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On je pravi prijatelj.

On je pravi prijatelj.
He is a true friend.

Breakdown of On je pravi prijatelj.

biti
to be
on
he
prijatelj
friend
pravi
real
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Questions & Answers about On je pravi prijatelj.

What does on mean in this sentence, and does it have to be there?

On means he. It is the 3rd person singular masculine pronoun.

Croatian is a “pro‑drop” language: you can often leave out subject pronouns when the subject is clear from context, because the verb ending already shows who is doing the action.

So instead of On je pravi prijatelj., you can also say:

  • Pravi je prijatelj. – The subject on is understood from context.

However, just saying Je pravi prijatelj. (dropping only on) sounds wrong in standard Croatian. If you drop the pronoun, you normally change the word order so that something else comes first (for example Pravi je prijatelj.).

What is je, and why doesn’t it look like biti, the verb “to be”?

Je is the 3rd person singular present tense of the verb biti (to be):

  • biti – to be (infinitive)
  • jesam – I am (1st sg, full form)
  • si – you are (2nd sg)
  • je – he/she/it is (3rd sg)
  • smo – we are (1st pl)
  • ste – you are (2nd pl)
  • su – they are (3rd pl)

So in On je pravi prijatelj., je means is:
On je = He is.

Can je ever be left out, like Spanish sometimes leaves out “ser/estar”?

In standard Croatian, the present‑tense form of biti (je, su, etc.) is not normally dropped. It’s part of the sentence.

Compare:

  • On je pravi prijatelj. – correct
  • On pravi prijatelj. – incorrect (missing je)

In some very colloquial speech or short answers, you may hear forms without je, but that’s not something to copy as a learner. For correct, neutral Croatian, keep je (or another present form of biti) in your sentence.

What exactly does pravi mean here?

Pravi is an adjective. Its core meanings are:

  • real, genuine
  • true (in the sense of a true friend, a true hero)
  • sometimes proper or right, depending on context

In On je pravi prijatelj., pravi means real / true / genuine. The nuance is that he is not just any friend; he is the kind of friend you can really rely on.

Some near equivalents:

  • pravi prijatelj – a real, true friend
  • stvarni/pravi prijatelj – more literally “real” as opposed to imaginary, but pravi prijatelj is the usual idiomatic phrase for a “real friend.”
Why does pravi end in -i? What form of the adjective is this?

Pravi here is:

  • gender: masculine
  • number: singular
  • case: nominative

It is agreeing with prijatelj, which is also masculine singular nominative.

Basic pattern for many adjectives like pravi in the nominative singular is:

  • pravi – masculine
  • prava – feminine
  • pravo – neuter

So you get:

  • pravi prijatelj – a real (male) friend
  • prava prijateljica – a real (female) friend
  • pravo pitanje – a real (proper) question
What does prijatelj mean, and are there other Croatian words for “friend”?

Prijatelj means friend (a male friend, or a friend of unspecified gender if context doesn’t matter).

Related words:

  • prijateljica – a female friend
  • prijatelji – (male / mixed‑gender) friends (plural)
  • prijateljice – (all) female friends (plural)

Other words used for “friend” (with different nuances):

  • drug / drugarica – historically “comrade”, can mean friend, but has political/old‑fashioned overtones or specific contexts
  • kolega / kolegica – colleague; can sometimes feel like “work friend”
  • frend / frendica – slang/anglicism from friend, used in informal speech, especially among younger speakers

In On je pravi prijatelj., prijatelj is the normal, neutral word for friend.

Which grammatical case is prijatelj in here, and why doesn’t it have an extra ending?

In On je pravi prijatelj., prijatelj is in the nominative singular case.

Reasons:

  • It’s the subject complement (also called a predicate noun) of je.
  • In Croatian, nouns that describe or identify the subject after biti (to be) are put in the nominative.

Both on and pravi prijatelj are in the nominative because they refer to the same person:

  • On = pravi prijatelj (He = (a) real friend)

There’s no extra visible ending because the basic dictionary form of many masculine nouns is already nominative singular (here: prijatelj).

Where is the word “a” from the English sentence “He is a real friend”?

Croatian has no articles (no a/an and no the).

So:

  • On je pravi prijatelj. can correspond to:
    • He is a real friend.
    • He is the real friend. (if context makes it clear)
    • just He’s a real friend in general speech

The “indefinite” meaning (with English a) is understood from context, not from a separate word.

How would I say this if I’m talking about a woman instead of a man?

You need to change both the pronoun and the adjective + noun to the feminine forms:

  • Ona je prava prijateljica. – She is a real (female) friend.

Breakdown:

  • ona – she (feminine pronoun)
  • prava – feminine form of pravi
  • prijateljica – female friend

All three parts agree in gender (feminine) and number (singular).

How do I say “They are real friends”?

For a group that includes at least one male (or if gender is unknown/irrelevant), you use the masculine plural:

  • Oni su pravi prijatelji. – They are real friends.

Breakdown:

  • oni – they (masculine / mixed group)
  • su – are (3rd person plural of biti)
  • pravi – masculine plural form of the adjective
  • prijatelji – plural of prijatelj

For a group of only women:

  • One su prave prijateljice.

Here one / prave / prijateljice are all feminine plural forms.

How do I say “He is not a real friend”?

You negate je by using nije:

  • On nije pravi prijatelj. – He is not a real friend.

Pattern:

  • je → nije (is → is not)
  • The rest of the sentence (pravi prijatelj) stays the same.

Another example:

  • Ona nije prava prijateljica. – She is not a real (female) friend.
Can I change the word order, like Pravi je prijatelj or On je prijatelj pravi?

Some word‑order changes are possible, but they sound different:

  1. Pravi je prijatelj.

    • Very natural.
    • Often used to emphasise pravi (“He is a real friend, indeed”).
    • The subject pronoun on is just understood from context.

  2. On je prijatelj pravi.

    • Grammatically possible but sounds marked or poetic / rhetorical, not neutral everyday speech.
    • It emphasizes pravi even more, in a stylistic way.

The most neutral, standard version is:

  • On je pravi prijatelj.

In general, Croatian allows fairly flexible word order to add emphasis or stylistic flavor, but as a learner, it’s safest to stick to On je pravi prijatelj. or Pravi je prijatelj. until you’re more comfortable.

How is prijatelj pronounced? The spelling looks tricky.

Approximate pronunciation in English terms:

  • prijatelj ≈ pree-YAH-tely (final lj is like the lli in “million” said quickly)

More detailed:

  • pri – like pree
  • ja – like yah
  • telj – tel
    • a soft ly sound (palatal lj)

Key points:

  • r is rolled or tapped.
  • j sounds like English y in yes.
  • lj is a single sound, similar to a soft ly.

So the whole sentence:

  • On je pravi prijatelj. ≈ On yeh PRAH‑vee PREE‑yah‑tely.
What’s the difference between pravi prijatelj and dobar prijatelj?

Both are positive, but they highlight slightly different qualities:

  • pravi prijatelj – a real / true friend

    • Emphasizes loyalty, reliability, depth of friendship.
    • Suggests he behaves like a friend should; he proves it in important moments.

  • dobar prijatelj – a good friend

    • Emphasizes general goodness: kind, nice, supportive.
    • Slightly less strong than pravi prijatelj in terms of “this is the friend you can deeply rely on.”

You can say both:

  • On je dobar prijatelj. – He is a good friend.
  • On je pravi prijatelj. – He is a real/true friend (a bit stronger, more emphatic).