Learn Hardcore Croatian: Kad duboko dišem, osjećam se opušteniji nego jučer. - When I breathe deeply, I feel more relaxed than yesterday.

Kad and kada mean the same thing. Kada is a bit more formal or careful; kad is shorter and very common in everyday speech.
- Both are correct here:
  - Kad duboko dišem…
  - Kada duboko dišem…
Dok also means while, but it emphasizes that two actions happen at the same time. In this sentence, dok would also sound fine, but it sounds a bit more like:
- Dok duboko dišem, osjećam se opušteniji… = While I am breathing deeply, I feel more relaxed…

So: kad = kada here; dok is possible but has a slightly different nuance (more focus on simultaneity).

Why is there a comma after dišem?

Because Kad duboko dišem is a subordinate clause (a dependent clause) that comes before the main clause.

Subordinate clause: Kad duboko dišem (When I breathe deeply)
Main clause: osjećam se opušteniji nego jučer (I feel more relaxed than yesterday)

In Croatian, when a subordinate clause comes before the main clause, you normally separate them with a comma:

Kad dođem kući, odmaram se.
Ako pada kiša, ostajem doma.

If the order is reversed, the comma is often dropped:

Odmaram se kad dođem kući.

So the comma in Kad duboko dišem, osjećam se… follows this standard rule.

Why is the word order Kad duboko dišem and not Kad dišem duboko? Are both correct?

Both are correct; Croatian word order is quite flexible.

Kad duboko dišem
Kad dišem duboko

Both mean When I breathe deeply. The difference is tiny and mostly about emphasis:

Kad duboko dišem – very neutral, maybe a tiny bit more natural-sounding.
Kad dišem duboko – puts a little more focus on the verb dišem, but is still normal.

You can generally put adverbs like duboko (deeply), polako (slowly), brzo (quickly) either before or after the verb, especially in spoken language.

Why is dišem in the present tense if this is a general situation, not something happening right now?

The Croatian present tense covers both:

Things happening right now:
- Sad dišem duboko. – I am breathing deeply now.
General or habitual situations (like English I breathe):
- Kad duboko dišem, osjećam se bolje. – When I breathe deeply, I feel better.

So dišem here is a present tense form that expresses a general habit or repeated situation, just like English When I breathe deeply, I feel… (simple present).

What is the role of se in osjećam se?

Se is a reflexive pronoun. It makes osjećati into osjećati se, which corresponds to English to feel (a certain way) about yourself.

osjećati
- object = to feel something
  - Osjećam bol. – I feel pain.
  - Osjećam sreću. – I feel happiness.
osjećati se
- adjective/adverb = to feel (be in a certain state)
  - Osjećam se dobro. – I feel good.
  - Osjećam se umorno. – I feel tired.
  - Osjećam se opušteniji. – I feel more relaxed.

So in osjećam se opušteniji, se shows that the feeling is about myself, not about something external.

Why is it osjećam se opušteniji, not se osjećam opušteniji or opušteniji se osjećam?

This is about the position of clitics (short unstressed words like se, ga, mi, je) in Croatian.

Rule of thumb: in a clause, clitics want to be in second position, right after the first stressed word.

The clause is: osjećam se opušteniji
- First stressed word: osjećam
- Clitic se must come right after it:

Correct:

osjećam se opušteniji

Incorrect in this context:

se osjećam opušteniji – clitic cannot start the clause.
Possible with different emphasis:
Opušteniji se osjećam kad duboko dišem.
Here, opušteniji is moved to the front for emphasis, so se goes in second position after opušteniji.

So the original sentence uses the standard clitic placement: osjećam se…

Why is it opušteniji and not više opušten? How do comparatives work here?

Opušteniji is the comparative form of the adjective opušten (relaxed).

Croatian often forms comparatives by changing the adjective itself:

opušten → opušteniji (relaxed → more relaxed)
lijep → ljepši (beautiful → more beautiful)
jak → jači (strong → stronger)

You can sometimes say više opušten, but:

opušteniji is shorter and more natural here.
više + adjective is usually used when there is no standard comparative form or for stylistic emphasis:
- više praktičan (more practical)
- više svjestan (more aware)

In everyday speech, opušteniji nego jučer is the normal way to say more relaxed than yesterday.

Why is it opušteniji (masculine) and not opuštenija (feminine)? What changes if the speaker is a woman?

Adjectives in Croatian must agree with the gender and number of the subject.

opušteniji – masculine singular nominative
opuštenija – feminine singular nominative

In the sentence, the subject is ja (I), which has no gender by itself. You choose the adjective form according to the speaker’s gender:

A male speaker:
- Kad duboko dišem, osjećam se opušteniji nego jučer.
A female speaker:
- Kad duboko dišem, osjećam se opuštenija nego jučer.

If you were talking about a group:

Mixed or all-male group: opušteniji smo
All-female group: opuštenije smo

Why is there no word for I in dišem and osjećam se?

Croatian is a pro‑drop language: subject pronouns like ja (I), ti (you) are usually omitted because the verb ending already tells you the subject.

dišem = I breathe
osjećam se = I feel

You can add ja for emphasis or contrast:

Ja dišem duboko, ali ti ne. – I breathe deeply, but you don’t.

In neutral statements, you normally leave ja out, as in this sentence.

How does nego work here, and when should I use nego, od, or kao in comparisons?

In this sentence, nego means than:

opušteniji nego jučer – more relaxed than yesterday

Some basic guidelines:

Comparative + od + genitive (often with nouns/pronouns)
- Veći sam od tebe. – I am taller than you.
- Mirniji sam od brata. – I am calmer than my brother.
Comparative + nego often when the second part is:
- an adverb, number, or whole clause:
  - opušteniji nego jučer – more relaxed than yesterday
  - više nego ikad – more than ever
  - bolje nego prije – better than before
više / manje + nego is very common:
- Više volim čaj nego kavu. – I prefer tea to coffee.
kao means like / as, not more than:
- Opušten sam kao dijete. – I am relaxed like a child.
- On je visok kao ja. – He is as tall as I am.

So here nego is used because you are comparing your current state with jučer, which is an adverb (yesterday).

Could I say Kad duboko dišem, opušteniji sam nego jučer instead of Kad duboko dišem, osjećam se opušteniji nego jučer? What is the difference?

Yes, both are grammatically correct, but there is a nuance:

osjećam se opušteniji – literally I feel more relaxed
- Focus on your subjective feeling.
opušteniji sam – literally I am more relaxed
- Focus a bit more on your state as a fact.

In practice, both can often be translated as I feel more relaxed, and both sound natural. Osjećam se opušteniji slightly emphasizes the inner feeling, which fits well in contexts like relaxation, breathing exercises, emotions, etc.

What is jučer grammatically? Why does it not change its form?

Jučer is an adverb of time, meaning yesterday.

Adverbs in Croatian (like jučer, sutra, danas, sad, često) generally do not decline, so they do not change for case, gender, or number.

That is why jučer looks the same in different sentences:

Bio sam sretan jučer. – I was happy yesterday.
Danas sam opušteniji nego jučer. – Today I am more relaxed than yesterday.

So nego jučer is simply than yesterday, with jučer staying in its basic adverb form.