Learn Hardcore Croatian: Djeca uče da je bolje reći istinu nego malu laž i da je uvijek loše lagati. - Children learn that it is better to tell the truth than a small lie and that it is always bad to lie.

In Croatian, the usual word order in such da-clauses is da + verb, so da je, da radi, da ide, etc., whereas English prefers “that + subject + verb”.

Why is je singular in da je bolje reći istinu, when the main subject djeca is plural?

The verb je belongs to the subordinate clause, not to the main clause.

Main clause: Djeca uče – The children are learning (uče = 3rd person plural)
Subordinate clause: da je bolje reći istinu – that it is better to tell the truth

In the da-clause, the logical “subject” is the whole idea reći istinu (to tell the truth). This is treated like a single, abstract thing, so Croatian uses 3rd person singular (je).

Why is bolje used instead of something like više dobro for “better”?

Bolje is the regular comparative form of the adjective dobar (good).

dobar – good
bolji – better (adjective form)
bolje – better (neuter/adverb form, used here as “it is better”)

You cannot say više dobro for better. Comparatives are usually formed as:

dobar → bolji / bolje (good → better)
loš → gori / gore (bad → worse)
velik → veći / veće (big → bigger)

So je bolje reći = it is better to say.

Why is the verb reći used here, and how is it different from kazati or govoriti?

reći means “to say / to tell” (perfective aspect). It focuses on one act of telling something.

reći istinu – to tell the truth (once, as a single act)

Differences:

reći – to say/tell (perfective, single completed act)
- Reci mi istinu. – Tell me the truth.
kazati – very similar to reći, often a bit more formal or stylistic
- Kazao mi je istinu. – He told me the truth.
govoriti – to speak, to talk, to tell repeatedly or habitually (imperfective)
- Uvijek govori istinu. – He always tells the truth.

In this sentence, the idea is “it is better to tell the truth (in that moment)”, so reći fits well.

Why is it “reći istinu nego malu laž” and not something like “reći istinu nego reći malu laž”?

Croatian often omits repeated verbs in comparisons when the meaning is clear.

Literally, it is:

bolje (je) reći istinu nego (reći) malu laž

The second reći is understood from context and doesn’t need to be repeated. English usually repeats the verb (say the truth than say a small lie), but Croatian can drop it to avoid redundancy.

What is the role of nego here, and how is it different from od or ili?

In this sentence, nego means “than” in a comparative structure:

bolje reći istinu nego malu laž
= better to tell the truth than (to tell) a small lie

Typical uses:

bolje A nego B – better A than B
- Bolje je doći ranije nego kasnije. – Better to come early than late.

Differences:

nego – than after a comparison (bolje, više, prije, radije, etc.)
od – than in some comparative structures, especially with adjectives:
- veći od njega – bigger than him
  But you would still say: Bolje je učiti nego spavati.
ili – or (choice, not comparison)
- Reci istinu ili šuti. – Tell the truth or be silent.

So nego is the right conjunction for “better X than Y” here.

Why is it malu laž, and what case is that?

malu laž is in the accusative singular feminine, because it is the object of the (understood) verb reći.

laž – noun, feminine, singular
- nominative: laž – a lie (subject)
- accusative: laž – a lie (object)
mala – adjective “small, little”
- nominative feminine singular: mala laž
- accusative feminine singular: malu laž

Since it is the object of “to say/tell”:

(reći) malu laž – say a small lie

The adjective malu agrees with laž in gender (feminine), number (singular) and case (accusative).

Why is loše used instead of loš in da je uvijek loše lagati?

loše here is an adverb-like / neuter predicative form meaning “bad” in the sense of “it is bad (to do something)”:

(to) je loše – it is bad
(to) je dobro – it is good

English also uses an adjective form (“it is bad”), but Croatian often uses the neuter form as a kind of general evaluation.

Compare:

Djelo je loše. – The deed is bad. (loše agrees with neuter djelo)
Pušiti je nezdravo. – Smoking is unhealthy.

In je loše lagati, the idea “to lie” is being evaluated in general. So loše fits as a general, impersonal “it is bad” form.

What does lagati mean, and why is there no se (like lagati se) here?

lagati means “to lie” (tell lies).

On laže. – He is lying.
Ne smiješ lagati. – You must not lie.

It is not reflexive, so you do not add se. lagati se would be wrong in standard Croatian in the sense of “to tell lies”.

Reflexive se is used with verbs that are reflexive by nature, like:

smijati se – to laugh
sramiti se – to be ashamed

But lagati stands on its own.

Why does the sentence repeat da je: “…nego malu laž i da je uvijek loše lagati”? Could you omit the second da je?

The sentence has two separate subordinate clauses after Djeca uče:

da je bolje reći istinu nego malu laž
(i) da je uvijek loše lagati

The conjunction i (“and”) connects two full “da”‑clauses. Repeating da je makes the structure clear and balanced:

Djeca uče
- da je X
- i da je Y

You could say something like:

Djeca uče da je bolje reći istinu nego malu laž i da je uvijek loše lagati. ✔ (standard)
Djeca uče da je bolje reći istinu nego malu laž, uvijek je loše lagati. – This changes the structure; the second part becomes an independent statement, not part of “what they learn”.

To keep both ideas clearly under “they learn that …”, Croatian repeats da je.

Could you change the word order in da je uvijek loše lagati? For example: da je loše uvijek lagati or da je lagati uvijek loše?

Yes, Croatian word order is relatively flexible, but different orders slightly change emphasis or sound less natural.

Most natural here:

da je uvijek loše lagati – “that it is always bad to lie”
- neutral emphasis: “always” modifies “bad”.

Other possibilities:

da je lagati uvijek loše – still understandable; emphasizes “lagati” a bit more.
da je loše uvijek lagati – acceptable but sounds a bit less smooth; focus can shift more to “always lying”.

The original order uvijek loše lagati is the most idiomatic and neutral-sounding in this context.

Why is Djeca uče da… used instead of something like Djeca uče kako…?

Both are possible in Croatian, but they have different typical meanings:

Djeca uče da je bolje reći istinu…
= The children are learning *that it is better to tell the truth…
Here, what they learn is a *fact / rule / moral principle.
Djeca uče kako reći istinu.
= The children are learning *how to tell the truth.
This focuses on the *method or procedure.

So da is used because the kids are learning a moral lesson stated as “that it is better… and that it is always bad…”, not a technique (“how to…”).

What exactly does uvijek mean, and where does it usually go in the sentence?

uvijek means “always”.

In this kind of structure, it usually appears before the adjective or verb it modifies:

Uvijek govori istinu. – He always tells the truth.
Lagati je uvijek loše. – Lying is always bad.
da je uvijek loše lagati – that it is always bad to lie.

So in da je uvijek loše lagati, uvijek modifies loše (“always bad”). It can move a bit (e.g. da je loše uvijek lagati), but the original order is the most natural.