Learn Hardcore Croatian: Želim osjetiti hladan vjetar u parku. - I want to feel the cold wind in the park.

Želim is relatively neutral or slightly more polite/formal than some other options.
In everyday speech people also often say Hoću for I want, which can sound:
- more direct,
- sometimes stronger or a bit insistent, depending on tone.

So:

Želim osjetiti hladan vjetar u parku. – I want / I would like to feel the cold wind in the park. (neutral–polite)
Hoću osjetiti hladan vjetar u parku. – I want to feel the cold wind in the park. (more direct, could sound pushy in some contexts)

Both are correct; Želim is a safe choice, especially in writing or polite conversation.

Why is osjetiti in the infinitive form? How does it work with Želim?

Osjetiti is the infinitive of the verb osjetiti (to feel, to sense).

In Croatian, verbs like željeti (to want), morati (must, have to), mocí (can, to be able to), etc., are followed by the infinitive, similar to English:

Želim osjetiti – I want to feel
Moram učiti – I have to study
Mogu plivati – I can swim

So the structure is:

Želim + infinitive
→ Želim osjetiti = I want to feel

What is the difference between osjetiti and osjećati?

Both are related to feeling, but they differ in aspect:

osjetiti – perfective
- Focus on one-time experience, a specific moment: to feel (once), to sense, to experience.
- “I want to (at some point) feel the cold wind.”
osjećati – imperfective
- Focus on ongoing or repeated feeling: to be feeling, to feel over time.
- More like “I want to be feeling the cold wind / to feel it in general as a state.”

In your sentence:

Želim osjetiti hladan vjetar u parku.
Suggests a particular experience: you want to (at least once) feel cold wind in the park.

You could say:

Želim osjećati hladan vjetar u parku.

…but that sounds more like wanting to constantly feel the cold wind there, as a continuing sensation. The original osjetiti is more natural for a single experience or wish.

Why is it hladan vjetar and not something like hladni vjetar?

Hladan vjetar is adjective + noun in accusative case, masculine singular:

vjetar – wind (masculine noun, nominative singular)
hladan – cold (masculine singular adjective, base form)

In Croatian:

The form hladan changes depending on case and definiteness nuances, but in a sentence like this, hladan vjetar is the normal, neutral form.
Hladni vjetar can be used too, often sounding a bit more specific or descriptive (almost like “the cold wind” as a known, particular wind, or in a more literary style), but the difference is subtle and depends heavily on context and intonation.

For a learner, you can safely treat:

hladan vjetar = (a/the) cold wind (neutral)
hladni vjetar = also “cold wind,” but often with a slightly more defined or emphasized feeling in context.

Why is it vjetar and not vjetru after osjetiti?

Because vjetar is the direct object of the verb osjetiti (what do you want to feel? → the cold wind).

Direct objects in Croatian take the accusative case. For many masculine nouns ending in a consonant, the accusative singular is identical to the nominative singular:

Nominative: vjetar – the wind (subject)
Accusative: vjetar – the wind (object)

So:

Osjetiti (koga? što?) hladan vjetar. – to feel the cold wind.

Vjetru is dative or locative (to the wind / in the wind) and does not fit as a direct object of osjetiti here.

Why is it u parku and not u park?

The preposition u can take either locative or accusative, depending on meaning:

u + locative = location (where something is)
- u parku – in the park
u + accusative = direction / movement into (where something is going)
- u park – into the park

Your sentence talks about where you want to feel the cold wind (static location), not movement:

Želim osjetiti hladan vjetar u parku.
→ I want to feel the cold wind in the park. (location → locative: parku)

If you talked about going into the park, you would use accusative:

Idem u park. – I am going into the park.

What case is parku, and how is it formed from park?

Parku is locative singular of park.

Declension:

Nominative: park – the park (subject, basic form)
Locative singular: (u) parku – in the park

With u indicating location, you must use the locative:

u parku – in the park
u gradu – in the city
u restoranu – in the restaurant

Is the word order fixed? Can I say U parku želim osjetiti hladan vjetar?

The word order in Croatian is fairly flexible. You can say:

Želim osjetiti hladan vjetar u parku.
U parku želim osjetiti hladan vjetar.

Both are grammatically correct.

The difference is mostly one of emphasis:

Želim osjetiti hladan vjetar u parku.
Neutral order, slight focus on what you want (to feel cold wind in the park).
U parku želim osjetiti hladan vjetar.
Now the sentence starts with U parku, so you emphasize the place: It is in the park that I want to feel the cold wind (as opposed to somewhere else).

Croatian often places the most important or contrastive information earlier in the sentence, or just after the verb, but many orders are possible.

There is no word for the in hladan vjetar or u parku. How do I know it means the cold wind and not a cold wind?

Croatian does not have articles like English a/an or the. Whether you translate it as a or the depends on context, not on a specific word.

hladan vjetar can mean a cold wind or the cold wind
u parku can mean in a park or in the park

If you want to make it clearly specific, you often add a demonstrative:

taj hladan vjetar – that cold wind / the (specific) cold wind
u tom parku – in that park / in the specific park

In your sentence, Želim osjetiti hladan vjetar u parku., the most natural translation in English is I want to feel the cold wind in the park, but grammatically Croatian does not force a or the.

Could I say just Osjetiti hladan vjetar u parku. without Želim?

Yes, but then it becomes more of a fragment or title-like phrase, not a normal full sentence.

Osjetiti hladan vjetar u parku on its own could work as:

a heading in a diary,
part of a list of wishes or goals,
a poetic or stylistic fragment (like “To feel the cold wind in the park”).

For a normal, complete sentence expressing a wish, you usually include the verb of wanting:

Želim osjetiti hladan vjetar u parku. – I want to feel the cold wind in the park.

How do you pronounce Želim osjetiti hladan vjetar u parku? Any tricky sounds for English speakers?

Key points:

Ž – like the s in measure or vision:
- Želim ≈ “ZHE-lim”
lj – a palatal L, similar to the lli in million:
- Že
  - ljim (one consonant, not “l” + “j” separately)
osjetiti – spelled as written:
- o-sje-ti-ti (4 syllables)
- sj is like sy in yes (but shorter): sje
hl in hladan – both sounds pronounced:
- h is a voiceless sound from the throat (like a strong h)
- hla-dan
vjetar:
- vj is like vy together.
- vje-tar (2 syllables: VYE-tar)
Word stress in Croatian is usually on one of the first syllables; a simple learner-friendly way is:
- ŽÉ-lim o-SJÉ-ti-ti HLÁ-dan VJE-tar u PÁR-ku (not exact phonetic stress, but close enough to sound natural).

Is there any difference in politeness between Želim osjetiti hladan vjetar u parku and Hoću osjetiti hladan vjetar u parku?

Both are grammatically correct, but they differ in tone:

Želim osjetiti…
- Neutral, can sound a bit nicer/politer.
- Often used in writing, in more formal contexts, or when you want to sound considerate.
Hoću osjetiti…
- Direct I want / I will (insist on) doing this.
- In some contexts can sound more insistent or even a bit demanding, depending on voice and situation.

For talking about personal wishes in a neutral way, Želim… is usually the better choice.