Questions & Answers about Djeca se igraju u parku.
Se is a reflexive pronoun. With igrati se, it makes the verb reflexive and gives it the meaning “to play (for fun, like children do)”.
- igrati se = to play (intransitive, children just playing)
- Djeca se igraju. – The children are playing.
- igrati (without se) is usually transitive: to play something
- Djeca igraju nogomet. – The children are playing football.
- Ona svira gitaru, a on igra šah. – She plays the guitar, and he plays chess.
In your sentence Djeca se igraju u parku, you need se, because they are just “playing” in general, not playing a specific game that you name.
Igraju is 3rd person plural (they).
Present tense of igrati se:
- ja se igram – I play / I am playing
- ti se igraš – you play (singular, informal)
- on/ona/ono se igra – he/she/it plays
- mi se igramo – we play
- vi se igrate – you play (plural or formal)
- oni/one/ona se igraju – they play
Djeca (children) is a plural noun, so the verb must also be plural: djeca se igraju, not djeca se igra.
Djeca means children and is grammatically plural only. There is no singular djeca.
The singular form is dijete – a child.
- singular: dijete – child
- plural: djeca – children
Some details:
- Djeca always takes a plural verb:
- Djeca su u parku. – The children are in the park.
- Djeca se igraju. – The children are playing.
- Adjectives with djeca are neuter plural:
- mala djeca – small children
- dobra djeca – good children
So think of djeca as “children (they)” grammatically.
U parku uses the locative case of park.
- Nominative (dictionary form): park – a park
- Locative singular: parku – in the park
The preposition u (in) usually takes:
- Locative for location (where?) – u parku = in the park (no movement)
- Accusative for direction (where to?) – u park = into the park (movement toward)
Compare:
- Djeca se igraju u parku. – The children are playing in the park. (they are already there)
- Djeca idu u park. – The children are going to the park. (movement into it)
Croatian has no articles (no words like a, an, the).
Definiteness is understood from:
- context,
- word order,
- sometimes from pointing words like ta djeca (those children), ova djeca (these children), etc.
So Djeca se igraju u parku can be translated depending on context as:
- The children are playing in the park.
- Children are playing in the park.
- Some children are playing in the park.
English must choose an article; Croatian doesn’t have to.
Without se, the meaning changes.
- Djeca se igraju u parku. – The children are playing in the park.
(just playing, having fun) - Djeca igraju u parku. – This usually implies they play something in the park, e.g. football, a match, some specific game or role:
- Djeca igraju nogomet u parku. – The children are playing football in the park.
- Djeca igraju predstavu u parku. – The children are performing a play in the park.
If you just mean children are playing (like kids do), igrati se with se is the normal choice.
Short answer: Djeca igraju se u parku is wrong in standard Croatian.
Se is a clitic (an unstressed little word) and Croatian clitics normally want to be in second position in the sentence or clause.
In Djeca se igraju u parku:
- Djeca = first stressed word
- se = second position (right after the first word)
- igraju u parku = the rest
Other correct word orders:
- Djeca se u parku igraju.
- U parku se djeca igraju.
But you do not put se after the verb in standard written Croatian:
- ✗ Djeca igraju se u parku. – incorrect in standard language (though you might hear it in some speech).
Igraju is present tense. Croatian has only one present form, and context decides whether it corresponds to:
- English present continuous:
- Djeca se igraju u parku (sada). – The children are playing in the park (now).
- or English present simple (habitual):
- Djeca se igraju u parku svaki dan. – The children play in the park every day.
So the same Croatian form igraju can mean both “play” and “are playing” depending on context.
Approximate pronunciation, with English hints:
- Djeca – roughly DYE-tsa
- dj = one sound, similar to dy in “duke” or j in “jam” but softer and more palatal
- c = ts in “cats”
- se – seh (short e, like “set”)
- igraju – EE-gra-yu
- i always like ee in “see”
- j like y in “yes”
- u – oo like “food”
- parku – PAHR-koo
- r is rolled or tapped
- both a and u are clean, short vowels
Stress is typically on the first syllable: DJЕ-ca se Í-gra-ju u PÁR-ku (approximate; actual stress patterns can vary regionally, but this will be understood).
Both u and na can translate as in / at / on, but they’re used differently.
u is used for:
- being inside or within something:
- u parku – in the park
- u kući – in the house
- u školi – at/in school
na is used for:
- surfaces or open areas, or fixed expressions:
- na stolu – on the table
- na ulici – on the street
- na igralištu – on the playground
- na poslu – at work
A park is thought of as a space you are in, so: u parku, not na parku.
Djeca se igraju u parku is completely neutral and natural Croatian.
- You can use it in spoken language, in writing, in a children’s book, in everyday conversation, etc.
- It’s neither especially formal nor childish; it’s just the normal way to say that children are playing in the park.
Yes. Time expressions are flexible in position. All of these are correct:
- Djeca se igraju u parku sada. – The children are playing in the park now.
- Djeca se sada igraju u parku.
- Sada se djeca igraju u parku.
- Djeca se igraju u parku svaki dan. – The children play in the park every day.
- Svaki dan se djeca igraju u parku.
Just remember that se still wants to stay in second position in the clause.