Nije istina da si glupa; hrvatski jezik je ponekad jednostavno težak.

It is not true that you are stupid; the Croatian language is simply difficult sometimes.

Breakdown of Nije istina da si glupa; hrvatski jezik je ponekad jednostavno težak.

• biti: to be
• ne: not
• hrvatski: Croatian
• ponekad: sometimes
• da: that
• težak: difficult
• jezik: language
• glup: stupid
• istina: truth
• jednostavno: simply

Questions & Answers about Nije istina da si glupa; hrvatski jezik je ponekad jednostavno težak.

What does Nije istina da literally mean, and how is it different from just saying Nije?

Nije istina da literally means It is not true that….

• nije = it is not / is not
• istina = truth
• da = that

So Nije istina da si glupa = It’s not true that you’re stupid.

If you just say Nije (It’s not), it sounds incomplete: the listener will expect nije što? (what isn’t?).

You could also say:

• To nije istina. – That’s not true.
• Nije istina. – It’s not true. (context already clear)

But Nije istina da… is useful when you want to follow it with a whole sentence you are denying: Nije istina da si glupa.

Why is it da si glupa and not da ti si glupa?

In Croatian, short forms of the verb biti (to be) like sam, si, je, smo, ste, su are clitics. They usually come early in the clause and the subject pronoun (ja, ti, on…) is often dropped.

• Full form: Ti si glupa. – You are stupid.
• Common spoken form: Si glupa. (subject ti is understood)

After da, the pattern da si glupa is completely natural. Adding ti is possible but sounds more emphatic:

• Nije istina da si glupa. – neutral
• Nije istina da TI si glupa. – strongly stressing you (often with contrast: you’re not stupid, someone else is).

So da si glupa is the normal, unmarked form.

Why is it glupa and not glup?

Adjectives in Croatian agree with the gender and number of the noun (or person) they describe.

• glup – masculine singular
• glupa – feminine singular
• glupo – neuter singular
• glupi / glupe / glupa – various plural forms

In da si glupa, the speaker is talking to a female, so the feminine form glupa is used.

If speaking to a male, you would say:

• Nije istina da si glup.

Talking about a group of women:

• Nije istina da ste glupe.

Croatian forces you to choose a gendered form; English stupid is gender‑neutral.

Could you just say Nisi glupa instead of Nije istina da si glupa? Is there a difference?

You can say both, but the nuance changes:

• Nisi glupa. – You are not stupid.
  Direct, simple negation of you are stupid.

• Nije istina da si glupa. – It’s not true that you’re stupid.
  This sounds a bit softer and more reassuring, because it explicitly rejects some idea or accusation. It can imply:

  • someone said or thought you are stupid, and
  • the speaker is correcting that: that belief isn’t true.

So Nije istina da si glupa is often more comforting, less blunt than just Nisi glupa.

Why is it hrvatski jezik and not just hrvatski? When can you drop jezik?

hrvatski jezik literally means Croatian language.

In many contexts, Croatians drop jezik and just say hrvatski, especially when it’s clear you’re talking about the language:

• Govorim hrvatski. – I speak Croatian.
• Učim hrvatski. – I’m learning Croatian.

In your sentence, you could also say:

• Hrvatski je ponekad jednostavno težak.

Both:

• Hrvatski jezik je ponekad jednostavno težak.
• Hrvatski je ponekad jednostavno težak.

are correct and natural. Adding jezik is a bit more explicit or formal; leaving it out is slightly more casual/shorter.

What is the role of je in hrvatski jezik je ponekad jednostavno težak? Could it be dropped?

je is the 3rd person singular of biti (to be), present tense: is.

The basic structure is:

• [subject] [is] [complement]
• Hrvatski jezik je težak. – Croatian (language) is difficult.

In standard Croatian you must include je in this kind of sentence. You can move it:

• Hrvatski jezik je ponekad jednostavno težak.
• Hrvatski jezik ponekad je jednostavno težak.

Both are correct, just slightly different emphasis. But you cannot simply remove it in normal speech or writing:

• ✗ Hrvatski jezik ponekad jednostavno težak. (ungrammatical in standard Croatian, sounds like something is missing)

So je is necessary.

What does jednostavno mean here? Is it “simple” or “simply”?

jednostavan is an adjective = simple.
Its adverb form jednostavno usually corresponds to English simply / just.

In your sentence:

• hrvatski jezik je ponekad jednostavno težak

jednostavno is an adverb modifying težak, and it means simply / just:

• Croatian is sometimes simply difficult.
• Croatian is sometimes just difficult.

It does not mean simple here. For simple as an adjective, you’d say:

• hrvatski jezik je jednostavan. – The Croatian language is simple. (which is not what the sentence says!)

What exactly does težak mean? I learned it as “heavy.”

You’re right: težak does mean heavy, but also difficult. The exact meaning comes from context.

• Ovaj kofer je težak. – This suitcase is heavy.
• Ispit je bio težak. – The exam was hard/difficult.

In hrvatski jezik je ponekad jednostavno težak, težak clearly means difficult.

Forms of the adjective:

• težak – masculine singular (težak ispit – a difficult exam)
• teška – feminine singular (teška knjiga – a difficult book)
• teško – neuter singular / adverb (teško pitanje – a difficult question; bilo je teško – it was hard)

So for a feminine noun like gramatika:

• Hrvatska gramatika je teška. – Croatian grammar is difficult.

Can the word order of ponekad and jednostavno change? For example: hrvatski jezik je jednostavno ponekad težak?

The neutral, natural order is:

• hrvatski jezik je ponekad jednostavno težak

Placing ponekad (sometimes) before jednostavno (simply) is standard.

Other possible positions:

• Hrvatski jezik je jednostavno ponekad težak. – grammatically possible, but sounds a bit awkward and less natural; emphasis shifts oddly.
• Ponekad je hrvatski jezik jednostavno težak. – very natural; just places ponekad at the beginning for emphasis: Sometimes, Croatian is simply difficult.
• Hrvatski jezik je jednostavno težak ponekad. – also possible but less common; ponekad at the end often sounds like an afterthought.

So the given order (ponekad jednostavno težak) is the most neutral and idiomatic.

Why is there a semicolon (;) and not just a comma or a period between the two parts?

The semicolon in:

• Nije istina da si glupa; hrvatski jezik je ponekad jednostavno težak.

connects two closely related but complete sentences:

1. Nije istina da si glupa.
2. Hrvatski jezik je ponekad jednostavno težak.

Using a semicolon shows they belong together as one thought: you’re not stupid; the language is just hard sometimes.

You could also write:

• Nije istina da si glupa. Hrvatski jezik je ponekad jednostavno težak.
  (two separate sentences – also correct)

A plain comma here would normally be wrong in standard writing, because each side is a full independent clause. In casual texts (messages, social media) you sometimes see a comma, but that’s not standard punctuation.

Why is there no subject pronoun ti in Nije istina da si glupa? In English we must say “you”.

Croatian is a pro‑drop language: subject pronouns (ja, ti, on, ona…) are often omitted because the verb form usually shows the person:

• Si glupa. → you (singular) are stupid
• Jesi glupa. – another form with the same meaning
• Nije istina da si glupa. – It’s not true that you are stupid.

The si already tells us it’s you (singular), so ti is not needed.

You would add ti only when you want to emphasize it:

• Nije istina da TI si glupa. – stressing you, for contrast or strong reassurance.