Rijeka je široka.

to be

Breakdown of Rijeka je široka.

• rijeka: river
• širok: wide

Questions & Answers about Rijeka je široka.

What does Rijeka mean here – is it the common noun rijeka “river” or the name of the city Rijeka?

In this sentence it can technically be either, but context normally makes it clear.

• As a common noun, rijeka (lowercase) means river and is feminine. Then Rijeka je široka. at the start of a sentence just has R capitalized because it’s the first word, and means “The river is wide.”
• As a proper noun, Rijeka (capitalized anywhere) is the name of the Croatian coastal city. Then Rijeka je široka. would literally mean “Rijeka (the city) is wide.” This is grammatically fine, but in practice people would be more likely to say Rijeka je velika. (“Rijeka is big.”) or something similar when talking about the city.

Without context, teachers usually use this sentence to illustrate the common noun: “The river is wide.”

Why is there no word for “the” in Rijeka je široka?

Croatian has no articles (no “the” or “a/an”) at all. Whether you translate rijeka as “the river” or “a river” depends on context:

• Rijeka je široka.
  – The river is wide. (if a particular river has already been mentioned)
  – A river is wide. (more general, though this is an odd statement in both languages)

So the single form rijeka can correspond to “a river” or “the river” in English. Croatian relies on context rather than articles.

Why do we need je? English just says “The river is wide” – can’t we drop “is”?

In Croatian, the verb biti (“to be”) is almost always required in the present tense in normal sentences:

• ja sam – I am
• ti si – you are (sg.)
• on/ona/ono je – he/she/it is
• mi smo – we are
• vi ste – you are (pl./formal)
• oni/one/ona su – they are

Here the subject is Rijeka, which behaves like ona (“she/it” feminine), so you must use je (3rd person singular):

• Rijeka je široka. – The river is wide.

Unlike Russian or some other Slavic languages, standard Croatian does not normally drop “je” in the present tense. Rijeka široka would sound incomplete or dialectal in standard language.

Why is the verb je in second position? Could I say “Rijeka široka je”?

Croatian has a strong preference (a kind of rule called “second position clitic”) for short forms like je, se, ga, mi to appear very early in the sentence, usually in second position:

• Rijeka je široka. – correct, neutral
• Široka je rijeka. – also correct, with a bit more emphasis on široka (“wide”)

Rijeka široka je. sounds wrong in standard Croatian word order. The verb je wants to come right after the first stressed word or phrase (here Rijeka or Široka).

Why is it široka and not širok or široko?

The adjective must agree in gender, number, and case with the noun it describes.

• rijeka (“river”) is:
  • feminine
  • singular
  • nominative case (subject form)

So the adjective širok (“wide”) also has to be feminine singular nominative, which is:

• širok – masculine
• široka – feminine ✅
• široko – neuter

Therefore, Rijeka je široka. is the correct form.

If the noun were different, the adjective would change:

• most je širok. – The bridge is wide. (most = masculine)
• polje je široko. – The field is wide. (polje = neuter)

Is široka an adjective or an adverb here?

Široka is an adjective here.

• It matches rijeka in gender/number/case.
• It tells you a quality of the noun: what kind of river? A wide one.

Croatian adverbs usually end in -o (but not all words in -o are adverbs). For example, from the same root:

• širok (adj., masc.) → široko (adv.) – “widely”

In a sentence like:

• On se široko nasmiješio. – He smiled broadly/widely.

široko is an adverb modifying the verb nasmiješio se (“smiled”).
In Rijeka je široka, the adjective široka is a predicate adjective, describing the subject.

Which case is used in Rijeka je široka?

Both rijeka and široka are in the nominative singular feminine.

In Croatian, the subject is in the nominative case, and in a simple “X is Y (adjective)” sentence, the adjective (or noun) after je also appears in the nominative:

• Rijeka je široka. – The river is wide.
• Rijeka je duga. – The river is long.
• Rijeka je opasna. – The river is dangerous.

If you later see other cases (genitive, dative, etc.), that will usually be because of prepositions or different functions in the sentence, but in basic “X is Y” descriptions, nominative is used on both sides.

Why don’t we say “Ona je široka” instead of “Rijeka je široka”?

You could say Ona je široka if the referent (the noun rijeka) is already clear from context.

Croatian often drops subject pronouns (unlike English) because the verb ending or context usually makes the subject obvious:

• If you point at the river and say:
  • Ona je široka. – It (she) is wide.

Here ona stands for a feminine noun already known in the conversation, such as rijeka.
But if you want to introduce the subject or be explicit, you name it:

• Rijeka je široka. – The river is wide.

How would I turn Rijeka je široka into a yes–no question?

There are a few common ways:

1. Je li rijeka široka? – neutral, standard
2. Je l’ rijeka široka? – spoken contraction
3. Rijeka je široka? – just rising intonation in speech; sounds surprised/confirming

The most textbook-friendly is:

• Je li rijeka široka? – Is the river wide?

Can I change the word order to “Široka je rijeka”? Does it mean something different?

Yes, you can, and it’s grammatically correct:

• Rijeka je široka. – neutral statement
• Široka je rijeka. – emphasizes široka (“wide”) a bit more, like:
  “Wide is the river.” / “The river sure is wide.”

Croatian word order is more flexible than English, but shifts in order often reflect emphasis or information structure more than literal meaning changes. The core meaning remains “the river is wide.”

How do you pronounce Rijeka je široka?

Approximate pronunciation (in English letters):

• Rijeka – ree-YEH-kah
  
  • r rolled or tapped
  • ij like “ee” in “see”
  • stress on je: ri-JE-ka
• je – ye
• široka – SHEE-ro-kah
  
  • š like sh in “ship”
  • stress on the first syllable: ŠI-ro-ka

So, roughly: ree-YEH-kah yeh SHEE-ro-kah.
Stress pattern: ri-JE-ka je ŠI-ro-ka (JE and ŠI are stressed).

Would “Rijeka je široka rijeka” be correct? It looks repetitive.

It is grammatically correct but stylistically odd and repetitive:

• Rijeka je široka rijeka. – literally: “The river is a wide river.”

You’d almost never say this in natural speech. Usually you either:

• Rijeka je široka. – The river is wide.
  or
• To je široka rijeka. – That is a wide river.

The language avoids needless repetition when the meaning is clear.

Is Rijeka always feminine because it ends in -a?

The common noun rijeka (“river”) is indeed always feminine, so any river referred to as rijeka will take feminine agreement:

• Ova rijeka je široka. – This river is wide.

As for Rijeka the city name:

• It is also treated as feminine in grammar, because it formally looks like a regular feminine noun in -a.
• Compare: Rijeka je velika. – Rijeka (the city) is big.

So in both uses (common noun and city name), adjectives referring to Rijeka/rijeka are feminine in Croatian.

Is there any situation where “Rijeka široka” (without je) would be acceptable?

In standard, full sentences, you should keep je:

• Rijeka je široka. – correct full sentence.

However, in headlines, notes, labels, or very telegraphic style, Croatian sometimes omits the verb biti (to be), similar to English headlines:

• Rijeka široka i duboka – “River wide and deep” (could appear as a poetic title or note)
• More mirno, nebo vedro. – “Sea calm, sky clear.”

This is more stylistic and not the normal pattern for everyday spoken or written sentences. For regular speech and writing as a learner, assume you must use “je”.