Learn Hardcore Croatian: Nakon tuširanja osjećam se bolje nego jučer. - After showering I feel better than yesterday.

In the sentence Nakon tuširanja osjećam se bolje nego jučer, nakon introduces a time expression: after showering. Because nakon requires the genitive, the noun that follows (tuširanje) appears in the genitive form: tuširanja.

Why is it tuširanja and not tuširanje or tuširanju?

The base form is the noun tuširanje (showering, a shower). Croatian cases change the ending:

Nominative (dictionary form): tuširanje – showering / a shower
Genitive (after nakon): tuširanja

Since nakon must be followed by the genitive, you get nakon tuširanja (after showering), not nakon tuširanje or nakon tuširanju.

Where is the word “I” in Croatian? Why is ja missing?

Croatian usually drops subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows the person:

osjećam = I feel
osjećaš = you (sg.) feel
osjeća = he / she / it feels

So osjećam se already means I feel (myself). Adding ja (ja se osjećam…) is possible, but it usually adds emphasis, like I feel… (as opposed to someone else).

Why do we say osjećam se and not just osjećam?

In Croatian, osjećati se is a reflexive verb meaning to feel (in terms of one’s state or condition):

osjećati (without se) is more like to feel (something), e.g. osjećam bol = I feel pain.
osjećati se (with se) = to feel (good, bad, better, tired, etc.) about yourself or your state.

Since the sentence is about how you feel (better), Croatian uses the reflexive form osjećam se.

Where can the little word se go? Can I change its position?

Se is a clitic (an unstressed short word) and tends to appear in the second position in the clause.

In this sentence, the simplest and most natural word order is:

Osjećam se bolje nego jučer.

If you include ja, then se typically comes right after it:

Ja se osjećam bolje nego jučer.

You cannot freely move se everywhere; forms like osjećam bolje se are incorrect. Think of se as needing to stay very close to the verb, usually immediately after the first stressed word in the clause.

What exactly is bolje? What is the basic form of this word?

Bolje is the comparative form of dobro (good / well).

Positive: dobro = good / well
Comparative: bolje = better

So osjećam se bolje means I feel better. The base adjective/adverb is dobar / dobro, but the comparative is irregular: dobro → bolje (not dobriji in this sense).

What does nego do in this sentence? Could we use od instead?

Nego introduces the thing you compare with; it usually corresponds to than in English.

osjećam se bolje nego jučer = I feel better than yesterday

With adjectives and adverbs in a simple comparison, nego is the standard choice. Od is also used in comparisons but typically with nouns/pronouns in the genitive:

osjećam se bolje nego jučer – better than yesterday (adverb vs. adverb)
viši sam od brata – I’m taller than my brother (adjective vs. noun)

Here, nego is the natural and correct option; bolje od jučer is possible in speech but stylistically less standard.

Why is the verb osjećam se in the present tense, when English also says “after showering”?

The Croatian present here describes your current state that happens after the action of showering:

Nakon tuširanja osjećam se bolje nego jučer.
= After showering, I feel better than yesterday (now).

If you wanted to emphasize that you felt better at some specific time in the past, you might use the past tense:

Nakon tuširanja sam se osjećao bolje nego jučer. (m.)
Nakon tuširanja sam se osjećala bolje nego jučer. (f.)

But in the original sentence, we’re talking about how you feel now, in general, after showering, so the present tense is appropriate.

Can I say Poslije tuširanja instead of Nakon tuširanja? Is there a difference?

Yes, both are correct:

Nakon tuširanja osjećam se bolje nego jučer.
Poslije tuširanja osjećam se bolje nego jučer.

They both mean After showering I feel better than yesterday.

Subtle points:

nakon is a bit more formal / bookish.
poslije is slightly more colloquial and also works as an adverb on its own (vidimo se poslije = see you later).

In everyday speech, poslije tuširanja is very common; in writing or more formal contexts, nakon tuširanja is also very natural.

Can the word order change? For example, can I move jučer or nakon tuširanja?

Croatian allows relatively flexible word order, but meaning and emphasis can shift.

Some acceptable variants:

Osjećam se bolje nego jučer nakon tuširanja.
(Sounds a bit clumsy; can be understood but not ideal.)
Jučer sam se nakon tuširanja osjećao bolje.
(Now the key reference point is yesterday; also moves the time focus.)

The most neutral and natural version for the meaning “After showering, I feel better than yesterday” is the original:

Nakon tuširanja osjećam se bolje nego jučer.

Moving words is possible, but the original order is the clearest and most idiomatic.

What’s the difference between Nakon tuširanja and Nakon što se otuširam?

Both mean after (I) shower, but grammatically they’re different:

Nakon tuširanja
- nakon
  - noun (genitive)
- Literally: after the showering / after showering
- Uses a verbal noun (tuširanje).
Nakon što se otuširam
- nakon što introduces a full clause: se otuširam = I shower (perfective).
- Literally: after I (have) showered.

Example with the second pattern:

Nakon što se otuširam, osjećam se bolje nego jučer.

Both are correct. The version with nakon tuširanja is slightly shorter and more neutral; the version with nakon što se otuširam highlights the completion of the action a bit more.

Why doesn’t tuširanje also use se (like tuširati se)?

The reflexive se belongs to the verb form (tuširati se = to shower), not to the noun.

Verb: tuširati se – to shower (oneself)
Noun: tuširanje – showering / a shower

When you turn the verb into a noun (tuširanje), you don’t keep se. So you say:

Nakon tuširanja – After showering
(not nakon se tuširanja – that would be wrong)

The reflexive meaning (“oneself”) is already understood from the context; tuširanje normally refers to a person showering.