know it, you can reuse it with many adjectives.

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