Što on kaže?

What is he saying?

Breakdown of Što on kaže?

• on: he
• kazati: to say
• što: what

Questions & Answers about Što on kaže?

Why is the question word što used here, and how is it different from šta or kaj?

Što is the standard Croatian question word for what in most contexts.

• Što – standard, used in formal writing, education, media, and understood everywhere.
• Šta – very common in everyday speech in many regions (especially in the south and in Bosnia/Serbia/Montenegro), but in strictly standard Croatian što is preferred.
• Kaj – regional (Kajkavian dialect, e.g. Zagreb area and north-west), not standard, but widely heard locally.

So Što on kaže? is the “textbook” version. In casual speech you will often hear Šta on kaže?, and in some dialects Kaj on kaže?, but if you’re aiming for standard Croatian, use što.

Do we really need the pronoun on here, or can we just say Što kaže?

You can say either:

• Što kaže? – What is he saying? / What does he say? (neutral)
• Što on kaže? – What is HE saying? (emphasis on he)

Croatian usually drops subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows the person:

• kaže clearly means he/she says.

Adding on (he) adds emphasis, contrast, or clarity, for example:

• Što on kaže, a što ona kaže? – What does he say, and what does she say?

So on is not grammatically required; it is used for emphasis or to contrast him with someone else.

What grammatical form is kaže, and what English tenses can it correspond to?

Kaže is:

• 3rd person singular
• present tense
• of the verb kazati (to say, to tell)
• perfective aspect

In English it can correspond to:

• What is he saying? (present continuous)
• What does he say? (present simple – when talking about something he regularly or typically says)
• In reported speech/narration: What does he say? as in “He says: …”

For learning purposes, it’s easiest to remember Što on kaže? as What is he saying? or What does he say?, depending on context. You do not normally translate it as a future tense.

What is the infinitive of kaže, and what are the main present tense forms?

The infinitive is kazati – to say / to tell.

Present tense (perfective) forms are:

• ja kažem – I say
• ti kažeš – you (singular) say
• on/ona/ono kaže – he/she/it says
• mi kažemo – we say
• vi kažete – you (plural/formal) say
• oni/one/ona kažu – they say

From kazati you also get past tense forms such as kazao sam (I said – masculine speaker) and kazala sam (I said – feminine speaker), but beginners often meet these later.

Is there a difference between kazati and reći, since both mean to say?

Yes, but in many situations they are close synonyms.

• kazati – the verb in your sentence (Što on kaže?). Common, a bit more “neutral” or sometimes slightly formal, depending on context.
• reći – also very common; in many everyday phrases Croatians actually use reći more often (e.g. Što će on reći? – What will he say?).

In practice:

• Što on kaže? and Što on kaže / što on kaže meni? – fully natural
• You will also hear Što on govori? or Što će on reći? depending on nuance (see below).

For a learner, you can treat kazati and reći as “both mean to say,” and learn specific fixed phrases over time.

What exactly does što do in terms of grammar? What case is it in here?

In Što on kaže?, što is:

• an interrogative pronoun (what)
• in the accusative case (direct object)

You can think of the structure as:

• On kaže što? – He says what?

So što is the thing being said (the direct object of kaže), which in Croatian normally takes the accusative case.

What word order is used here, and is Što kaže on? also possible?

The basic word order in this question is:

• Što (question word)
• on (subject pronoun)
• kaže (verb)

So: Što on kaže?

Other possibilities:

• Što kaže? – perfectly normal (no pronoun, neutral).
• Što kaže on? – possible, with special emphasis on on, often contrastive:
  And what does HE say? (as opposed to someone else).

However, On što kaže? is not a natural word order here and should be avoided.

For standard, clear Croatian, Što (on) kaže? is best.

How are the special letters š and ž in Što and kaže pronounced?

Approximate pronunciation for an English speaker:

• š – like sh in she, shoe.

  • Što ≈ shto (one syllable; close to shto).

• ž – like the s in measure, vision, or the g in genre.

  • kaže ≈ KAH-zhe (two syllables: ka-že).

Also:

• a – always like a in father (never like the a in cake).
• e – like e in get.

So the whole sentence is roughly: SHTO on KAH-zhe? with the main rise in pitch on ka- / -že since it’s a yes/no-content question.

Can I write Sto on kaze? without the accents, or is that wrong?

In standard written Croatian, leaving out the diacritics is considered incorrect:

• Što on kaže? – correct
• Sto on kaze? – formally wrong (and sto actually means one hundred)

However, in casual typing (SMS, social media, when someone lacks a Croatian keyboard), people sometimes omit the accents. You should still learn and use the correct characters (š, ž, č, ć, đ) whenever possible, especially in anything even slightly formal.

How would I change this sentence to say What are they saying?

You mainly change the subject from he to they and adjust the verb:

• Što oni kažu? – literally What do they say? / What are they saying?

As with on, you can also drop oni if it’s clear from context:

• Što kažu? – What are they saying?

Again, adding the pronoun oni emphasizes or clarifies they.

Is there a difference between Što on kaže? and Što on govori?

Yes, there’s a nuance:

• kazati (in Što on kaže?) – focuses on the content of what is said, a specific message or statement.

  • What (exactly) does he say?

• govoriti (Što on govori?) – focuses more on the act of speaking / talking; can sound like:

  • What is he talking about?
  • What is he saying (repeatedly / generally / during this speech)?

In many everyday contexts, both will be understood similarly, but:

• If you want the exact words or precise statement, Što on kaže? is more to the point.
• If you’re reacting to someone rambling or giving a speech, Što on govori? can feel more natural.