Learn Hardcore Croatian: Pitam se zašto danas pada kiša.

The verb pitati means to ask (someone).
- Pitam te. = I ask you.
When you add se, you get pitati se, which means to wonder, literally to ask oneself:
- Pitam se zašto… = I wonder why…

In normal English, Pitam se zašto danas pada kiša. is I wonder why it’s raining today, not I ask myself why…, even though that’s the literal idea.

You cannot just drop se and keep the same meaning.
Without se, you must normally say who you are asking:

Pitam te zašto danas pada kiša. = I’m asking you why it’s raining today.

Can I say Pitam zašto danas pada kiša without se?

No, not in standard Croatian.

Pitam zašto danas pada kiša. sounds incomplete or wrong, because pitati expects an object (someone you’re asking).
You must say either:
- Pitam se zašto danas pada kiša. = I wonder why it’s raining today.
- Pitam te zašto danas pada kiša. = I’m asking you why it’s raining today.
- Pitam ga / je / ih zašto danas pada kiša. = I’m asking him / her / them why it’s raining today.

So:

Pitam se = I wonder
Pitam + (someone) = I ask (someone)

What’s the literal meaning of Pitam se zašto danas pada kiša?

Word by word, it’s roughly:

Pitam – I ask
se – myself (reflexive; part of the verb pitati se)
zašto – why
danas – today
pada – falls / is falling
kiša – rain

So a literal rendering is: I ask myself why today rain is falling.

Natural English: I wonder why it’s raining today.

Why is there no to be verb like je (is) in pada kiša? English says it’s raining.

Croatian doesn’t use biti (to be) for this meaning.

The core idea is that rain falls:
- pada = falls / is falling
- kiša = rain

So danas pada kiša literally means today rain is falling, which corresponds to today it’s raining.

You can say kiša je in other contexts, but it will mean something like the rain is (something), e.g.:

Kiša je jaka. = The rain is heavy/strong.

For it’s raining, you normally say:

Pada kiša.
Or more basic: Kiša pada. (same meaning, slightly different emphasis).

Why is it pada kiša and not just a verb like kiši?

Croatian has both:

padati – to fall
kiša – rain
kišiti – to rain (a specific verb)

Common, very natural ways to say it’s raining:

Pada kiša. (literally: rain is falling)
Kiša pada.

You can also sometimes hear:

Danas kiši. = It’s raining today.

In your sentence, pada kiša is just the most usual neutral way to express it’s raining.

What grammatical role does kiša have here, and which case is it in?

Kiša is:

Gender: feminine
Number: singular
Case: nominative

In danas pada kiša, kiša is the subject of the verb pada:

Što (što je to što pada)? – Kiša.
(What is falling? – The rain.)

So the form kiša (nominative singular) is the dictionary form and the subject of the clause danas pada kiša.

Why is there a period and not a question mark? It feels like a question in English.

Croatian treats this as a statement with an indirect question, not a direct question.

Direct question:
- Zašto danas pada kiša? = Why is it raining today?
  → Ends with a question mark.
Indirect question inside a statement:
- Pitam se zašto danas pada kiša. = I wonder why it’s raining today.
  → The sentence as a whole is a statement, so it ends with a period.

The part zašto danas pada kiša is a question in meaning, but grammatically it’s embedded inside Pitam se…, which is stated, not asked.

Should there be a comma: Pitam se, zašto danas pada kiša?

Normally, no comma is used here in standard Croatian.

The clause zašto danas pada kiša is tightly connected to Pitam se (it’s the thing you are wondering about), so you write:
- Pitam se zašto danas pada kiša.

A comma (Pitam se, zašto danas pada kiša.) would sound odd or overly separated, and is generally considered non‑standard in this case.

Does the word order inside the zašto‑clause ever change? Could I say Pitam se zašto kiša danas pada?

Yes, you can change the word order, but it affects emphasis, not basic meaning.

Neutral, most common word order:

Pitam se zašto danas pada kiša.
(Time danas, then verb pada, then subject kiša.)

Other possibilities:

Pitam se zašto kiša danas pada.
→ Slight extra emphasis on kiša as the subject (it’s the rain that is falling today).
Pitam se zašto danas kiša pada.
→ Also possible, with focus often shifting to pada.

All of these mean essentially I wonder why it’s raining today, but Pitam se zašto danas pada kiša. is the most neutral and textbook‑like.

Why is it zašto and not što? What’s the difference?

zašto = why (asks for a reason or cause)
što (or šta regionally) = what

So:

Pitam se zašto danas pada kiša.
= I wonder why it’s raining today. (asking for the reason)

If you used što, you’d be asking what is happening, not why:

Pitam se što danas pada.
= I wonder what is falling today. (Rain? Snow? Hail? Leaves?)

Is the present tense pada here like the English present continuous (is raining)?

Yes, for weather and many ongoing actions, Croatian simple present often covers the English present continuous.

Danas pada kiša.
→ Literally Today rain falls, but best translated as It’s raining today.

Croatian does not form a separate continuous tense with to be + -ing like English.
Context tells you it’s happening now, so:

pada = falls / is falling
In this sentence it clearly means is falling → it’s raining (now/today).

How would the sentence change if I talk about snow instead of rain?

You mainly change the noun:

Pitam se zašto danas pada snijeg.
- snijeg = snow (masculine singular nominative)
- pada stays the same.

Other examples of the same pattern:

Pitam se zašto danas pada tuča. = I wonder why it’s hailing today.
(tuča = hail)
Pitam se zašto danas pada lišće. = I wonder why leaves are falling today.

The structure Pitam se zašto danas pada + [something] is very flexible.

Can I say Pitam se zašto je danas kiša instead of pada kiša?

Normally, no – not if you mean it’s raining.

Pitam se zašto je danas kiša. literally suggests something like
I wonder why it is rain today, as if rain were a “state” of the day, which sounds wrong/unnatural.

To say it’s raining, you should keep pada (or kiši):

Pitam se zašto danas pada kiša. – natural and correct.
Pitam se zašto danas kiši. – also possible, a bit shorter/more colloquial sounding.