Mission—Team—FAQ—Privacy—Terms—Sponsors—Grammar—Typing Course—Donate

© 2026 Elon Automation B.V.

Learn Hardcore Croatian: Kiša je hladna ujutro. - The rain is cold in the morning.

Hardcore Croatian
/Lesson 3
/Kiša je hladna ujutro.

Kiša je hladna ujutro.

Kiša je hladna ujutro.

The rain is cold in the morning.

Breakdown of Kiša je hladna ujutro.

Questions & Answers about Kiša je hladna ujutro.

What is the basic grammar pattern here?

It’s a classic copular sentence:

Subject: Kiša (rain)
Copula (to be): je (3rd person singular present of biti)
Predicate adjective: hladna (cold)
Time adverb: ujutro (in the morning)

So the pattern is Subject + je + Adjective + Time adverb.

Why is je in the second position?

Je is a clitic and must appear in “second position” within its clause. That usually means it comes right after the first stressed word or phrase.

Correct: Kiša je hladna ujutro.
If you front the time: Ujutro je kiša hladna.
Incorrect: Ujutro kiša je hladna. (the clitic isn’t in second position)

Why is it hladna and not hladan or hladno?

Adjectives used as predicates agree with the subject in gender and number. Kiša is feminine singular, so the adjective is feminine singular nominative: hladna.

Masculine: hladan
Feminine: hladna
Neuter: hladno

What cases are the words in?

Elon.io is an online learning platform

We have an entire course teaching Croatian grammar and vocabulary.

Start learning Croatian now

Kiša: nominative singular (subject)
hladna: nominative singular feminine (agrees with the subject as a predicate adjective)
ujutro: an adverb (not a case form)
je: verb (clitic form of “to be”)

Is ujutro one word? Are there alternatives?

In standard Croatian, use the one-word adverb ujutro for “in the morning.”
You may also see jutrom (instrumental used adverbially), which often implies a habitual meaning (“in the mornings”).
Writing it as two words (u jutro) is not standard in Croatian for this sense. Note: Serbian commonly has ujutru (spelling difference).

Can I move ujutro to a different place in the sentence?

Yes. All are fine and natural, with slight differences in emphasis:

Kiša je hladna ujutro. (neutral)
Kiša je ujutro hladna. (time comes earlier)
Ujutro je kiša hladna. (time is fronted; remember the clitic je must be second)

Does this refer to a specific rain or rain in general?

Croatian has no articles, so kiša can be generic or specific depending on context. As-is, it most naturally reads as a general statement. To make it specific, add context or a determiner:

Specific: Ova kiša je hladna ujutro. (This rain…)
General/habitual can also be reinforced with adverbs like obično (usually).

How would I say “It is cold in the morning” (not specifically the rain)?

Use an impersonal construction with a neuter adjective:

Ujutro je hladno.

How do I ask the yes/no question version?

Use Je li + statement word order:

Je li kiša hladna ujutro? You’ll also hear Da li je… in some regions, but Je li is the standard Croatian option.

How do I negate it?

Use nije (the negative of je):

Kiša nije hladna ujutro.

What if I mean “this morning” rather than mornings in general?

Use jutros (“this morning”) and switch to the past tense, because “this morning” is normally already over:

Jutros je kiša bila hladna. Using present with jutros sounds odd in standard usage.

Can I drop je?

Not in standard Croatian. You need the copula:

Standard: Kiša je hladna ujutro. Dropping je can occur in headlines or some dialects, but you should keep it in normal speech and writing.

How do I pronounce the tricky sounds?

kiša: “KEE-shah” (š = English “sh”)
je: “yeh” (j = English “y” in “yes”)
hladna: roughly “HLAHD-nah” (h is a voiceless sound, like German “Bach”)
ujutro: “oo-YOO-troh” (r is tapped) Approximate IPA: /kiʃa jɛ xladna ujutro/

What’s the difference between hladna kiša and kiša je hladna?

hladna kiša = “cold rain” as a noun phrase (attributive adjective)
kiša je hladna = a full sentence stating a property (predicate adjective)

Can I change the focus by moving the adjective?

Yes. Fronting the adjective emphasizes it:

Hladna je kiša ujutro. (focus on “cold”) The clitic je still stays second.

How would I form a comparative or intensify it?

Comparative: Kiša je hladnija ujutro (nego popodne). (colder… than…)
Superlative: Kiša je najhladnija ujutro.
Intensifiers: jako/vrlo/baš → Kiša je jako hladna ujutro.

What about plural or different tenses?

Plural (episodes of rain): Kiše su hladne ujutro. (grammatically fine, but less common conceptually)
Past: Kiša je bila hladna ujutro.
Future (note the future clitic će is also second):
- Kiša će biti hladna ujutro.
- Ujutro će kiša biti hladna.

Your questions are stored by us to improve Elon.io