Learn Hardcore Croatian: Oni često upoznaju nove prijatelje u školi.

upoznati/uzpoznavati nekoga = to meet/get to know someone (often first-time introductions) In this school context with nove prijatelje, the most natural English is “They often make/meet new friends at school.” For “become friends,” Croatian also uses sprijateljiti se or sklapati prijateljstva.

Why is it nove prijatelje and not novi prijatelji?

Because it’s a direct object, so it must be in the accusative plural:

Subject (nominative plural): novi prijatelji
Direct object (accusative plural): nove prijatelje The adjective and noun agree in case, number, and gender.

What case is u školi, and why does škola end in -i?

It’s locative singular (školi). With the preposition u meaning “in/at” for location, Croatian uses the locative: u školi = in/at school. For motion into, you’d use the accusative: u školu = into (to) school.

Can I drop Oni?

Yes. Croatian is a pro‑drop language; the verb ending -ju already shows “they.” Oni is kept for emphasis or clarity: (Oni) često upoznaju...

Where should često go in the sentence?

Most neutral is before the verb: Oni često upoznaju... Other natural options (different focus):

Često upoznaju nove prijatelje u školi.
U školi često upoznaju nove prijatelje. Oni upoznaju često... is possible but less neutral.

Why isn’t it upoznavaju?

Because the present of upoznavati is:

upoznajem, upoznaješ, upoznaje, upoznajemo, upoznajete, upoznaju The form upoznavaju is nonstandard; use upoznaju.

Is this perfective or imperfective—upoznati or upoznavati?

The form upoznaju can belong to both verbs, but context decides:

Imperfective (upoznavati): present/habitual “(they) often meet.”
Perfective (upoznati): present with future meaning (“they will meet”). With često, the sentence is clearly the imperfective habitual. For an explicit future, people usually say upoznat će (they will meet).

Should it be upoznaju se?

Use se when you mean “become acquainted (with)” and add s + instrumental:

Često se upoznaju s novim prijateljima u školi. Without se (upoznaju nove prijatelje) is also common and natural, especially in everyday speech.

Why prijatelje and not prijatelji or prijatelja?

prijatelji = nominative plural (subject)
prijatelje = accusative plural (direct object)
prijatelja = genitive singular or genitive plural; also accusative singular (animate) Here we need the accusative plural: prijatelje.

Does Oni mean only males? What if it’s a group of girls?

oni = masculine or mixed-gender groups
one = all-female groups If it’s all girls and you want to highlight that, you can say One često upoznaju... For “female friends,” use prijateljice: nove prijateljice.

Could I say na školi instead of u školi?

No. Standard is u školi. Some institutions take na (e.g., na fakultetu “at the faculty,” na sveučilištu “at the university,” na nastavi “in class”), but “at school” is u školi.

How else can I say “make friends” in Croatian?

sprijateljivati se (s + instrumental): Često se sprijateljuju s novim prijateljima u školi.
sklapati prijateljstva: Često sklapaju nova prijateljstva u školi. (more formal)
stjecati prijatelje: Često stječu nove prijatelje u školi.

Any pronunciation tips (č, š, lj, j)?

č = “ch” in “church” (često)
š = “sh” in “shoe” (školi)
lj = palatal L, like the “lli” in “million” (prijatelje)
j = “y” in “yes” (prija- is like “priya-”)

Are there articles (“a/the”) in Croatian?

No. Croatian has no articles; definiteness/indefiniteness comes from context. So nove prijatelje can mean “new friends” or “the new friends,” depending on context.

When would I say novih prijatelja instead of nove prijatelje?

Use genitive plural novih prijatelja after certain words/structures, for example:

quantity/measure: mnogo/puno novih prijatelja (a lot of new friends)
negation: nema novih prijatelja (there are no new friends)
many prepositions: s/bez novih prijatelja (with/without new friends)