Learn Hardcore Croatian: Pekara je pokraj supermarketa, pa u pekari kupujem svježi kruh. - The bakery is next to the supermarket, so in the bakery I buy fresh bread.

Pekara is nominative singular – it’s the subject: Pekara je pokraj supermarketa (The bakery is next to the supermarket).
Pekari is locative singular after the preposition u (in/at): u pekari kupujem (I buy in/at the bakery).

For a regular feminine noun like pekara, the main singular forms are:

Nominative: pekara (subject: the bakery is…)
Genitive: pekare (without the bakery)
Dative/Locative: pekari (in/at/to the bakery)
Accusative: pekaru (I see the bakery)
Instrumental: pekarom (with the bakery)

So: u pekari = in/at the bakery (static location → locative case).

Why is it supermarketa and not supermarket after pokraj?

Because pokraj (“next to, beside”) always takes the genitive case.

Base form (nominative): supermarket
Genitive singular (masculine noun): supermarketa

So:

Pekara je pokraj supermarketa = The bakery is next to the supermarket.

Other prepositions that also take genitive include pored, kraj, oko, iz, od, do, etc. You have to learn which case each preposition requires, because the ending must change accordingly.

What exactly does pokraj mean, and how is it different from pored or do?

Pokraj means “next to, beside”, essentially the same core idea as pored.

Very roughly:

pokraj supermarketa – next to / by the supermarket
pored supermarketa – next to / alongside the supermarket (very close in meaning, often interchangeable)
do supermarketa – right next to the supermarket; can also mean “up to / as far as the supermarket” in other contexts

In everyday speech:

pokraj and pored are often used interchangeably for “next to”.
do is also common for “right next to, touching”.

So you could also say: Pekara je pored/do supermarketa.

What does pa mean in this sentence, and could I use i or zato instead?

Here pa is a conjunction meaning roughly “so” / “and so” / “and therefore”:

Pekara je pokraj supermarketa, pa u pekari kupujem svježi kruh.
= The bakery is next to the supermarket, so I buy fresh bread at the bakery.

Alternatives:

i = “and” (just adds information, weaker causal sense)
- …, i u pekari kupujem svježi kruh. → …, and I buy fresh bread at the bakery.
zato = “therefore / that’s why” (more explicit cause–effect)
- …, zato u pekari kupujem svježi kruh. → …, that’s why I buy fresh bread at the bakery.

Pa is very common, sounds natural and slightly conversational, and often carries a mild “so / and therefore” feeling, as here.

Why is it svježi kruh and not something like svježeg kruha?

Because svježi kruh is in the accusative singular, and kruh is a masculine inanimate noun.

Key points:

The object here is svježi kruh (fresh bread).
For masculine inanimate nouns, the accusative = nominative.
- Nominative: svježi kruh
- Accusative (object): also svježi kruh

Svježeg kruha is genitive singular, which you would use in different contexts, for example:

Nema svježeg kruha. – There is no fresh bread.
(genitive after nema)

So:

Kupujem svježi kruh. – I (habitually) buy fresh bread. (accusative)
Nema svježeg kruha. – There is no fresh bread. (genitive)

Why is there no word for “the” in pekara je pokraj supermarketa or u pekari kupujem svježi kruh?

Croatian has no articles (no words like “a / an / the”). Nouns simply appear without them:

pekara can mean a bakery or the bakery, depending on context.
supermarketa can be a supermarket’s / of the supermarket, again from context.
svježi kruh can be fresh bread or the fresh bread.

Definiteness is understood from:

context (we already know which bakery),
word order,
sometimes from possessives or demonstratives (ta pekara = that bakery).

So English must add an article, but Croatian doesn’t need (or have) one.

Can I also say Kupujem svježi kruh u pekari instead of U pekari kupujem svježi kruh? Is there a difference?

Yes, both are correct; the difference is mainly in emphasis.

U pekari kupujem svježi kruh.
– Fronts the location; it emphasizes where you buy it.
→ At the bakery I buy fresh bread (as opposed to somewhere else).
Kupujem svježi kruh u pekari.
– More neutral, closer to English word order.
→ I buy fresh bread at the bakery.

Croatian word order is relatively flexible. Moving elements to the front often highlights or contrasts them, but the basic meaning stays the same.

Does kupujem mean “I buy” or “I am buying”? How does tense/aspect work here?

Kupujem is present tense, imperfective aspect of kupovati.

In English it can correspond to both:

I buy fresh bread at the bakery. (habitual action)
I am buying fresh bread at the bakery. (ongoing action, if supported by context)

In this particular sentence, because it’s a general statement tied to location (the bakery is next to the supermarket, so I buy fresh bread there), the most natural English reading is habitual: I buy (I usually buy) fresh bread at the bakery.

Is kruh the same as hleb? Which one should I use?

Kruh and hleb both mean “bread”, but they belong to different standard varieties:

kruh – standard in Croatian.
hleb – standard in Serbian (and common in some Bosnian/Montenegrin varieties).

If you’re learning Croatian, use kruh.
Be aware that in some Croatian dialects you may also hear kruv, but the official standard form is kruh.

Can pekara mean both “bakery” (the shop) and “baker” (the person)?

Yes, pekara can mean both, depending on context.

the place/shop:
- Pekara je pokraj supermarketa. – The bakery is next to the supermarket.
a female baker:
- Ona je pekara. – She is a baker.

For the male person you would say pekar. In this sentence, because it’s followed by je pokraj supermarketa and then u pekari kupujem, it clearly refers to the shop.