Vještica živi drugdje.

Vještica is in the nominative singular.

That is because it is the subject of the sentence — the person/thing doing the action. In Vještica živi drugdje, the witch is the one who lives.

A quick breakdown:

• vještica = nominative singular, the witch / a witch
• dictionary form: vještica

Because Croatian uses cases, the form of a noun changes depending on its role in the sentence. Here, as the subject, it stays in the nominative.

Croatian normally does not use articles like English the and a/an.

So vještica can mean:

• a witch
• the witch

The exact meaning depends on context.

For example:

• Vještica živi drugdje. = A witch lives elsewhere or The witch lives elsewhere

If the context already makes it clear which witch you mean, English might use the, but Croatian usually just leaves the noun without an article.

Živjeti is the infinitive form, meaning to live.

In the sentence, you need a conjugated verb, so Croatian uses živi, which is the 3rd person singular present tense form:

• ja živim = I live
• ti živiš = you live
• on/ona/ono živi = he/she/it lives

Since vještica is she (ona), the correct form is:

• vještica živi = the witch lives

Drugdje is an adverb meaning:

• elsewhere
• somewhere else

It answers the question where?

So:

• Vještica živi drugdje. = The witch lives elsewhere.

It is not a noun form, and it does not need a preposition here. It functions like English elsewhere.

You may also hear very similar forms in speech or in different regional standards, but drugdje is the standard form you should learn.

Because drugdje is already an adverb of place. It means elsewhere by itself.

Compare:

• u kući = in the house
  
  • here you need a preposition (u)
• drugdje = elsewhere
  
  • no preposition is needed

So Croatian says simply:

• živi drugdje = lives elsewhere

not something like u drugdje.

A rough English-friendly guide:

• Vještica ≈ VYESH-ti-tsa
• živi ≈ ZHEE-vee
• drugdje ≈ DROOG-dyeh or DROOG-jeh, depending on how precisely you pronounce the cluster

A few important sounds:

• vj: the v and j are both pronounced; j is like English y
• š = sh as in ship
• ž = the sound in measure or vision
• c = ts
• j = y
• dj / đ-type sound in drugdje can be tricky for English speakers; it is softer than plain d

You do not need perfect accent right away, but getting š, ž, c, and j right will make a big difference.

Yes. Croatian word order is more flexible than English word order because case endings help show grammatical roles.

The neutral, straightforward order here is:

• Vještica živi drugdje.

But you may also see or hear:

• Drugdje živi vještica.
• Živi drugdje vještica.

These alternatives are possible, but they change the focus or emphasis.

For example:

• Vještica živi drugdje. = neutral statement
• Drugdje živi vještica. = emphasizes elsewhere
• Živi drugdje vještica. = more marked, less neutral in everyday use

For learners, the safest default is:

• subject + verb + adverb
• Vještica živi drugdje.

Yes, živi can look like an adjective form too, which can confuse learners.

For example:

• živi ljudi = living people
  Here živi is an adjective meaning alive/living.

But in Vještica živi drugdje, živi is clearly a verb because:

• it comes after the subject vještica
• it means lives
• it is followed by drugdje, which fits naturally with a verb of location

So in this sentence:

• živi = lives, not alive

Literally, vještica means witch. It can be:

• a normal fairy-tale or fantasy word
• a figurative insult, depending on context and tone

So it may refer to:

• an actual witch in a story
• a woman being called a witch in a negative way

Without context, the sentence is just grammatically neutral. The emotional tone depends on the situation.

Yes, you could.

• drugdje = elsewhere
• negdje drugdje = somewhere else

The difference is subtle:

• Vještica živi drugdje.
  = The witch lives elsewhere.
• Vještica živi negdje drugdje.
  = The witch lives somewhere else.

The second version can sound a little less definite or slightly more conversational, depending on context.

The structure is:

• Vještica = subject
• živi = verb
• drugdje = adverb of place

So the pattern is:

• Subject + Verb + Adverb

This is one of the most common and useful sentence patterns in Croatian.

You can build many similar sentences the same way:

• Djevojka sjedi ovdje. = The girl is sitting here.
• Pas spava vani. = The dog is sleeping outside.
• Učitelj radi tamo. = The teacher works there.

So Vještica živi drugdje is a very good model sentence for learning basic Croatian word order.