Potpišite privatnu ispravu vlastoručno.

Potpišite is the imperative form, so it is used for a command, instruction, or polite request.

The dictionary form is potpisati = to sign.
From that verb, Croatian forms the imperative:

• potpiši = sign! (informal singular)
• potpišite = sign! (plural or formal singular)

So in this sentence, potpišite means something like please sign or sign in a formal/instructional context.

The ending -ite marks the imperative for:

• you all
• or formal you when speaking to one person politely

Croatian distinguishes between informal and formal you much more clearly than English does.

Compare:

• Potpiši privatnu ispravu. = Sign the private document. (to one friend, informal)
• Potpišite privatnu ispravu. = Sign the private document. (to several people, or to one person formally)

In official instructions, forms, and notices, -ite is very common because the tone is polite and formal.

The base verb is potpisati, which is perfective.

In Croatian, aspect is very important:

• potpisivati = imperfective, ongoing/repeated signing
• potpisati = perfective, to sign once and complete the action

Because this sentence is telling someone to complete a specific action, the perfective verb potpisati is the natural choice.

So potpišite means carry out the signing and finish it.

Because they are in the accusative singular feminine, which is the case used for the direct object of the verb potpisati.

The noun is:

• isprava = document / certificate / official paper

Since isprava is feminine singular, the adjective privatna must agree with it in gender, number, and case.

So:

• nominative: privatna isprava
• accusative: privatnu ispravu

That is why the sentence has privatnu ispravu after potpišite.

You know it mainly from the verb and the ending.

The verb potpisati normally takes a direct object in the accusative: you sign something.

Also, feminine nouns ending in -a often change like this:

• nominative singular: isprava
• accusative singular: ispravu

The adjective changes too:

• nominative singular: privatna
• accusative singular: privatnu

So the pattern privatnu ispravu clearly shows accusative singular feminine.

Here vlastoručno is used as an adverb.

It means by one’s own hand, personally in handwriting, or simply by hand in a legal/formal sense.

It tells you how the signing must be done.

So the structure is:

• Potpišite = sign
• privatnu ispravu = the private document
• vlastoručno = by your own hand / personally by hand

This word is especially common in legal and administrative language.

Not exactly.

• ručno usually means manually or by hand, as opposed to automatically or by machine.
• vlastoručno specifically means with your own hand.

So vlastoručno emphasizes that the person themselves must write or sign it, not someone else, and not a stamped or copied signature.

That is why vlastoručno is the better word in legal instructions about signatures.

Because Croatian usually omits subject pronouns when they are already clear from the verb ending.

The ending in potpišite already tells you that the sentence is addressed to:

• you formal singular, or
• you plural

So adding vi is usually unnecessary.

You could say Vi potpišite privatnu ispravu vlastoručno, but that would sound more marked, more emphatic, or less natural in a simple instruction.

Yes, Croatian word order is fairly flexible, although some orders sound more natural than others.

The given sentence:

• Potpišite privatnu ispravu vlastoručno.

is very natural for an instruction.

You could also hear:

• Vlastoručno potpišite privatnu ispravu.
• Privatnu ispravu potpišite vlastoručno.

These versions shift the emphasis:

• putting vlastoručno earlier emphasizes the manner
• putting privatnu ispravu first emphasizes what must be signed

But the original order is neutral and standard.

They are similar, but not always identical in tone or usage.

• dokument is a broad, general word for document
• isprava often sounds more formal, legal, or official

In administrative or legal contexts, isprava can refer to an official paper, certificate, deed, or formal written instrument.

So in this sentence, privatna isprava sounds like a legal/formal term rather than just any everyday document.

Yes, very much so.

Several things make it formal:

• potpišite uses the formal/plural imperative
• isprava is a formal word
• vlastoručno is typical of legal and administrative language

A more everyday version might use dokument, but this sentence sounds like something you would read on a form, in a legal notice, or in official instructions.

You would normally use the informal singular imperative:

• Potpiši privatnu ispravu vlastoručno.

The rest of the sentence stays the same. Only potpišite changes to potpiši.

So the contrast is:

• potpiši = sign! (one person, informal)
• potpišite = sign! (formal singular or plural)

Potpišite is pronounced approximately pot-PEE-shee-teh.

The letter š is pronounced like sh in ship.

So:

• piši sounds like pee-shee

The reason for š is that the imperative form changes from the infinitive stem in a way that is normal for this verb:

• potpisati → potpiši / potpišite

This is something learners usually just memorize as part of the verb’s imperative pattern.