Learn Hardcore Croatian: Iznajmili smo stan od starijeg vlasnika koji traži malu stanarinu. - We rented an apartment from an older owner who asks for a small rent.

iznajmili – past participle of iznajmiti (to rent out / to rent)
- iznajmio – he rented
- iznajmila – she rented
- iznajmili – they / we (masc. or mixed group) rented
smo – 1st person plural auxiliary verb biti (to be), used to form the past tense.

Pattern for past tense:

(subject) + auxiliary (present of biti) + past participle
Mi smo iznajmili stan. – We rented an apartment.
In practice, mi is usually dropped because smo already shows the person:
- Iznajmili smo stan.

So the tense is the perfect (past tense) of a perfective verb (iznajmiti).

Why is it iznajmili smo stan and not smo iznajmili stan?

In Croatian, short forms like sam, si, je, smo, ste, su (auxiliaries, pronouns, etc.) are clitics and must stand in the second position in the clause (after the first stressed word).

Iznajmili smo stan. – correct
First stressed word: Iznajmili, then clitic smo.
Mi smo iznajmili stan. – also correct
First stressed word: Mi, then smo.
Stan smo iznajmili. – also correct (emphasis on stan).

But:

*Smo iznajmili stan. – ungrammatical as a standalone sentence, because smo cannot come first.

What’s the difference between iznajmiti and unajmiti? Who is renting from whom?

In standard descriptions:

iznajmiti – to rent out (from the owner’s side)
- Vlasnik je iznajmio stan. – The owner rented out the apartment.
unajmiti – to rent / hire (from the tenant’s side)
- Unajmili smo stan. – We rented an apartment (we are the tenants).

However, in everyday speech many people use iznajmiti for both directions:

Iznajmili smo stan. – most speakers will understand this as “we rented (took) an apartment”.

If you want to be very precise:

Unajmili smo stan od vlasnika. – We rented an apartment from the owner.
Vlasnik nam je iznajmio stan. – The owner rented out the apartment to us.

What exactly is stan? Is it “house” or “apartment”?

Stan means apartment / flat, not “house”.

stan – a self-contained living unit inside a building (apartment/flat)
kuća – a house (usually a separate building)

Examples:

Iznajmili smo stan. – We rented an apartment.
Kupili smo kuću. – We bought a house.

Why do we say od starijeg vlasnika and not something like od stariji vlasnik?

Because od (“from”) requires the genitive case, and both the adjective and the noun must agree in case, gender, and number.

vlasnik – owner, masculine singular
After od, we need genitive singular masculine:
- vlasnika
The adjective stariji (older) must also be genitive singular masculine:
- starijeg

So:

od starijeg vlasnika = “from an older owner / landlord”

Forms:

Nominative: stariji vlasnik – an older owner (subject)
Genitive: starijeg vlasnika – of/from an older owner

Is starijeg just “old”, or is it really a comparative like “older”?

Starijeg is the genitive form of the comparative adjective stariji = “older”.

Base adjective:

star – old

Comparative:

stariji – older (nom. masc. sg.)
Genitive masc. sg.: starijeg

So:

star vlasnik – an old owner
stariji vlasnik – an older owner
od starijeg vlasnika – from an older owner (genitive)

If you simply wanted “old owner” in genitive, you would say:

od starog vlasnika – from an old owner

What does koji refer to here, and why is it in this form?

In …od starijeg vlasnika koji traži malu stanarinu. the word koji is a relative pronoun meaning “who / that”.

It refers back to vlasnika (“owner, landlord”):

vlasnik – masculine singular noun
Therefore koji is in masculine singular nominative to agree with it:
- vlasnik (on) koji traži… – the owner (he) who asks…

Koji is the subject of the verb traži:

(On) traži malu stanarinu. – He asks for a small rent.

If it referred to a feminine noun, it would change:

žena koja traži… – the woman who asks…
kuća koja stoji… – the house that stands…

And for neuter:

pismo koje je stiglo… – the letter that arrived…

How is traži used here, and does it really mean “asks for” or “charges”?

Traži is the 3rd person singular present of tražiti.

Basic meaning:

tražiti – to look for, to ask for, to demand

In this context:

…vlasnika koji traži malu stanarinu.
- literally: “an owner who asks for a small rent”
- more naturally in English: “who charges a low rent”

Everyday equivalents:

On traži puno novca. – He asks for / demands a lot of money.
Vlasnik traži visoku stanarinu. – The owner charges a high rent.

So here, traži is effectively “charges” in the sense of “demands as payment”.

Why malu stanarinu and not mala stanarina? What case is this?

Malu stanarinu is in the accusative case, because it’s the direct object of the verb traži.

stanarina – “rent” (money you pay), feminine noun
- Nominative sg.: stanarina
- Accusative sg.: stanarinu
mala – “small / little”, adjective (nom. sg. fem.)
malu – accusative sg. feminine

So:

Mala stanarina je dobra. – A small rent is good. (subject → nominative)
On traži malu stanarinu. – He charges a small rent. (object → accusative)

The adjective must match the noun:

malu (acc. fem.) + stanarinu (acc. fem.)

Is mala stanarina really how you say “low rent”? Are there more natural options?

Mala stanarina (literally “small rent”) is understandable and used, but for “low rent” two very natural collocations are:

niska stanarina – low rent
jeftina stanarina – cheap rent

So:

Vlasnik traži malu stanarinu. – The owner asks for a small rent. (OK, a bit literal)
Vlasnik traži nisku stanarinu. – The owner charges a low rent. (very idiomatic)
Vlasnik traži jeftinu stanarinu. – The owner charges a cheap rent. (also idiomatic, more subjective)

Your sentence is still correct and normal; just be aware of these alternatives.

Where is the word “we” in Croatian? There’s no mi in the sentence.

Croatian is a pro‑drop language: subject pronouns (ja, ti, mi etc.) are often omitted because the verb ending already shows the person and number.

iznajmili smo – form smo (1st person plural) tells you the subject is “we”.
Full form would be: Mi smo iznajmili stan.
Usual, shorter form: Iznajmili smo stan.

So “we” is understood from smo and from the participle ending -li.

Why are there no words like “a” or “the” in stan, vlasnika, stanarinu? How do you know if it’s “a” or “the”?

Croatian has no articles (no direct equivalents of English a/an or the). Nouns appear without them:

stan – apartment / the apartment
vlasnik – owner / the owner
stanarina – rent / the rent

Definiteness is understood from:

context
word order
sometimes for people, use of demonstratives (taj, ovaj, onaj) or possessives.

In your sentence:

Iznajmili smo stan od starijeg vlasnika koji traži malu stanarinu.
- Natural translation: “We rented an apartment from an older landlord who charges a low rent.”
- In a specific context, it might also be: “We rented the apartment from the older landlord who charges a low rent.”

Croatian leaves that nuance to context, whereas English must choose a/an or the.