Learn Hardcore Croatian: Ne znam što da obučem, jer je sva moja odjeća ili previše tanka ili previše topla. - I don’t know what to wear, because all my clothes are either too thin or too warm.

The pattern što da + present tense (što da obučem, što da radim, što da kažem) is very common in everyday speech. It sounds a bit more colloquial and “live”.

The infinitive version što obući is also correct and slightly more neutral/formal. You’ll see both, but što da obučem is extremely frequent in spoken Croatian.

What exactly is obučem? Which verb is that, and what form?

Obučem is:

from the verb obući – to put on (clothes)
aspect: perfective (completed action: to put something on once)
person/number: 1st person singular, present tense

So:

ja obučem – I put on (once, as a single act)
ti obučeš – you put on
on/ona obuče – he/she puts on
mi obučemo – we put on
vi obučete – you (pl/formal) put on
oni/one/ona obuku – they put on

Don’t confuse it with oblačiti (imperfective: to be putting on, to put on regularly), e.g. oblačim, oblačiš …

What’s the difference between obući and oblačiti? Could I say Ne znam što da oblačim?

The pair obući / oblačiti is a perfective / imperfective pair:

obući – to put on (once, as a complete act)
oblačiti – to be putting on, to put on repeatedly, to get dressed (ongoing or habitual)

In this sentence, the speaker is talking about the single act of choosing and putting on clothes now, so obući / obučem is natural.

You could say:

Ne znam što da oblačim.

But that sounds more like “I don’t know what to (generally) wear / what kind of things to wear (as a habit or in general)”, not about this one immediate decision. So for this context, što da obučem is better.

Why is it što da obučem and not što da nosim?

Nositi means to wear / to carry (to have something on you for some time), while obući is specifically to put on (the act of dressing).

Compare:

Ne znam što da obučem. – I don’t know what to put on (right now).
Ne znam što da nosim. – I don’t know what to wear (in general / as my style / over a period).

In everyday talk about getting dressed now, obući is the most natural choice.

Why is it sva moja odjeća and not sve moja odjeća?

This is about grammatical gender:

odjeća (clothes, clothing) is a feminine singular noun in Croatian.
The word sav (all) agrees with the noun in gender and number.

The forms of sav in nominative singular are:

sav – masculine
sva – feminine
sve – neuter

So we must say:

sva moja odjeća – all my clothing

Sve moja odjeća would be wrong because sve is neuter, and odjeća is feminine.

If odjeća means “clothes” (a lot of items), why is the verb je singular: jer je sva moja odjeća…?

In Croatian, odjeća is a singular collective noun, like “clothing” in English. It behaves grammatically like a singular noun:

odjeća je skupa – clothing is expensive
sva odjeća je prljava – all the clothing is dirty

So the sentence uses singular:

jer je sva moja odjeća… – because all my clothes is…

In English we say “my clothes are”, but in Croatian the grammar follows the singular noun odjeća, so the verb is je (3rd person singular of biti).

Why is the adjective tanka and topla and not some other form?

Adjectives must agree with the noun odjeća in gender, number, and case:

noun: odjeća – feminine, singular, nominative
adjectives: tanka, topla – feminine, singular, nominative

So we say:

odjeća je tanka – the clothing is thin
odjeća je topla – the clothing is warm

That’s why we get previše tanka and previše topla:
previše (too) + feminine singular adjectives tanka / topla.

How does previše work here? Why previše tanka, not something like tanka previše?

Previše means too / too much and normally comes before an adjective:

previše tanka – too thin
previše topla – too warm
previše skupo – too expensive
previše jako – too strong

Putting previše after the adjective (e.g. tanka previše) is not normal in Croatian. The usual neutral word order is:

previše + adjective

So previše tanka / previše topla is exactly what you want here.

What’s the function of ili … ili … in this sentence? Could we use only one ili?

In Croatian, ili means or. The structure ili … ili … emphasizes that every option falls into one of two categories:

… je sva moja odjeća ili previše tanka ili previše topla.
… all my clothes are either too thin or too warm.

You could say:

… sva je moja odjeća previše tanka ili previše topla.

This is understandable, but sounds a bit less balanced; ili … ili … clearly marks the two alternatives. The version in the sentence is very natural and stylistically neat.

Could I drop sva or moja? For example: jer je odjeća ili previše tanka ili previše topla?

Grammatically, you can drop them, but the meaning changes:

jer je odjeća ili previše tanka ili previše topla
– because (the) clothes are either too thin or too warm
(sounds generic or context-dependent; less personal)
jer je moja odjeća ili previše tanka ili previše topla
– because my clothes are either too thin or too warm
(neutral statement about all/some of your clothes)
jer je sva moja odjeća ili previše tanka ili previše topla
– because all my clothes are either too thin or too warm
(strong, emphatic: no exception)

So sva adds the idea of “every single piece, completely all of it” and moja makes it clearly personal.

What is the role of jer here, and can I change the word order of the clauses?

Jer means because and introduces the reason clause:

Ne znam što da obučem, jer je sva moja odjeća…
– I don’t know what to wear, because all my clothes…

You can also reverse the order of the clauses:

Jer je sva moja odjeća ili previše tanka ili previše topla, ne znam što da obučem.
– Because all my clothes are either too thin or too warm, I don’t know what to wear.

Both are correct; the original version (reason after the main statement) is very natural in conversation. Just keep jer at the start of the reason clause.

What about što vs šta? I often hear Ne znam šta da obučem.

Both exist, but they differ by register and region:

što – standard Croatian form (used in writing, formal speech, nationwide)
šta – widespread in speech in many regions; more colloquial / dialectal

So:

Ne znam što da obučem. – standard, good for all contexts
Ne znam šta da obučem. – very common in everyday conversation, especially in many parts of Croatia, but considered non‑standard in formal writing.

As a learner, it’s safest to use što, but you should understand šta, because you’ll hear it a lot.