Learn Hardcore Croatian: Za mene je ovaj most siguran.

ja is the nominative form (used for the subject of the sentence: Ja idem. – I am going.)
mene is the accusative (and genitive) stressed form, used after many prepositions, including za.

The preposition za (for) normally takes the accusative case. So you need the accusative form of ja, which is mene, not ja.

So:

za mene = for me
za ja = incorrect

What case is mene, and why is it used here?

Mene is primarily the accusative form of ja (it can also function as genitive, but here we care about accusative).

The preposition za requires the accusative case:

za + mene (accusative) → za mene (for me)
za + njega (accusative of on) → za njega (for him)
za + njih (accusative of oni) → za njih (for them)

So mene is used because za always needs an accusative object. That’s why you can’t say za ja or za on.

Can I say za me instead of za mene?

In theory, there is also a clitic (short) form me, but:

After a preposition, Croatian strongly prefers the full/stressed form of the pronoun.
Za me is archaic, poetic, or dialectal in modern Croatian; you might see it in older texts or songs, but it sounds unusual in everyday standard speech.

For normal, modern usage, you should say:

za mene (standard, natural)
Avoid za me in regular conversation or writing unless you are intentionally using archaic/poetic style.

Why does the sentence start with Za mene instead of Ovaj most? Is the word order important?

Croatian word order is relatively flexible. Each order is grammatically possible but changes the emphasis.

Za mene je ovaj most siguran.
- Fronts za mene → emphasizes for me / in my view, often implying contrast:
- As far as I’m concerned, this bridge is safe (maybe others don’t think so).
Ovaj most je za mene siguran.
- More neutral ordering; emphasis is more evenly spread, like:
- This bridge is safe for me.
Ovaj most je siguran za mene.
- Similar meaning; slight emphasis on siguran and the idea safe for me.

So beginning with Za mene signals that the speaker’s personal viewpoint is important, or different from others’ opinions. All versions are grammatically correct; it’s mainly a question of focus and style.

What exactly does Za mene mean here: “for me personally” or “in my opinion”?

Za mene can cover both shades, and context decides the nuance:

In my opinion / as far as I’m concerned
- Za mene je ovaj most siguran.
  → In my opinion, this bridge is safe.
  (Maybe others think it’s dangerous.)
For me personally / for my situation
- It can also mean “with respect to me, my needs, my safety”.

Compare with:

Po meni je ovaj most siguran.
- This more clearly means In my opinion, this bridge is safe.
- po meni = more explicitly “according to me / in my view”.

In everyday speech, za mene often sounds a bit more like “for me personally” but still frequently functions as “as far as I’m concerned / in my opinion.”

What is the role of je in the sentence?

Je is the 3rd person singular present tense of the verb biti (to be), i.e. it means “is”.

ovaj most → subject (this bridge)
je → verb is
siguran → predicate adjective (safe)

So structurally it’s:
(Za mene) ovaj most je siguran. → For me, this bridge is safe.

Important points:

In neutral sentences, je tends to appear in second position in the clause (this is a general rule for short “clitic” words in Croatian).
Here, the first element is Za mene, so je comes right after it:
Za mene je ovaj most siguran.

You cannot omit je in standard Croatian; you need it to form the present tense of biti in such sentences.

Why is je after Za mene and not directly before siguran or most?

Croatian has a rule called the “second position” rule for clitics (short unstressed words like je, se, mi, ga etc.):

A clitic usually goes in second position in the clause, after the first “chunk” (which can be a word or a phrase).

In your sentence:

First chunk: Za mene
Clitic: je
Rest: ovaj most siguran

So the typical placement is:

Za mene je ovaj most siguran.

You might hear some variations in speech, but moving je elsewhere often sounds unnatural or wrong in standard language. For example:

Za mene ovaj most je siguran.
→ This is possible in spoken language, but it sounds more marked and breaks the usual clitic rule.

For learners, it’s safest to follow the second-position rule: first phrase, then je.

Why is it siguran and not something like sigurna or sigurno?

Adjectives in Croatian must agree in gender, number, and case with the noun they describe.

most (bridge) is:
- Masculine
- Singular
- Nominative (subject of the sentence)

The adjective siguran (safe) has forms:

Masculine singular nominative: siguran
Feminine singular nominative: sigurna
Neuter singular nominative: sigurno
Masculine plural nominative: sigurni, etc.

Since most is masculine singular nominative, the adjective must also be:

siguran most / most je siguran

So Za mene je ovaj most siguran. is the correct agreement.
Forms like sigurna or sigurno would correspond to a feminine or neuter noun, not to most.

What is the difference between ovaj, taj, and onaj?

These are demonstrative adjectives, roughly like English this / that but with a three-way distinction:

ovaj most = this bridge (near the speaker)
taj most = that bridge (near the listener, or previously mentioned / contextually known)
onaj most = that bridge over there (far from both speaker and listener, or more distant in context)

In your sentence:

ovaj most suggests the bridge is near the speaker or is the one the speaker is directly pointing out or focusing on.

Can I drop ovaj and just say Za mene je most siguran?

Yes, grammatically that is fine:

Za mene je most siguran.

However, Croatian has no articles (no “a / the”), so removing ovaj also removes the built-in “this” idea. Then most can be understood more generally:

Za mene je ovaj most siguran.
→ This bridge is safe (for me).
Za mene je most siguran.
→ The bridge is safe (for me). / A bridge is safe (for me).

In context, people will often still know which bridge you mean, but ovaj makes it explicit that you mean this specific bridge.

Can I change the word order to Ovaj most je za mene siguran? Does it sound natural?

Yes, Ovaj most je za mene siguran. is grammatically correct and natural.

Comparing:

Za mene je ovaj most siguran.
- Emphasis on for me / as far as I’m concerned.
Ovaj most je za mene siguran.
- More neutral; focus is more on this bridge and the fact that for me it is safe.
Ovaj most je siguran za mene.
- Slight emphasis on the pair siguran za mene (“safe for me”).

All three are acceptable; the differences are mainly in emphasis and what you want to highlight in discourse.

How would this change if I talk about multiple bridges, like “For me, these bridges are safe”?

You need to make both the demonstrative and the adjective plural to agree with mostovi (bridges):

Singular (your original):

Za mene je ovaj most siguran.
- ovaj (m.sg.) + most (m.sg.) + siguran (m.sg.)

Plural:

Za mene su ovi mostovi sigurni.
- za mene – same
- su – 3rd person plural of biti (are)
- ovi – demonstrative, masculine plural nominative (these)
- mostovi – plural of most
- sigurni – adjective, masculine plural nominative to agree with mostovi

So the pattern stays the same, but everything tied to “bridge” switches to plural.