Istraga nije laka.

The investigation is not easy.

Breakdown of Istraga nije laka.

• biti: to be
• lak: easy
• istraga: an investigation

Questions & Answers about Istraga nije laka.

What does istraga mean, and what gender is it?

Istraga means investigation.

It is a feminine noun in Croatian. A learner can often guess that because many feminine nouns end in -a, and istraga follows that pattern.

In this sentence, istraga is singular: the investigation / an investigation.

Why is it nije instead of ne je?

In Croatian, the verb biti (to be) has special negative forms in the present tense.

So instead of separating ne + je, Croatian uses the fixed form:

• sam → nisam
• si → nisi
• je → nije
• smo → nismo
• ste → niste
• su → nisu

So nije means is not.

Why is it laka and not lak or lako?