Learn Hardcore Croatian: Navečer ne volim bučne barove; radije sjedim u tihom parku. - In the evening I don't like noisy bars; I prefer to sit in a quiet park.

Navečer means “in the evening” / “in the evenings”, usually referring to the time from late afternoon until night, but not deep into the night.

It answers the question kada? (“when?”).
It often has a habitual sense: “In the evenings (generally), I don’t like noisy bars…”

It is earlier than noću (“at night / during the night”).
So:

navečer ≈ “in the evening(s)”
noću ≈ “at night / during the night”

I see “navečer” written as one word. Can I also say “uvečer” or “na večer”?

Yes, you will see a few variants:

navečer – very common and fully standard
uvečer – also common and standard
na večer – understandable, but today usually considered less standard / more old‑fashioned; most modern writing fuses it into one word

In everyday Croatian, navečer and uvečer are effectively synonyms. You can safely use either; most learners just pick one and stick with it (often navečer).

Why is it “ne volim bučne barove” and not something like “volim ne bučne barove”?

In Croatian:

The basic negation is the particle ne, and it normally goes directly in front of the verb:
- volim = I like
- ne volim = I don’t like
You cannot negate the object the way English sometimes does (“I like noisy bars” vs “I like not noisy bars”).
- volim ne bučne barove is not natural Croatian.

If you wanted to say “I like bars that are not noisy”, you would rephrase:

Volim barove koji nisu bučni.
“I like bars that aren’t noisy.”

But for “I don’t like noisy bars”, you always put ne in front of the verb:
Ne volim bučne barove.

Why is it “bučne barove” and not “bučni barovi”?

Because in this sentence “bučne barove” is the direct object of the verb volim.

In Croatian, direct objects are in the accusative case:

The noun bar (m.) in the plural:
- Nominative (subject): barovi – Barovi su skupi. (“Bars are expensive.”)
- Accusative (object): barove – Volim barove. (“I like bars.”)
The adjective bučan (noisy) must agree with the noun in:
- gender (masc.)
- number (plural)
- case (accusative)

So:

nominative: bučni barovi (if they were the subject)
accusative: bučne barove (as the object of volim)

Hence, Ne volim bučne barove. = “I don’t like noisy bars.”

What does “radije” mean exactly, and how is it different from “više” or “bolje”?

Radije is the comparative form of the adverb rado (“gladly, willingly”).

rado = gladly / with pleasure
radije = more gladly, rather / prefer to

So radije sjedim literally means “I sit more gladly”, i.e. “I would rather sit / I prefer to sit”.

Difference from the other words:

više = “more” (quantity, degree)
- Više pijem vodu. – “I drink more water.”
bolje = “better”
- Bolje kuham nego pijem. – “I cook better than I drink.” / “I’m better at cooking than at drinking.”
radije = “rather / prefer to”
- Radije sjedim u parku. – “I’d rather sit in the park.”

In your sentence, radije is the natural choice because it expresses preference between two options: noisy bars vs. sitting in a quiet park.

Can you explain “sjedim”? Why present tense, and what verb is that?

Sjedim is the 1st person singular present tense of the verb sjediti (“to sit, be sitting”).

Conjugation (present):

ja sjedim – I sit / I am sitting
ti sjediš
on/ona/ono sjedi
mi sjedimo
vi sjedite
oni sjede

In Croatian, the present tense is normally used for general habits as well as for actions happening now. So:

Radije sjedim u tihom parku.
= “I prefer to sit in a quiet park (in general, as a habit).”

You don’t need a special tense like English “I’d rather sit…”; simple present covers that habitual meaning.

Why is it “u tihom parku” and not “u tihi park”?

The preposition u can take locative or accusative:

Where? (static location) → locative
- u parku = in a/the park
Where to? (movement into) → accusative
- u park = into the park

In your sentence, the meaning is “I (would rather) sit in a quiet park”, a location (no movement). So:

u tihom parku – locative case (“in a quiet park”)

If you said:

Idem u tihi park. – “I’m going into the quiet park.”
→ here, there is movement, so you use accusative (tihi park).

Why is the adjective “tihom” used here, and not “tihi” or “tih”?

Adjectives in Croatian must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.

The noun park is:

masculine
singular
locative: (u) parku

Therefore, the adjective tih (“quiet”) must also be:

masculine
singular
locative

The standard masculine singular locative ending is -om, so:

tihom parku = in a quiet park

Some relevant forms:

Nominative: tihi park – “(the) quiet park” (as subject)
Accusative: tihi park – “(into) the quiet park”
Locative: u tihom parku – “in (a) quiet park”

So tihom is required here because it matches the locative noun parku after u (“in”).

Could the word order be “Navečer radije sjedim u tihom parku; ne volim bučne barove.” instead? Is that natural?

Yes, that word order is perfectly natural and actually very common:

Navečer radije sjedim u tihom parku; ne volim bučne barove.
“In the evening I’d rather sit in a quiet park; I don’t like noisy bars.”

Both versions are fine:

Navečer ne volim bučne barove; radije sjedim u tihom parku.
Navečer radije sjedim u tihom parku; ne volim bučne barove.

The difference is just what you emphasize first:

Version 1 starts with what you don’t like.
Version 2 starts with what you prefer to do.

In Croatian, radije normally appears before the verb it modifies (radije sjedim, radije pijem čaj), just as in both of these versions.

Why is there a semicolon (;) between the two parts instead of a comma or a period?

The semicolon here works very much like in English: it connects two closely related independent sentences:

Navečer ne volim bučne barove;
radije sjedim u tihom parku.

Each could stand alone with a period, but the semicolon shows a tight logical contrast: “instead / rather”.

Other perfectly acceptable ways to write this in Croatian:

Navečer ne volim bučne barove, radije sjedim u tihom parku.
(comma; a bit looser, more informal)
Navečer ne volim bučne barove, radije sjedim u tihom parku nego u bučnim barovima.
Navečer ne volim bučne barove. Radije sjedim u tihom parku.
(two separate sentences)

So the semicolon is a stylistic choice, not a grammatical necessity.