Learn Hardcore Croatian: Za mene je miran razgovor važniji od filma. - For me a calm conversation is more important than a movie.

In this sentence, Za mene introduces a personal standard or preference:
Za mene je miran razgovor važniji od filma. → For me, a calm conversation is more important than a film.

It’s like saying: Speaking about my priorities / In my case…

Could you also say Meni je miran razgovor važniji od filma instead of Za mene je miran razgovor važniji od filma?

Yes, you can, and it’s very natural:

Meni je miran razgovor važniji od filma.

Here:

meni is the dative form of ja (to me / for me).

Za mene and meni overlap a lot in everyday speech in this type of sentence.
Very roughly:

Za mene… – sounds a bit like “As far as my priorities go…”
Meni je… – sounds more like “To me, X is more important…”

Both are correct and idiomatic here.

What’s the difference between za mene and po meni?

Both involve your personal view, but they’re used a bit differently:

za mene = for me, in my case, as far as my priorities are concerned
- Za mene je miran razgovor važniji od filma.
  → For me, a calm conversation is more important than a film.
po meni = in my opinion (more about judgment/opinion)
- Po meni je taj film dosadan.
  → In my opinion, that film is boring.

You can say Po meni je miran razgovor važniji od filma, but that sounds more like you are stating an opinion in an abstract way, while Za mene focuses more on your personal preference and priorities.

Why is it miran razgovor and not mirni razgovor?

Razgovor is a masculine noun in the nominative singular.

The adjective miran (calm) agrees with it in:

gender: masculine
number: singular
case: nominative

So the basic form is:

miran razgovor – a calm conversation

You would use mirni razgovor in some other cases or structures, for example:

mirni razgovor – masculine nominative plural (calm conversations)
or as a “definite” form in certain styles (the calm conversation), but in modern standard Croatian this distinction is very limited and often not used the way learners expect.

For this sentence, miran razgovor is the standard and most natural form.

What case is mene in, and what case is filma in?

mene is accusative singular of ja (I).
- It appears after the preposition za, which requires the accusative: za mene = for me.
filma is genitive singular of film.
- It appears after od in a comparison: važniji od filma = more important than the film.

So the main parts are:

Za mene – accusative after za
miran razgovor – nominative (the subject)
od filma – genitive after od used in a comparison

Why is it važniji od filma and not važniji nego film?

In Croatian, both patterns exist:

adjective (comparative) + od + genitive
- važniji od filma – more important than (the) film
- very common with adjectives like važniji, bolji, gori, ljepši, etc.
više nego + nominative or bolje nego + nominative, etc.
- više volim razgovor nego film. – I like conversation more than (I like) film.

In this specific structure with važniji, od + genitive is the normal and idiomatic choice:

važniji od filma (standard, natural)
važniji nego film sounds unusual and is normally avoided with simple adjectives like this.

So: use od + genitive after the comparative form važniji.

How is važniji formed, and what is its base form?

The base (positive) form is:

važan – important

The comparative masculine singular form is:

važniji – more important

Formation pattern:

važan → važn- (drop -an) + -iji → važniji

Other forms from the same adjective:

važna stvar – an important thing (fem. sg.)
važnije stvari – more important things (neuter or plural context)
najvažniji – the most important (superlative)

In the sentence:

miran razgovor je važniji – a calm conversation is more important

Why is razgovor in the nominative case?

Razgovor is the subject of the sentence:

Za mene je miran razgovor važniji od filma.

Ignoring Za mene for a moment, the core is:

Miran razgovor je važniji. – A calm conversation is more important.

The subject (the thing that is more important) is miran razgovor, so it must be in the nominative case.

Can the word order change, or must it be Za mene je miran razgovor važniji od filma?

Croatian word order is flexible. These are all possible and natural, with slightly different emphasis:

Za mene je miran razgovor važniji od filma.
Za mene je važniji miran razgovor od filma.
Miran razgovor je za mene važniji od filma.
Meni je miran razgovor važniji od filma.

Differences are mostly about emphasis:

Starting with Za mene or Meni highlights your personal view.
Putting važniji before miran razgovor slightly emphasizes the importance itself.

All of them mean essentially: For me, a calm conversation is more important than a film.

Can je be omitted, like Za mene miran razgovor važniji od filma?

In careful standard Croatian (especially in writing), you should keep je:

Za mene je miran razgovor važniji od filma.

Omitting je is possible in informal, spoken language, especially in some dialects:

Za mene miran razgovor važniji od filma. (colloquial, elliptical)

But for learners and in standard language, always include je. It’s the present tense of biti (to be), and it’s normally required.

Why is there no word for a or the, like in English?

Croatian has no articles (no direct equivalents of a / an / the).
Definiteness and specificity are understood from context, word order, and sometimes from forms of adjectives or pronouns.

So:

miran razgovor can mean:
- a calm conversation
- the calm conversation

The sentence Za mene je miran razgovor važniji od filma could be translated as:

For me, a calm conversation is more important than a film.
or
For me, the calm conversation is more important than the film.

English must choose; Croatian simply doesn’t mark it with articles.

What does miran suggest here? Is it the same as tih?

Both miran and tih relate to quietness, but with different nuances:

miran – calm, peaceful, not tense, not full of conflict
- miran razgovor – a calm, peaceful conversation, without arguments
tih – quiet in volume, not loud
- tih razgovor – a quiet (low-volume) conversation, not necessarily emotionally calm

In this sentence, miran razgovor focuses on an emotionally peaceful, non-stressful conversation, not just speaking quietly.

Could I say Razgovor mi je važniji od filma instead? What changes?

Yes, this is also natural:

Razgovor mi je važniji od filma.

Here:

mi is the dative of ja (to me, for me).
The meaning is: Conversation is more important to me than film.

Comparing:

Za mene je miran razgovor važniji od filma. – explicitly “For me, a calm conversation is more important than a film.”
Razgovor mi je važniji od filma. – shorter, with the dative pronoun mi, but same idea: your personal preference.

You can combine both ideas:

Za mene je razgovor važniji od filma.
Meni je razgovor važniji od filma.

All express a personal preference; the differences are nuances of style and emphasis.