Naš plan je različit.

Our plan is different.

Breakdown of Naš plan je različit.

• biti: to be
• naš: our
• plan: plan
• različit: different

Questions & Answers about Naš plan je različit.

Is the word order with the clitic correct? Should it be Naš je plan različit instead of Naš plan je različit?

Both are acceptable.

• Very standard/neutral: Naš je plan različit. (clitic je in “second position” after the first word)
• Also common and acceptable: Naš plan je različit. (je follows the first phrase Naš plan) You cannot start a sentence with the clitic: not Je naš plan različit. You can also front the adjective for emphasis: Različit je naš plan.

Why is it različit and not različiti/različita/različito?

Adjectives agree with the subject in gender, number, and case. Plan is masculine singular nominative, so the predicate adjective must be masculine singular nominative: različit.

• Feminine: Naša ideja je različita.
• Neuter: Naše rješenje je različito.
• Plural (masc. personal): Naši planovi su različiti.

Do I need to say “different from (something)”? How do I add that?

Use od + genitive.

• Naš plan je različit od njihovog (plana).
• Naš je plan različit od onoga što su predložili. Don’t use nego with različit. Reserve nego for true comparatives; with različit prefer od.

Can I use drugačiji or drukčiji instead of različit?

Yes. Drugačiji (also drukčiji) is very common in everyday speech and works much like različit.

• Naš plan je drugačiji (od njihovog).
• With clauses, you’ll often hear: Naš plan je drugačiji nego prije. (Here, nego is fine with drugačiji.)

What case is plan in, and what case is the adjective in?

Plan is the subject in the nominative. The predicate adjective različit is also in the nominative to agree with the subject. The verb je (is) doesn’t assign an object case here.

What kind of word is naš, and how does it change?

Naš is a possessive adjective (often called a possessive pronoun used attributively). It agrees with the noun:

• Masculine: naš plan
• Feminine: naša ideja
• Neuter: naše rješenje
• Plural masculine: naši planovi, etc.

Can I omit je?

Not in normal sentences. You might see it dropped in headlines or notes:

• Headline style: Naš plan različit But in standard speech/writing keep je: Naš plan je različit.

How do I pronounce the special letters here?

• š = sh (as in ship): Naš ≈ “nash”
• č = ch (as in chop): različit ≈ “rahz-LEE-chit”
• j = y (as in yes): je ≈ “ye” Vowels are pure: a = “ah”, i = “ee”, e = short “e”.

What’s the difference between različit and različito?

• različit/a/o = adjective, agrees with a noun: Naš plan je različit.
• različito can also be an adverb meaning “differently”: Radimo različito. Be careful: Naš plan je različito is wrong, because plan is masculine and needs različit.

Can različit come before the noun (an attributive use)?

Yes.

• različit plan = a different plan (from some context)
• različiti planovi = different/various plans In the plural, English “different” can mean “various,” and Croatian uses različiti the same way.

How can I emphasize “different”?

Use intensifiers like sasvim, posve, potpuno, u potpunosti, baš:

• Naš plan je sasvim različit.
• Naš je plan posve drugačiji.

Is drugi a valid synonym here?

Be careful. Drugi means “the other/second/another,” not “different” in general.

• Naš plan je drugi = Our plan is the other/second one (not simply “different”).

What’s the difference between je and jest?

je is the unstressed clitic form of “to be” and normally sits in second position. jest is the full, stressed form used for emphasis or where clitics can’t go.

• Plan jest različit, ali je izvediv. You typically won’t start a sentence with je, but you can start with jest.

Are there regional or register preferences among različit, različan, drugačiji, and drukčiji?

All are widely understood across the region.

• In Croatian, različit is standard and very common; drugačiji/drukčiji are also common (drukčiji is a frequent Croatian variant).
• različan is more frequent in Serbian; in Croatia you’ll hear it but različit tends to be preferred. Use the one you hear in your target variety.