Learn Hardcore Croatian: Njoj je lijepa riječ draža od skupog iznenačenja. - For her a kind word is dearer than an expensive surprise.

It is the dative singular of ona (she). In Croatian, the dative is often used for an indirect experiencer of a feeling or preference, especially with verbs like biti (to be):

Njoj je hladno. – She is cold (literally: To her, it is cold).
Meni je to važno. – That is important to me (lit. To me, that is important).

So:

Njoj je lijepa riječ draža…
literally: “To her, a kind word is dearer…”

Using njoj instead of ona emphasizes her point of view or personal preference, not just a neutral statement about some fact.

Why does the sentence start with “Njoj je…” instead of “Lijepa riječ je…”?

Croatian word order is flexible and often used for emphasis rather than grammar. The basic “neutral” version could be:

Lijepa riječ je njoj draža od skupog iznenačenja.

But starting with Njoj brings extra focus on “to her / in her opinion / for her personally”. It subtly contrasts her with other people:

Njoj je lijepa riječ draža…
As for her, a kind word is dearer… (maybe unlike other people, who prefer gifts).

So the meaning is the same, but:

Njoj je… → emphasis on her.
Lijepa riječ je… → more neutral focus on the kind word as the subject.

What exactly does “draža” mean, and from which word does it come?

Draža is the comparative form of the adjective drag, draga, drago, which means “dear, beloved, precious”.

drag (m.) / draga (f.) / drago (n.) – dear
draži (m.) / draža (f.) / draže (n.) – dearer / more dear

In the sentence:

riječ is feminine singular → the adjective must match: draža (feminine singular comparative).

So “draža” = “dearer / more dear / more precious” (to her).

Why is it “draža od” and not “draža nego”?

With comparatives in Croatian, both od and nego can introduce what something is compared to, but they are used a bit differently:

od + genitive
- Very common, especially when the second thing is just a noun.
- draža od skupog iznenačenja – dearer than an expensive surprise
nego
- Common when comparing whole phrases, clauses, pronouns, adjectives, etc.
- Draže mi je da razgovaramo nego da mi kupuješ poklone.
  I prefer that we talk rather than you buying me gifts.

In this sentence, it’s a straightforward comparison of one noun phrase to another, so “draža od skupog iznenačenja” is the natural, standard choice.

Why is “lijepa riječ” in that form? What are its gender, number, and case?

riječ = feminine noun, singular.
Here it is the subject of the sentence → nominative singular.

The adjective must agree with the noun:

lijep (m.) / lijepa (f.) / lijepo (n.)

So:

lijepa riječ = a beautiful word / a kind word
→ feminine nominative singular, matching riječ.

In context, “lijepa riječ” is better read as “a kind word” rather than literally “a beautiful word”.

Why is it “skupog iznenačenja” and not “skupo iznenađenje”?

This is because of the preposition od, which in comparisons takes the genitive case:

od + genitive

iznenađenje (surprise) is:

neuter noun, nominative singular: iznenađenje
genitive singular: iznenačenja

The adjective skup (expensive) must agree in case, number, gender:

nominative neuter: skupo iznenađenje
genitive neuter: skupog iznenačenja

So:

draža od skupog iznenačenja
literally: dearer than (of) an expensive surprise
But in English: dearer than an expensive surprise.

The change from skupo iznenađenje → skupog iznenačenja is entirely due to the genitive case after od.

Could you rewrite this sentence in a more “literal” word order, and is that version still correct?

Yes, you can make the sentence more “neutral” in word order without changing the meaning. For example:

Lijepa riječ je njoj draža od skupog iznenačenja.
Lijepa riječ je draža njoj od skupog iznenačenja.

Both are grammatically correct.

However, the original:

Njoj je lijepa riječ draža od skupog iznenačenja.

sounds very natural and nicely emphasizes her personal preference.

Can “je” be omitted here, like sometimes happens in other languages?

No, not in standard Croatian.

In this construction, je is the 3rd person singular present of “biti” (to be) and is required:

Njoj je lijepa riječ draža… ✅
Njoj lijepa riječ draža… ❌ (incorrect in standard Croatian)

You can drop “je” only in certain set expressions or very specific stylistic/poetic contexts, but not in a normal, everyday sentence like this.

Is there any difference in nuance between “lijepa riječ” here and English “kind word”?

Yes, a small nuance difference:

Literally, lijepa riječ = “beautiful word”.
Idiomatically in this context, it’s best translated as “a kind word”.

In Croatian, calling a word lijepa can imply that it is:

kind,
pleasant,
considerate,
emotionally nice to hear.

So while the literal meaning is “beautiful”, the emotional/idiomatic sense matches English “a kind word” very well in this sentence.

How would you express this idea using a more explicit verb like “prefer” instead of the adjective “draža”?

You can rephrase the same idea with voljeti više (“to like more / to prefer”):

Ona više voli lijepu riječ nego skupo iznenađenje.
She prefers a kind word to an expensive surprise.

Changes to notice:

Now we use ona (she) as the subject with a verb (voli).
We use više voli instead of je draža.
After više voli, nego sounds more natural than od here.

The original sentence is more compact and slightly more elegant, but this version may feel more “direct” to an English speaker.