Learn Hardcore Croatian: Danas nemam ni zadaću ni bilježnicu. - Today I have neither homework nor the notebook.

ni ... ni expresses “neither … nor.” Croatian uses negative concord: negative items travel together. If you use ni … ni, the verb must also be negated, hence nemam (not imam). Example: Ne volim ni kavu ni čaj = I like neither coffee nor tea.

Can I use niti instead of ni?

Yes. niti … niti is a stylistic variant of ni … ni. It can sound a bit more formal or emphatic. Your sentence could be: Danas nemam niti zadaću niti bilježnicu. You’ll also hear mixed use (ni … niti), but it’s best to be consistent in careful speech.

Why is it written nemam and not ne imam?

With the verb imati (to have), the negation is written as one word: nemam, nemaš, nema, nemamo, nemate, nemaju. A few other verbs also fuse with ne (notably biti → nisam, nisi, nije… and htjeti → neću, nećeš…). Most other verbs keep ne separate (e.g., ne radim, ne mogu, ne znam).

Why do zadaću and bilježnicu end in -u?

They’re direct objects in the accusative singular. Feminine nouns ending in -a typically take -u in the accusative singular:

zadaća → zadaću
bilježnica → bilježnicu

Do I need to repeat ni before both nouns?

Yes. Put ni before each coordinated item: ni zadaću ni bilježnicu. With longer lists, repeat ni each time (e.g., ni olovku, ni bilježnicu, ni gumicu). Omitting the second ni sounds off or incomplete.

Where can danas go? Is word order flexible?

Quite flexible, with slight changes in emphasis:

Neutral: Danas nemam ni zadaću ni bilježnicu.
Also natural: Nemam danas ni zadaću ni bilježnicu.
Also possible: Nemam ni zadaću ni bilježnicu danas.
Emphatic focus on the objects: Ni zadaću ni bilježnicu danas nemam.

Can I say Nemam zadaću i bilježnicu to mean “I don’t have homework or my notebook”?

Avoid that. ne … i … can be read as “I don’t have both (together)” and may imply you might have one of them. To clearly say “neither … nor,” use ni … ni: Nemam ni zadaću ni bilježnicu.

Does nemam zadaću mean I wasn’t assigned homework, I didn’t do it, or I don’t have it with me?

Context decides:

Usually, imati zadaću = “to have homework (assigned).” Danas nemam zadaću often means “I have no homework today.”
“I didn’t do the homework”: Nisam napravio/napravila zadaću.
“I don’t have my homework with me”: Nemam zadaću sa sobom or Zaboravio/Zaboravila sam zadaću.

Croatian has no articles. How do I show “my notebook” if needed?

Use a possessive. Because the subject is “I,” the reflexive possessive is idiomatic:

Danas nemam ni svoju zadaću ni svoju bilježnicu. You can also use moju: … ni moju bilježnicu, but svoju is preferred when it refers back to the subject.

Could I make it plural to mean “I have neither assignments nor notebooks”?

Yes: Danas nemam ni zadaće ni bilježnice. Here both nouns are accusative plural (same form as nominative plural for these feminine nouns). Note that forms like zadaće and bilježnice can also be genitive singular, but with nemam the intended reading here is accusative plural.

What’s the difference between zadaća and zadatak?

zadaća (often domaća zadaća) = homework (the whole assignment).
zadatak (plural zadaci) = a task/exercise/problem (e.g., a single math problem). So nemam zadaću = I have no homework assignment; nemam zadatak = I have no task/a certain exercise (less common in the school-homework sense).

Are there regional synonyms for bilježnica or zadaća?

Yes, regionally:

bilježnica (Croatia) ≈ teka (parts of HR), sveska (Serbian).
zadaća / domaća zadaća (Croatia) ≈ domaći or domaći zadatak (elsewhere). In standard Croatian, bilježnica and (domaća) zadaća are the norm.

How do I pronounce the special letters in zadaću and bilježnicu?

ć is a “soft ch,” lighter/shorter than English ch (closer to the “t” + “y” in British “tune,” but as a single sound).
č (not in this sentence) is a “hard ch,” like English “ch” in “chop.”
ž (in bilježnicu) is like the “s” in “measure.” Correct stress and length vary by dialect, but getting ć/č and ž roughly right helps a lot.

Could ni also mean “not even” like “not even a notebook”?

Yes, with čak for emphasis: Danas nemam čak ni bilježnicu = “Today I don’t even have my notebook.” Without čak, ni can also have a “not even” feel depending on context and intonation.

Why not use genitive after negation (e.g., nemam zadaće)?

Modern standard Croatian usually keeps the direct object in the accusative under negation: Ne pijem kavu, Nemam zadaću. Genitive with negation exists (especially in older, stylistic, or other standard variants) and can suggest “no … at all” or an indefinite/quantity nuance: Ne pijem kave, Nemam zadaće. In everyday Croatian, the accusative is the safe default unless you want that special nuance.