Learn Hardcore Croatian: Navečer često pjevamo i sviramo gitaru na balkonu. - In the evening we often sing and play the guitar on the balcony.

večer is a noun: the evening
- večer je bila lijepa = the evening was beautiful
navečer is an adverb: in the evening / in the evenings
- navečer čitam = I read in the evenings

So in your sentence:

Navečer često pjevamo… = In the evening / In the evenings we often sing…

You normally do not say na večer in modern standard Croatian when you mean in the evening; you use navečer instead.

Why is Navečer one word and not na večer?

Historically it comes from na + večer, but in modern Croatian it has fused into a single adverb: navečer.

As a time adverb, write it as one word:
- Navečer učim. = I study in the evening.
na večer written separately is either archaic or sounds odd/old-fashioned in standard modern usage when used with this meaning.

So:
✅ Navečer često pjevamo…
❌ Na večer često pjevamo… (not standard for “in the evening”)

Can I also say Uvečer instead of Navečer? Is there a difference?

You might hear both navečer and uvečer, and in everyday speech they are largely synonymous.

navečer – more common and preferred in standard language
uvečer – also used, often more regional/colloquial

Both can mean in the evening / in the evenings. If you want to be safest and most standard, use navečer:

Navečer često pjevamo… – fully standard
Uvečer često pjevamo… – generally understandable, but less standard

Why is there no we (mi) in the Croatian sentence?

Croatian is a pro‑drop language: subject pronouns (like ja, ti, mi) are usually omitted because the person is already clear from the verb ending.

pjevamo = we sing (1st person plural)
sviramo = we play (1st person plural)

So:

Navečer često pjevamo i sviramo gitaru.
literally: In the evening often sing‑we and play‑we the guitar.

You can say Mi navečer često pjevamo…, but it usually sounds either emphatic (we, as opposed to someone else) or a bit redundant in neutral sentences.

What are pjevamo and sviramo exactly? Which forms are they?

Both are present tense, 1st person plural (we) forms:

pjevati = to sing
- pjevam, pjevaš, pjeva, pjevamo, pjevate, pjevaju
svirati = to play (a musical instrument)
- sviram, sviraš, svira, sviramo, svirate, sviraju

So pjevamo = we sing, sviramo = we play.

In your sentence they describe a habitual action:

Navečer često pjevamo i sviramo gitaru…
= In the evening(s) we often sing and play the guitar…

Why is it sviramo gitaru and not sviramo gitara?

The dictionary form gitara is the nominative singular (the “basic” form).
In the sentence, gitara is a direct object (something we play), so it must be in the accusative singular:

nominative: gitara (subject)
- Gitara je skupa. = The guitar is expensive.
accusative: gitaru (direct object)
- Sviramo gitaru. = We play the guitar.

Croatian marks the function of nouns mainly by case endings, not word order.
So gitaru here simply shows it’s the thing being played.

Why is it sviramo gitaru and not something like sviramo na gitari?

Both exist, but they are not used in the same way:

svirati gitaru – the usual, neutral way to say to play the guitar
- Sviram gitaru. = I play the guitar.
svirati na gitari – can be used, but:
- often emphasizes the instrument itself as the medium (“on this guitar”)
- might sound a bit more literal/physical: play on the guitar

In your sentence, you just want the normal collocation:

✅ pjevamo i sviramo gitaru
❌ pjevamo i sviramo na gitaru (unusual / sounds off)

What does često mean, and can it go in other positions?

Često means often (frequency adverb).

Croatian word order is flexible, so you can move često, but the neutral position is usually before the verb:

Navečer često pjevamo i sviramo gitaru na balkonu. (neutral)

Other possible positions:

Često navečer pjevamo i sviramo gitaru na balkonu.
– Often, in the evening, we sing and play… (slight emphasis on “often”)
Navečer pjevamo i često sviramo gitaru na balkonu.
– sounds like we sing (generally), and we often play guitar (emphasis only on the second activity)
Navečer pjevamo često i sviramo gitaru.
– possible, but less natural; sounds a bit clunky.

So your original sentence has a very natural order and rhythm.

What case is na balkonu, and why is it balkonu and not balkon?

Balkon is a masculine noun.

nominative singular (dictionary form): balkon
- Balkon je velik. = The balcony is big.
locative singular: balkonu (used after some prepositions, including na when it means “on/at” in a static sense)

The preposition na can take locative or accusative:

na
- locative = location (where?)
  - na balkonu = on the balcony (we are there)
na
- accusative = direction (to where?)
  - Idemo na balkon. = We are going onto the balcony.

In your sentence there is no movement, just a place where the action happens, so you use na balkonu (locative).

Could the word order be Na balkonu navečer često pjevamo i sviramo gitaru? Is that still correct?

Yes, it is grammatically correct. Croatian word order is relatively flexible. Different orders usually change:

what you want to emphasize
what information is new vs already known

Comparing:

Navečer često pjevamo i sviramo gitaru na balkonu.
– neutral focus on time first, then what we do and where.
Na balkonu navečer često pjevamo i sviramo gitaru.
– puts more emphasis on location (“On the balcony, in the evening, we often…”).

Both are good; the first sounds more typical as a neutral sentence if the main point is your evening habit.

How would I say “In the evenings we used to often sing and play the guitar on the balcony” in Croatian?

For a repeated action in the past, Croatian still uses the imperfective verbs with a past tense:

Navečer smo često pjevali i svirali gitaru na balkonu.

Breakdown:

smo – auxiliary for we in past tense
pjevali, svirali – past participles (masculine plural; used if the group is mixed or masculine)
često – often
navečer – in the evenings
na balkonu – on the balcony (locative)

If the group is all women, in careful language you might say pjevale i svirale, but in mixed groups pjevali i svirali is standard.

Is there any difference between Večer često pjevamo… and Navečer često pjevamo…?

Yes:

Večer često pjevamo…
– sounds incomplete/odd on its own, because večer is a noun: The evening often we sing…
– you’d normally expect something like Svake večeri često pjevamo… (= Every evening we often sing…), but even that is stylistically strange because svake already implies repetition.
Navečer često pjevamo…
– perfectly natural: In the evening(s) we often sing…

So for the general idea in the evening / in the evenings, use navečer, not bare večer.