Learn Hardcore Croatian: U novčaniku držim samo jednu kreditnu karticu i malo gotovine. - In my wallet I keep only one credit card and a bit of cash.

Reason: In Croatian, many prepositions, including u (“in”), require the locative case when expressing location (where something is), as opposed to direction (where something is going).

Nominative (dictionary form): novčanik – “wallet”
Locative singular: (u) novčaniku – “in the wallet”

So the structure is:
U (preposition) + novčaniku (locative) → in the wallet

Why is it “držim” and not “imam”? Aren’t both “to have”?

Both držati and imati can be translated as “to have”, but they have different nuances:

Imati = to have, to possess (more neutral, general)
- Imam jednu kreditnu karticu. – “I have one credit card.”
Držati (u novčaniku) = literally to keep, to hold (in some place)
- U novčaniku držim samo jednu kreditnu karticu.
  = “In my wallet I keep only one credit card.”

Using držim here emphasizes where you keep those things (their usual location), not just that you own them. It suggests “I usually/typically keep only one credit card and a bit of cash in my wallet.”

Why is it “jednu kreditnu karticu” and not “jedna kreditna kartica”?

Because here the phrase “jednu kreditnu karticu” is the direct object of the verb držim, and direct objects in Croatian are generally in the accusative case.

kreditna kartica – nominative singular (subject form)
jedna kreditna kartica – “one credit card” (as a subject)
jednu kreditnu karticu – accusative singular (as an object)

All three words must agree in gender, number, and case:

jednu – accusative singular feminine
kreditnu – accusative singular feminine (adjective)
karticu – accusative singular feminine (noun)

So:
Držim (koga/što?) jednu kreditnu karticu.
I keep (whom/what?) one credit card. → accusative.

What gender is “kreditna kartica”, and how do I recognize it?

Kartica is feminine. Clues:

Many feminine nouns end in -a in the nominative singular:
- kartica, knjiga, torba, karta
The adjective kreditna also ends in -a, agreeing with a feminine noun.

So:

Nominative singular: kreditna kartica – “a credit card”
Accusative singular: kreditnu karticu – “a credit card” (as an object)

You see both words change to -u in the accusative feminine singular:
jedna kreditna kartica → jednu kreditnu karticu

Why is it “malo gotovine” and not “mala gotovina”?

Malo gotovine means “a little / a bit of cash”, expressing a quantity.

malo (indeclinable adverb-like word) means “a little / not much”
The noun after malo is put in the genitive case → gotovine

If you said mala gotovina, that would mean “small cash” (small in size/amount as a quality, not as a measured quantity), and it would sound odd in most contexts.

So:

malo gotovine – “a bit of cash” (quantity → genitive)
mnogo gotovine – “a lot of cash” (also genitive)

This pattern is common:

malo vremena – a little time
malo vode – a little water

What case is “gotovine” in, and why?

Gotovine is in the genitive singular.

Reason: after certain quantifying words such as malo, puno, mnogo, dosta, Croatian uses the genitive:

malo gotovine – a little (of) cash
puno gotovine – a lot (of) cash

Base noun:

Nominative singular: gotovina – “cash”
Genitive singular: gotovine – “of cash”

So the structure is:
malo (a little) + gotovine (genitive) → “a little bit of cash”

Could I say “Imam samo jednu kreditnu karticu i malo gotovine u novčaniku” instead? Is that correct?

Yes, that sentence is grammatically correct and natural.

U novčaniku držim samo jednu kreditnu karticu i malo gotovine.
Emphasis on where you keep them (in the wallet).
Imam samo jednu kreditnu karticu i malo gotovine u novčaniku.
Emphasis more on what you have, with an added detail that it’s in the wallet.

The difference is subtle. The original with držim is a bit more about habitual storage/place, while imam is more about possession.

Why doesn’t the sentence use “ja” (“I”)? Is it optional?

In Croatian, subject pronouns like ja (“I”) are usually omitted because the verb ending already shows the person:

držim – 1st person singular (“I keep”)
držiš – you keep
drži – he/she/it keeps

Therefore:

U novčaniku držim samo jednu kreditnu karticu…
Already clearly means “I keep in my wallet…”

You can say Ja u novčaniku držim… for emphasis (e.g., contrasting with someone else), but it’s not necessary in a neutral statement.

Is the word order “U novčaniku držim…” important? Could I say “Držim u novčaniku…”?

Both orders are possible and grammatically correct:

U novčaniku držim samo jednu kreditnu karticu i malo gotovine.
→ Starts with the location; it slightly emphasizes “in the wallet” as the frame or topic.
Držim u novčaniku samo jednu kreditnu karticu i malo gotovine.
→ Starts with the verb; neutral or emphasizing what you keep.

Croatian word order is flexible and often used for emphasis and rhythm rather than strict grammar. The original order (prepositional phrase first) is very natural in speech for setting the scene: “As for what I keep in my wallet…”

What is the difference between “novčanik” and “novčanica”?

They look similar but mean different things:

novčanik – wallet (the object you keep money in)
novčanica – banknote / bill (a piece of paper money)

Example:

U novčaniku imam nekoliko novčanica i kovanice.
– “In my wallet I have a few banknotes and coins.”

How would the sentence change if I had two credit cards instead of one?

You need to adjust the number and the noun:

1: jedna kreditna kartica → jednu kreditnu karticu (accusative)
2: dvije kreditne kartice → dvije kreditne kartice (accusative is same form here)

So the sentence becomes:

U novčaniku držim samo dvije kreditne kartice i malo gotovine.
– “In my wallet I keep only two credit cards and a bit of cash.”