Learn Hardcore Croatian: Za mene je život lijep.

Za means for and it always takes the accusative case.
The accusative form of ja (I) is mene (or the clitic form me), so za + mene = za mene (for me).

Meni is the dative form of ja and is typically used:

without a preposition (e.g. Meni je hladno. – It is cold to me.)
or with prepositions that require the dative (not the case with za).

So:

Za mene je život lijep. = For me, life is beautiful.
Meni je život lijep. = Life is beautiful to me. (different structure, no za)

Is za mene really necessary, or can I just say Život je lijep?

You can absolutely say:

Život je lijep. – Life is beautiful.

That is a general statement.

Adding za mene changes the nuance:

Za mene je život lijep. – Life is beautiful for me / from my perspective.

So:

Without za mene → more general truth.
With za mene → emphasizes that this is your personal, subjective view.

Both are grammatically correct; you choose based on what you want to say.

Why is the word order Za mene je život lijep and not Život je lijep za mene? Are both correct?

Both are correct, but they sound slightly different in emphasis.

Za mene je život lijep.
- Literally: For me is life beautiful.
- Emphasis tends to be on za mene (the personal viewpoint).
- It sounds like you’re contrasting your view with others:
  - Za mene je život lijep, ali za njega nije.
    (For me life is beautiful, but for him it is not.)
Život je lijep za mene.
- More neutral, closer to English word order.
- Still means Life is beautiful for me, but with less contrastive emphasis on za mene.

Croatian word order is relatively flexible, and speakers often move elements to the front of the sentence to highlight or contrast them. Starting with Za mene foregrounds your perspective.

Why is je in the position Za mene je život lijep, and not, for example, Za mene život je lijep?

Je is a clitic (an unstressed short form) of the verb biti (to be). In Croatian, clitics normally go in second position in the clause.

In Za mene je život lijep, the first element is Za mene (treated as one unit).
The clitic je then comes in second position.
After that, the rest of the sentence follows: život lijep.

You can hear sentences like Za mene život je lijep, but:

The most neutral, standard placement for je is immediately after the first phrase: Za mene je život lijep.
Moving je later often sounds more marked or stylistic, and in some contexts it can sound a bit unnatural.

So the version given is the clearest example of correct clitic placement.

What case is život, and why does it have no ending?

Život is in the nominative singular.

It is the subject of the sentence: (Za mene) život je lijep.
Many masculine nouns in Croatian have no special ending in the nominative singular; the base form is the nominative.

So:

Dictionary form: život (life)
Nominative singular: život (no change in form)

Why is the adjective lijep and not lijepa or lijepo?

In Croatian, adjectives agree with the noun they describe in:

Gender
Number
Case

Here:

život is masculine, singular, nominative.
So the adjective describing it must also be masculine singular nominative: lijep.

Compare:

lijep život – beautiful life (masculine singular)
lijepa kuća – beautiful house (feminine singular)
lijepo dijete – beautiful child (neuter singular)
lijepi ljudi – beautiful people (masculine plural)

That’s why lijep is the correct form with život here.

Can you drop the verb je and just say Za mene život lijep like in some other languages?

In standard Croatian, you normally cannot drop je in such a sentence. You are expected to use the verb biti (to be) in the present tense:

Za mene je život lijep. – correct, standard
Za mene život lijep. – incomplete / sounds wrong in standard speech

There are some special contexts (headlines, slogans, poetry, very colloquial speech) where people might drop je, but as a learner you should keep je in normal sentences.

What is the exact function of za in this sentence? Could I use a different preposition for “in my opinion”?

In this sentence, za means for (someone) in the sense of from their point of view / as far as they are concerned.

Za mene je život lijep. – For me / As far as I’m concerned, life is beautiful.

For in my opinion, Croatian often uses:

Po meni
- Po meni je život lijep. – In my opinion, life is beautiful.

So:

Za mene – focuses more on how life is for you personally (your experience, circumstances).
Po meni – focuses more on your judgment / opinion intellectually.

They overlap in meaning, but the nuance is slightly different.

How do you pronounce lijep and why is there a j?

Pronunciation of lijep:

li – like lee
j – pronounced like English y in yes
e – like e in bet
p – like p in pet

So lijep sounds roughly like lyep in English.

The j is there because Croatian j represents the y sound. In combinations like lje, lje is palatalized, producing a sound close to lye. So:

lje ≈ lye
lijep ≈ lyep

How would I say “For us life is beautiful” or “For him life is beautiful” using this pattern?

You keep za and je život lijep, and just change the pronoun:

Za mene je život lijep. – For me life is beautiful.
Za tebe je život lijep. – For you (singular) life is beautiful.
Za njega je život lijep. – For him life is beautiful.
Za nju je život lijep. – For her life is beautiful.
Za nas je život lijep. – For us life is beautiful.
Za vas je život lijep. – For you (plural / polite) life is beautiful.
Za njih je život lijep. – For them life is beautiful.

All of these follow the same structure as the original sentence.