Ne sviđaju mi se iste stvari.

I don’t like the same things.

Breakdown of Ne sviđaju mi se iste stvari.

• ne: not
• mi: me
• sviđati se: to like
• isti: same
• stvar: thing

Questions & Answers about Ne sviđaju mi se iste stvari.

What do the little words mi and se do here?

• mi = the short dative pronoun “to me.” With this verb, the person who experiences the liking is in the dative.
• se = the reflexive particle required by the verb sviđati se (“to be pleasing, to appeal”). The literal structure is “X is pleasing to Y.” Example: Ovaj film mi se sviđa. = “This film appeals to me / I like this film.”

Why are mi se placed after sviđaju?

Croatian short pronouns like mi and se are “second-position clitics”: they come right after the first stressed word/phrase in the clause. The negative ne is unstressed, so the first stressed word is the verb sviđaju, and the clitics follow it: Ne sviđaju mi se… If you start with a different stressed phrase, the clitics follow that:

• Iste stvari mi se ne sviđaju.
• Meni se ne sviđaju iste stvari.

What is the subject, and why is the verb plural (sviđaju)?

The subject is iste stvari (“the same things”), which is nominative feminine plural. The verb agrees with the subject, hence plural sviđaju. In the singular it would be:

• Ne sviđa mi se ista stvar.

Can I use voljeti instead: “Ne volim iste stvari”? What’s the difference?

You can, but there’s a nuance:

• voljeti = to like/love in a stronger, more settled sense (often direct preference).
• sviđati se (+ DAT) = “to be pleasing/appeal to (someone),” often about taste, impressions, what you find appealing. Both are common; choose based on tone. For people: Sviđaš mi se ~ “I’m attracted to you,” vs Volim te = “I love you.”

How do I say “I don’t like the same things as you (do)”?

• With sviđati se (dative): Ne sviđaju mi se iste stvari kao tebi (also common: …kao i tebi). Here tebi is dative because the implicit clause is “tebi se sviđaju”.
• With voljeti (nominative subject): Ne volim iste stvari kao ti (voliš). Here ti is nominative (subject of “voliš”).

Why is it iste, not isti or ista?

Agreement. stvar is feminine; stvari is feminine plural. The adjective isti (“same”) must match:

• Feminine singular: ista stvar
• Feminine plural: iste stvari
• Masculine plural would be isti, neuter plural ista, etc.

Can I drop se or say “Ne sviđaju se mi …”?

No. The verb is pronominal: it’s used as sviđati se, and se is obligatory. Also, clitic order puts the dative pronoun before se:

• Correct: … mi se …
• Incorrect: … se mi …

Can I change the word order, and does it change the meaning?

Yes, Croatian allows flexible order for focus/emphasis:

• Ne sviđaju mi se iste stvari. (neutral)
• Iste stvari mi se ne sviđaju. (focus on “the same things”)
• Meni se ne sviđaju iste stvari. (emphasizing “to me”) The clitics (mi se) must stay in second position relative to the first stressed element, and ne stays directly before the verb (ne sviđaju).

What’s the singular version?

• Ne sviđa mi se ista stvar. You can replace the noun and keep agreement:
• Ne sviđa mi se ista boja.
• Ne sviđa mi se ista pjesma.

Why is it mi and not me?

Because sviđati se takes the experiencer in the dative. mi is dative (“to me”); me is accusative (“me” as a direct object). So:

• Correct: Ne sviđaju mi se…
• Incorrect: Ne sviđaju me se…

Does negation change the case here (genitive of negation)?

No. The subject (iste stvari) stays nominative even under negation. You might see genitive with some negated objects (e.g., partitive uses like Ne pijem kave), but not for a subject like this. Don’t say istih stvari here.

Is dopadati se a good synonym for sviđati se?

Yes, dopadati se / dopasti se are close in meaning. In Croatian, sviđati se / svidjeti se is the more common, neutral choice; dopadati se can sound more formal or regional. Your sentence with it would be:

• Ne dopadaju mi se iste stvari. (understood, but less typical in Croatia)

How would I say “We don’t like the same things”?

Change the dative pronoun:

• Ne sviđaju nam se iste stvari. (nam = “to us”) Other dative forms you might need: mi, ti, mu, joj, nam, vam, im.

How can I add emphasis like “at all,” “really,” or “not at all”?

• Uopće mi se ne sviđaju iste stvari. (not at all)
• Baš mi se ne sviđaju iste stvari. (really don’t)
• Nimalo mi se ne sviđaju iste stvari. (not in the least) These typically go before the clitic cluster or right before ne.