Moja prijateljica danas ima rođendan.

My (female) friend has a birthday today.

Breakdown of Moja prijateljica danas ima rođendan.

• imati: to have
• moj: my
• danas: today
• prijateljica: friend
• rođendan: birthday

Questions & Answers about Moja prijateljica danas ima rođendan.

Why does Croatian say has a birthday here instead of using to be, like in English?

In Croatian the usual idiom is imati rođendan (to have a birthday), so Moja prijateljica danas ima rođendan is perfectly normal. There’s also a natural alternative with to be: Danas je rođendan moje prijateljice (Today is my friend’s birthday). The first focuses on the person; the second frames the day as the birthday of someone.

Does prijateljica mean a romantic girlfriend?

No. Prijateljica means a female friend (non-romantic). For a romantic girlfriend, use djevojka or colloquially cura. Informally you may also hear frendica for “female friend.”

Why is it moja prijateljica and not moj prijateljica?

Because prijateljica is feminine. The possessive my agrees with the noun’s gender:

• Masculine: moj prijatelj
• Feminine: moja prijateljica
• Neuter: moje dijete

What cases are used in this sentence?

• Moja prijateljica is nominative singular (the subject).
• rođendan is the direct object of imati, so it’s accusative singular. For inanimate masculine nouns like rođendan, accusative = nominative in form, so it looks unchanged.
• danas is an adverb, so it doesn’t decline.

Can I change the word order?

Yes. Common, natural options:

• Moja prijateljica danas ima rođendan. (neutral)
• Danas moja prijateljica ima rođendan. (emphasis on “today”)
• Moja prijateljica ima rođendan danas. (possible, a bit afterthought-like) Croatian word order is flexible for emphasis, but don’t separate moja from prijateljica.

Do I need an article like “a” or “the”?

No. Croatian has no articles. Context supplies definiteness.

How do I say “Today is my friend’s birthday” using the “to be” construction?

Danas je rođendan moje prijateljice. Here moje prijateljice is genitive singular (literally “of my friend”), which is how possession is shown in that structure.

Can I omit or move danas?

Yes.

• Omit: Moja prijateljica ima rođendan.
• Other times: Moja prijateljica sutra ima rođendan. (tomorrow), Moja prijateljica jučer je imala rođendan. (yesterday; note past tense je imala)

How do I congratulate someone?

Common, natural phrases:

• Sretan rođendan! (Happy birthday!)
• Sretan ti rođendan! (Happy birthday to you!)
• Sve najbolje! (All the best!)

How do I pronounce the tricky parts?

• j = y in “yes”: moja ≈ MO-ya.
• lj is a palatal L: prijateljica ≈ priya-tel-yee-tsa.
• đ = soft j in “jam”: rođendan ≈ RO-jen-dan.
• c = ts: -lica ≈ -lee-tsa.

Is there a shorter, natural way to say “It’s her birthday today”?

Yes: Danas joj je rođendan. (joj = to her, dative clitic). For a male: Danas mu je rođendan.

What’s the plural?

• Feminine friends: Moje prijateljice danas imaju rođendan.
• Masculine/mixed: Moji prijatelji danas imaju rođendan. You can also hear: Danas su im rođendani. (Their birthdays are today.)

Why does prijateljica look derived from prijatelj?

Because it is. The suffix -ica forms many feminine counterparts:

• prijatelj → prijateljica (friend → female friend)
• učitelj → učiteljica (teacher → female teacher)

Can I write rodjendan without the special letter?

Standard spelling is rođendan with đ. When keyboards lack Croatian letters, people sometimes type rodjendan informally, but use rođendan in correct writing.

Can I say slavi rođendan instead of ima rođendan?

Yes. Moja prijateljica danas slavi rođendan. emphasizes the celebration. Ima rođendan simply states the fact.

Any capitalization or punctuation pitfalls here?

• danas isn’t capitalized.
• No comma is needed.
• Proper names are capitalized: Moja prijateljica Ana danas ima rođendan.