Learn Hardcore Croatian: Danas se osjećam bolje nego jučer.

osjećati se = to feel (in general, as a state)
- Danas se osjećam bolje. – Today I feel better.
Without se, osjećati means to feel something physically or emotionally:
- Osjećam bol. – I feel pain.
- Osjećam hladnoću. – I feel cold (the cold).

So in this sentence, se doesn’t translate directly into English, but it is grammatically required with osjećati se.

Why is the word order Danas se osjećam, and can I also say Danas osjećam se?

You cannot say Danas osjećam se. The clitic se has to be in “second position” in the clause.

Some key points:

In Croatian, clitics like se, mi, ti, ga, ću, sam like to come very early in the sentence, usually after the first stressed word or phrase.
Here, Danas is the first word, so se naturally comes next:
- Danas se osjećam bolje nego jučer. – correct
If you start with the verb, you can put se after the verb:
- Osjećam se danas bolje nego jučer. – also correct, slightly different emphasis

But Danas osjećam se… breaks the clitic rule and sounds wrong to native speakers.

What is the difference between osjećam and osjećam se?

They’re related but not the same:

osjećam (without se) = I feel (something)
It usually takes an object:
- Osjećam bol. – I feel pain.
- Osjećam da nešto nije u redu. – I feel that something is wrong.
osjećam se (with se) = I feel (in myself, in a certain state)
It’s followed by an adjective/adverb or phrase describing your state:
- Osjećam se dobro. – I feel good.
- Danas se osjećam bolje nego jučer. – Today I feel better than yesterday.

In your sentence, we are talking about your state, so we must use osjećam se.

Why is it bolje and not something like više dobro or dobrije?

bolje is the regular comparative form of dobro (well / good as an adverb).

dobro – well
bolje – better (comparative of dobro)

You cannot say:

više dobro for better
dobrije – this form doesn’t exist

So:

Osjećam se dobro. – I feel well / good.
Osjećam se bolje. – I feel better.

Similarly with the adjective dobar (good):

dobar – good (masculine adjective)
bolji – better (comparative adjective)

But in Danas se osjećam bolje nego jučer, bolje is an adverb modifying the verb osjećam (se), so bolje (not bolji) is correct.

Why do we use nego and not od to say “than yesterday”?

Both nego and od can be used for comparisons, but not always in the same way or with the same meaning.

In your sentence:

Danas se osjećam bolje nego jučer. – Today I feel better than (I did) yesterday.

Here nego jučer is comparing today’s feeling with yesterday’s feeling.

If you said:

Osjećam se bolje od jučer.

it would usually be interpreted as “I feel better since yesterday / compared to the period starting yesterday”, and it sounds odd or unnatural in many contexts. Native speakers prefer nego jučer for a direct today vs. yesterday comparison of how you feel.

Safer rule for this type of sentence:
Use nego when you’re comparing how/when something happens (clauses, adverbs, whole situations), like:

Bolje je nego prije. – It’s better than before.
Danas se osjećam bolje nego jučer. – Today I feel better than yesterday.

Could I make the comparison longer, like: Danas se osjećam bolje nego što sam se jučer osjećao/osjećala?

Yes, that is grammatically correct, just more explicit and a bit heavier.

Danas se osjećam bolje nego jučer.
Literally: Today I feel better than yesterday (I felt).

The part “I felt” (Croatian sam se jučer osjećao/osjećala) is understood from context, so it’s normally omitted.

If you really want to spell it out, you can say:

Danas se osjećam bolje nego što sam se jučer osjećao. (speaker male)
Danas se osjećam bolje nego što sam se jučer osjećala. (speaker female)

This sounds more formal or contrastive, used if you want to emphasize the time comparison strongly.

Do verbs change for gender here? Would a woman say this sentence differently?

In the present tense, the verb osjećam (se) does not change for gender.

A man says: Danas se osjećam bolje nego jučer.
A woman says: Danas se osjećam bolje nego jučer.

Exactly the same.

Gender shows up in the past tense:

Male: Jučer sam se osjećao loše. – Yesterday I felt bad.
Female: Jučer sam se osjećala loše.

But in your present tense sentence, there is no gender difference.

What kind of words are danas and jučer? Are they in a special case?

danas (today) and jučer (yesterday) are adverbs of time.

They do not decline (they don’t change form for case, gender, or number).
They just stay danas and jučer in all contexts.

Examples:

Vidimo se danas. – See you today.
Vidjeli smo se jučer. – We saw each other yesterday.
Danas se osjećam bolje nego jučer. – Today I feel better than yesterday.

So you don’t need to worry about cases for these particular words.

Can the position of danas and jučer change? For example: Osjećam se danas bolje nego jučer?

Yes, Croatian word order is relatively flexible, and moving adverbs changes emphasis more than meaning.

All of these are grammatically correct:

Danas se osjećam bolje nego jučer.
Neutral, slight emphasis on today as a topic.
Osjećam se danas bolje nego jučer.
Puts a bit more focus on the verb phrase osjećam se; still natural.
Osjećam se bolje danas nego jučer.
Emphasizes better today as the contrast.

However, you must keep se in a valid clitic position; don’t do:

✗ Danas osjećam se bolje… – incorrect

How do you pronounce osjećam, and what is that letter ć?

osjećam is pronounced approximately: [o-sye-cham]

Breakdown:

o – like o in more (shorter)
sje – s
- ye (like s
  - ye in yes)
ć – a soft ch sound, shorter and lighter than English ch in church
am – like ahm

The letter ć is a separate consonant in Croatian. Rough guide for English speakers:

ć – softer, palatal, like a short tchy
č – harder, like ch in church

In osjećam, you only need to remember it’s a soft ch sound.