Uzmite kokice.

Literally, it means Take popcorn or Take the popcorn, but in natural English it often means Have some popcorn or Help yourself to the popcorn.

In food-offering situations, Croatian often uses uzeti (to take) where English might prefer have.

Uzmite is the imperative form of the verb uzeti, which means to take.

So uzmite means:

• take!
• please take
• have some
• help yourself

The exact English wording depends on the situation.

The ending -te marks the 2nd person plural imperative.

That means it is used when speaking:

• to more than one person: you all, take...
• or to one person politely/formally: please take...

Compare:

• uzmi = take! (to one person, informal)
• uzmite = take! (to several people, or to one person formally)

It can be either.

Croatian uses the same form for:

• plural you: speaking to several people
• formal you: speaking politely to one person

So without more context, Uzmite kokice. could mean:

• You all, have some popcorn.
• Please, have some popcorn. (to one person, politely)

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

The verb uzmite already tells you the subject is you (plural/formal), so adding vi is usually unnecessary.

You could say Vi uzmite kokice, but that would add emphasis, contrast, or special tone.

Kokice is the noun meaning popcorn.

Grammatically, it is the accusative plural form here, because it is the direct object of uzmite.

The basic dictionary singular is kokica, but when talking about popcorn as food, Croatian very often uses the plural form kokice.

So learners will often meet kokice as the normal everyday word for popcorn.

Because Croatian conceptualizes it differently.

English usually treats popcorn as an uncountable mass noun, but Croatian commonly uses kokice, a plural form, more like:

• popcorn pieces
• popcorn kernels
• or simply the standard plural name of the snack

This is just a vocabulary difference between the two languages. It does not mean the speaker is emphasizing individual pieces.

Because Croatian has no articles.

Unlike English, Croatian does not normally use separate words for:

• a
• an
• the

So kokice can mean:

• popcorn
• the popcorn
• some popcorn

The exact meaning comes from context.

In this sentence, the most natural interpretation is often Have some popcorn.

Verb-first order is very common in commands.

So Uzmite kokice is a normal and natural imperative structure:

• Uzmite = verb
• kokice = object

Croatian word order is fairly flexible, so you may also hear:

• Kokice uzmite.

But that usually changes the emphasis. The version with the verb first is the most neutral for a simple command or invitation.

This is a question of aspect.

• uzmite comes from uzeti (perfective)
• uzimajte comes from uzimati (imperfective)

In an imperative:

• uzmite kokice suggests a single complete action: go ahead, take some popcorn
• uzimajte kokice can suggest repeated or ongoing taking, or a more open-ended keep helping yourselves

In many everyday offering situations, uzmite kokice sounds more natural and direct.

A rough English-friendly pronunciation is:

OOZ-mee-teh KOH-kee-tseh

A few notes:

• u = oo as in food
• z = z as in zoo
• mi = mee
• te = teh
• ko = ko with a short o
• ci/ce in kokice ends with ts-like sound: tseh

Croatian spelling is quite regular, so words are usually pronounced much as they are written.