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Questions & Answers about Hrvatski je težak.
What does Hrvatski stand for—where is the word for “language”?
Hrvatski is an adjective meaning “Croatian,” and here it’s used as a noun to mean “the Croatian language.” Croatian often uses an adjective alone to refer to a language, so hrvatski (jezik) = “Croatian (language).” Example: Govorim hrvatski = “I speak Croatian.”
Why is Hrvatski capitalized?
Because it’s the first word in the sentence. In standard Croatian, names of languages are written in lowercase: hrvatski, engleski, njemački. They’re capitalized only at the start of a sentence or in titles. Example: Govorim hrvatski. Hrvatski je težak.
Why is je in the second position?
je is a clitic (an unstressed short form of the verb biti “to be”) that normally appears right after the first stressed part of the clause (so‑called “second position”). Examples:
- Hrvatski je težak.
- Hrvatski jezik je težak. (The whole subject phrase “Hrvatski jezik” counts as the first chunk.)
- Danas je hrvatski težak.
- Težak je hrvatski.
Can I drop je and say just “Hrvatski težak”?
No. In standard Croatian, the present tense of biti (“to be”) is used and cannot be omitted in normal statements. Hrvatski težak would sound like a headline fragment.
Where are “the” or “a”? Why no article?
Croatian has no articles. Hrvatski je težak simply means “Croatian is hard,” with definiteness understood from context.
Why is it težak and not teško?
- težak is an adjective and must agree with the subject (hrvatski (jezik) is masculine singular), so the predicate adjective is masculine singular: težak.
- teško is either the neuter form or an adverb meaning “with difficulty.” Use it when modifying a verb: Teško je hrvatski naučiti (“It’s hard to learn Croatian”).
What gender are these words, and how do they agree?
hrvatski (jezik) is masculine, so the predicate adjective is masculine: težak. The basic agreement patterns:
- Masculine: težak (e.g., hrvatski (jezik) je težak)
- Feminine: teška (e.g., gramatika je teška)
- Neuter: teško (e.g., pitanje je teško)
Does težak also mean “heavy” as in weight?
Yes. težak means “heavy” (literal) and “difficult” (figurative). For physical hardness (not heaviness), use tvrd. Examples:
- Kamen je težak = “The stone is heavy.”
- Zadatak je težak = “The task is difficult.”
- Kamen je tvrd = “The stone is hard (not soft).”
Is Hrvatski jezik je težak also correct?
Yes. It just states the noun explicitly: Hrvatski jezik je težak = “The Croatian language is hard.” The shorter Hrvatski je težak is more common in everyday speech.
How do I negate it?
Use nije (ne + je). Examples:
- Hrvatski nije težak. = “Croatian is not hard.”
- Nije hrvatski težak. (Different emphasis; still correct.)
How do I turn it into a yes/no question?
Use Je li at the start:
- Je li hrvatski težak? = “Is Croatian hard?” Possible short answers:
- Da, težak je.
- Ne, nije (težak).
Can I change the word order for emphasis?
Yes. Croatian word order is flexible for emphasis, but clitics like je stay in second position:
- Neutral: Hrvatski je težak.
- Emphasizing the adjective: Težak je hrvatski.
- Adding a frame: Za mnoge je hrvatski težak.
How do I say “Croatian is hard for me”?
Two natural options:
- Dative experiencer: Meni je hrvatski težak.
- “For me” phrase: Hrvatski je za mene težak.
How do I say “Croatian is hard to learn”?
- More idiomatic: Hrvatski je teško naučiti. (adverb teško modifies the verb naučiti)
- Also used: Hrvatski je težak za naučiti.
How do you pronounce the words?
- Hrvatski: HR‑vat‑ski. Pronounce h as in “hotel,” roll the r, v is like a light English v/w, c = “ts,” ski like “skee.”
- težak: TEH‑zhak. ž is like the “s” in “vision,” a as in “father,” final k as in “kite.”
Which case is Hrvatski here?
Nominative, because it’s the subject. Note that in “learning Croatian,” you’ll see accusative, but it looks the same here: Učiti hrvatski je teško. (Masculine inanimate accusative matches nominative in form.)
What are the present‑tense forms of biti (“to be”)?
- ja sam (I am)
- ti si (you are, sg.)
- on/ona/ono je (he/she/it is)
- mi smo (we are)
- vi ste (you are, pl./formal)
- oni/one/ona su (they are)
Do I have to write the diacritic in težak?
Yes. ž is a distinct letter and sound. Writing tezak is a spelling error in standard Croatian (though people may still understand you).