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Kao početnica još radim puno pogrešaka.

Kao početnica još radim puno pogrešaka.
As a beginner, I still make a lot of mistakes.

Breakdown of Kao početnica još radim puno pogrešaka.

kao
as
raditi
to make
još
still
početnica
beginner
pogreška
mistake
puno
a lot
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Questions & Answers about Kao početnica još radim puno pogrešaka.

Why is it početnica and not početnik here?

Početnica is the feminine form of početnik (beginner).

  • A woman would say: Kao početnica još radim puno pogrešaka.
  • A man would say: Kao početnik još radim puno pogrešaka.

So the noun agrees with the speaker’s gender. Croatian regularly has masculine/feminine pairs like:

  • učenik / učenica (pupil)
  • student / studentica (student)
What does kao do here, and is the case after it nominative or instrumental?

Kao means as / like and is followed by the nominative here: kao početnica = as a beginner.

With kao, Croatian usually uses the nominative for a real role or identity:

  • Radim kao učiteljica. – I work as a teacher (female).
  • On govori kao stručnjak. – He speaks as an expert.

You might also hear instrumental in some expressions (kao početnicom etc.), but in your sentence the natural choice is nominative: kao početnica.

What exactly does još mean here? Is it “still” or “more”?

In this sentence, još means still:

  • Kao početnica još radim puno pogrešaka.
    → As a beginner, I still make a lot of mistakes.

Još can mean:

  1. Still (continuing situation):

    • Još radim. – I’m still working.

  2. More / another / in addition:

    • Želim još kave. – I want more coffee.

Here, because it modifies the verb radim in a continuing sense, the meaning is still.

Could I say još uvijek or i dalje instead of još?

Yes, and the meaning would be very similar:

  • Kao početnica još uvijek radim puno pogrešaka.
  • Kao početnica i dalje radim puno pogrešaka.

Nuances:

  • još – very common, neutral “still”.
  • još uvijek – often a bit more emphatic, like “still (even now)”.
  • i dalje – can slightly emphasize continuation in spite of something or over time (“and I continue to…”).

All are natural in this sentence.

Why is radim used for “make mistakes”? Can I say pravim or činim mistakes?

Raditi pogreške is a very common collocation meaning to make mistakes.

You can also hear:

  • praviti pogreške / greške – also used, especially in speech
  • činiti pogreške / greške – a bit more formal, “to commit mistakes”

All three are understandable, but raditi pogreške is probably the most neutral and frequent.

You could also use the verb griješiti (to err, to make mistakes):

  • Još često griješim. – I still make mistakes often.
Why is it puno pogrešaka and not puno pogreške?

Because puno (“a lot of / much / many”) is followed by the genitive in Croatian, and pogrešaka is the genitive plural of pogreška.

Pattern:

  • puno
    • genitive
      • puno posla – a lot of work
      • puno ljudi – a lot of people
      • puno problema – a lot of problems
      • puno pogrešaka – a lot of mistakes

So the base form is pogreška (a mistake), but after puno it becomes genitive plural: pogrešaka.

What’s the difference between pogreška and greška?

They are very close in meaning; both mean mistake / error.

  • pogreška – slightly more formal / standard
  • greška – very common in everyday speech, slightly more colloquial

In plural/genitive you’ll see:

  • puno pogrešaka
  • puno grešaka

Both are widely used and understood. In careful or formal writing, pogreška is often preferred.

Why is there no ja in the sentence? Could I say Ja kao početnica još radim puno pogrešaka?

The subject pronoun ja (I) is usually omitted in Croatian because the verb ending already shows the person: radim = I work / I do.

  • Kao početnica još radim puno pogrešaka. – perfectly natural.
  • Ja kao početnica još radim puno pogrešaka. – also correct, but adds emphasis to I.

You’d use ja if you want to stress the subject, for example contrasting:

  • Ja kao početnica još radim puno pogrešaka, ali ona skoro nikad ne griješi.
Can I change the word order, like Još kao početnica radim puno pogrešaka or Kao početnica radim još puno pogrešaka?

Yes, Croatian allows some flexibility in word order, with small changes in emphasis.

  1. Kao početnica još radim puno pogrešaka.
    – Neutral: As a beginner, I still make a lot of mistakes.

  2. Još kao početnica radim puno pogrešaka.
    – Slightly unusual; can sound like you’re emphasizing “already at the beginner stage” or “still, as a beginner…”.

  3. Kao početnica radim još puno pogrešaka.
    – Emphasizes još puno: I still make *a lot of mistakes / I still make many mistakes*.

All are grammatically correct, but the original version is the most natural neutral choice.

How would a male speaker say this sentence?

A male speaker changes only the gendered noun početnica → početnik:

  • Kao početnik još radim puno pogrešaka.
    → As a (male) beginner, I still make a lot of mistakes.

Everything else stays the same, because radim, još, puno pogrešaka don’t change with gender.

Is radim here present tense, and does it imply a habit?

Yes, radim is the present tense of raditi (to do, to work).

In this sentence, present tense expresses:

  • a general habit / tendency, not only what is happening right now.

So još radim puno pogrešaka = I still (tend to) make a lot of mistakes; I’m still at the stage where I make a lot of mistakes.

It doesn’t need any extra word like “usually” – the present tense plus the context makes it clear.

Is početnica only for language learning, or for any kind of beginner?

Početnica / početnik is general: it means beginner in any field.

You can say:

  • početnica u hrvatskom – a beginner in Croatian
  • početnik u programiranju – a beginner in programming
  • početnica u jogi – a beginner at yoga

So Kao početnica još radim puno pogrešaka could apply to language learning, a sport, a job, a hobby, etc., depending on context.