Learn Hardcore Croatian: Naša kuća je veća, a stan je manji. - Our house is bigger, and the apartment is smaller.

velik → comparative: veći (m.), veća (f.), veće (n.)
mali → comparative: manji (m.), manja (f.), manje (n.) So you get kuća (f.) → veća, but stan (m.) → manji.

What is je, and where does it go in the sentence?

Je is the 3rd person singular of the verb biti (to be) = “is.” It’s an enclitic and normally appears in “second position” in a clause. Two common placements here are:

Naša kuća je veća (after the whole first phrase)
Naša je kuća veća (after the first word) It cannot start a clause. In coordinated sentences you can omit a repeated je in the second clause: Naša kuća je veća, a stan manji. (Both versions—with or without the second je—are correct.)

Why use a here? Could I use i or ali instead?

a means “and/whereas,” marking a mild contrast: … veća, a stan … manji.
i is a neutral “and,” so it sounds odd if you want contrast.
ali is “but,” a stronger opposition. It’s fine if you want to stress the contrast: Naša kuća je veća, ali stan je manji. Here a is the most natural.

Do I need the comma before a?

Yes. Standard Croatian punctuation uses a comma before coordinating a: …, a … The comma helps signal the contrastive coordination.

Why is there no word for “the” in stan?

Croatian has no articles. Definiteness is understood from context. If you need to be explicit, use demonstratives:

taj stan = “that/the apartment (just mentioned)”
naš stan = “our apartment”

What case are the adjectives in? Why not an instrumental like in some Slavic languages?

Predicate adjectives in Croatian are in the nominative and agree with the subject: Kuća je velika/veća. Instrumental is not used here.

How do I say “bigger than the apartment” explicitly?

Use od + genitive:

Naša kuća je veća od stana. (genitive: stana) You can also use nego with a clause:
Naša kuća je veća nego što je stan. For learners, od + genitive is the simplest and most common with nouns.

Is it okay to repeat naš before stan?

Yes: Naša kuća je veća, a naš stan je manji. Repeating naš makes it crystal clear you’re comparing two of your own properties. Without naš, stan likely refers to “the apartment” already known in context, but it could be read more generally.

Can I change the word order for emphasis?

Yes, Croatian allows some flexibility for emphasis, as long as the clitic je stays in second position in its clause. For example:

Veća je naša kuća, a manji je stan. (fronted adjectives for emphasis)
Naša je kuća veća, a stan je manji. All are grammatical; choose the one that best matches your focus.

How do I pronounce tricky letters like š, ć, and nj in this sentence?

š in naša: like English “sh” in “shoe.”
ć in kuća and veća: a softer “ch,” close to the “t” in “nature” (AmE “na-ture”) or Polish soft ć; softer than č.
nj in manji: a palatal “ny,” like “ñ” in Spanish “señor” or “ny” in “canyon.”
je is pronounced “ye.”
All vowels are pure: a is “ah,” u is “oo,” e is “eh.”

How would this look in the plural?

Change the nouns, adjectives, and the verb to plural:

Naše kuće su veće, a stanovi su manji. Here su is the 3rd person plural of biti, and the comparatives take plural forms agreeing with their nouns: veće (fem. pl.), manji (masc. pl.).

Can I say više velika or više mali to mean “more big/small”?

No. Croatian forms adjectival comparatives morphologically (like veći, manji), not with više + adjective. Use:

veći/veća/veće (bigger)
manji/manja/manje (smaller) Note: više means “more” in quantity (e.g., više kuća = “more houses”) or as an adverb, but not to build standard adjective comparatives.