Liječnica zna uzrok boli.

Liječnica is the feminine noun meaning female doctor, while liječnik is the masculine form meaning male doctor.

So:

• liječnik = a male doctor / doctor
• liječnica = a female doctor

Croatian often marks the gender of professions more clearly than English does.

Zna is the 3rd person singular present tense of the verb znati, which means to know.

Conjugation of znati in the present tense:

• ja znam = I know
• ti znaš = you know
• on/ona/ono zna = he/she/it knows
• mi znamo = we know
• vi znate = you (plural/formal) know
• oni/one/ona znaju = they know

In this sentence, liječnica is singular, so zna is the correct form.

Here uzrok is the direct object of the verb zna. The verb znati usually takes an object in the accusative case.

The noun uzrok is a masculine inanimate noun, and for many masculine inanimate nouns, the accusative singular looks the same as the nominative singular.

So:

• nominative: uzrok = cause
• accusative: uzrok = cause

That is why the form does not change here.

Because boli is the genitive singular of bol.

• bol = pain
• boli = of pain

In uzrok boli, Croatian is using a very common structure: noun + genitive, where the second noun specifies the first one.

So:

• uzrok boli = the cause of pain

This is similar to English of pain, not pain cause.

Yes. It is a very normal and natural structure.

Croatian often expresses relationships between nouns by putting the second noun in the genitive case. Some similar examples are:

• uzrok bolesti = cause of illness
• početak sata = beginning of the class/hour
• boja auta = color of the car
• doktorica medicine = doctor of medicine

So uzrok boli follows a very standard pattern.

Croatian does not have articles like English a and the.

So Croatian simply says:

• Liječnica zna uzrok boli.

Depending on context, English might translate this as:

• The doctor knows the cause of the pain.
• A female doctor knows the cause of pain.

The exact choice of a or the comes from context, not from a separate Croatian word.

Yes. Croatian word order is more flexible than English word order because cases show grammatical roles.

The neutral, straightforward order here is:

• Liječnica zna uzrok boli.

But other orders are possible, for example:

• Uzrok boli liječnica zna.
• Zna liječnica uzrok boli.

These alternatives may sound more marked, literary, or emphasize a different part of the sentence. The basic meaning stays the same, but the focus can shift.

A rough pronunciation is:

lye-CH-ni-tsa

A few useful notes:

• lj is a single Croatian sound, similar to the lli in million for many English speakers
• ije in lije is pronounced as a sequence, roughly lye
• č sounds like ch in church
• c sounds like ts

So liječnica is approximately lye-CH-nee-tsa, though exact pronunciation depends on accent.

Yes. Bol is a feminine noun in Croatian.

That is why its genitive singular is boli.

Some forms are:

• bol = nominative singular
• boli = genitive singular
• bol = accusative singular

So in this sentence, boli is not a plural form; it is genitive singular.

Usually znati is the natural verb here, not poznavati/poznati.

The difference is roughly:

• znati = to know a fact, know information
• poznavati / poznati = to know a person, place, field, or be familiar with something

Since uzrok boli is something like a fact or explanation, zna is the right choice.

So:

• Liječnica zna uzrok boli. = natural
• Liječnica poznaje uzrok boli. = unusual in this context

In normal use, yes, liječnica means a female physician/doctor.

It comes from liječiti = to treat, to heal.

Depending on context, English might translate it as:

• doctor
• physician

But in Croatian, liječnica clearly refers to the profession, not just any healer in a vague sense.