Learn Hardcore Croatian: Na sljedećem sastanku želim samo mirnu raspravu bez velikog stresa. - At the next meeting I want only a calm discussion without big stress.

na sastanku literally means “on / at the meeting” and is the normal, idiomatic way to say “at the meeting”.
u sastanku would sound wrong in this context; it would suggest being inside the meeting as if it were a physical container.

For time- or event-related expressions, Croatian very often uses na + locative:

na koncertu – at the concert
na predavanju – at the lecture
na poslu – at work
na odmoru – on vacation

So na sljedećem sastanku = “at the next meeting” (literally “on the next meeting”), and na requires the locative case: sljedećem sastanku.

What case is “sljedećem sastanku”, and how can I recognize it?

Sljedećem sastanku is in the locative singular.

You can recognize it by:

The preposition na (in the sense of “at” a place/event) – it almost always takes locative.
The endings:
- sljedeći → sljedećem (masculine adjective, locative singular)
- sastanak → sastanku (masculine noun, locative singular)

Base forms:

sljedeći – next (masculine singular, nominative)
sastanak – meeting (masculine singular, nominative)

The locative is used mainly:

After certain prepositions: na, u, o, po, pri in specific meanings
To talk about location, or sometimes topic (e.g., o sastanku – about the meeting)

So na sljedećem sastanku literally = on/at the next meeting (locative).

Why is it “mirnu raspravu” and not “mirna rasprava”?

Because “mirnu raspravu” is the direct object of the verb želim, so it must be in the accusative case.

Base (dictionary) form:

mirna rasprava – a calm discussion (nominative, used for the subject)

For a direct object (what you want, see, have, etc.), you use the accusative:

Feminine noun rasprava (ending in -a):
- Nominative: rasprava
- Accusative: raspravu
Adjective mirna must agree with the noun:
- Nominative: mirna rasprava
- Accusative: mirnu raspravu

So:

Želim mirnu raspravu. – I want a calm discussion.

If rasprava were the subject (e.g. “The calm discussion helped us”), you’d use nominative:

Mirna rasprava nam je pomogla. – The calm discussion helped us.

What’s the difference between “rasprava” and “razgovor”? Both can mean “discussion,” right?

Yes, both involve people talking, but the nuance is different:

razgovor
- More general: conversation, talk
- Can be casual or formal
- Focuses on talking itself
- Examples:
  - Imali smo lijep razgovor. – We had a nice conversation.
  - Kratāk razgovor s kolegom. – A short talk with a colleague.
rasprava
- More like debate, discussion, often about a topic or issue
- Suggests some structure, arguments, maybe differing opinions
- Examples:
  - Parlamentarna rasprava. – Parliamentary debate.
  - Rasprava o budžetu. – Discussion/debate about the budget.

In your sentence mirnu raspravu, the idea is more like a structured discussion, debate, or meeting discussion, but you want it to be calm, not heated.

Why is it “bez velikog stresa” and not “bez veliki stres”?

Two reasons:

The preposition “bez” always takes the genitive case.
Adjectives must agree with the noun in case, gender, and number.

Base forms:

velik (veliki) stres – big stress (masculine singular, nominative)
bez → requires genitive:
- stres → stresa (genitive singular)
- velik → velikog (genitive singular masculine adjective)

So:

Nominative: velik stres / veliki stres
Genitive (after bez): bez velikog stresa

You cannot say bez veliki stres because:

veliki stres would be nominative/accusative, not genitive.
bez + nominative/accusative is ungrammatical in this meaning.

What exactly does “bez velikog stresa” mean? Why “big stress” instead of “a lot of stress”?

Literally, bez velikog stresa = “without big stress”. Idiomatically, it matches English “without a lot of stress / without major stress / without much stress.”

You can express “a lot of stress” in a few ways:

bez velikog stresa – without big/major stress
bez puno stresa – without a lot of stress
bez mnogo stresa – without much stress (a bit more formal)

The adjective velik here works a bit like English “big” in:

“a big problem” → velik problem
“a big difference” → velika razlika

So velik stres is “big/major stress,” and bez velikog stresa is a natural way to say you don’t want things to be too stressful.

What does “samo” mean here, and can I put it somewhere else in the sentence?

Here samo means “only / just”, limiting what you want.

Original sentence:

Na sljedećem sastanku želim samo mirnu raspravu bez velikog stresa.
→ “At the next meeting I want only a calm discussion without a lot of stress.”

Word order and emphasis:

Želim samo mirnu raspravu…
- Emphasis: what you want is only a calm discussion, not other things.
Samo želim mirnu raspravu…
- Emphasis: I just want a calm discussion (I’m not asking for much).
- Very similar meaning, but slightly different nuance.

Other possible positions:

Na sljedećem sastanku samo želim mirnu raspravu… – On the next meeting, I only want…
Na sljedećem sastanku želim mirnu raspravu samo bez velikog stresa. – sounds odd; samo in front of bez velikog stresa would limit only the “without stress” part, which isn’t natural here.

The most neutral in this context is:

Želim samo mirnu raspravu bez velikog stresa.

What tense and aspect is “želim”, and why does it refer to the future meeting?

Želim is:

Present tense
Imperfective aspect
1st person singular of željeti (to want, to wish)

Conjugation (present):

(ja) želim – I want
(ti) želiš
(on/ona/ono) želi
(mi) želimo
(vi) želite
(oni/one/ona) žele

In Croatian, the present tense often refers to future events when you talk about decisions, plans, or general intentions, especially with a future time expression:

Sutra idem u Zagreb. – I’m going to Zagreb tomorrow.
U ponedjeljak radim od kuće. – On Monday I work from home.

Here the future is clear from na sljedećem sastanku (“at the next meeting”), so želim naturally means “I want (to have) at the next meeting”. You don’t need a separate future form like ću željeti here.

What’s the difference between “želim” and “hoću” / “htio bih” in this kind of sentence?

All are related to wanting, but tone and politeness differ:

želim – “I want / I wish”
- Neutral, can sound slightly formal or “intentional”
- Fine in written and spoken language.
- Na sljedećem sastanku želim mirnu raspravu.
hoću – “I want / I will”
- Can sound stronger, more direct, sometimes a bit demanding.
- Na sljedećem sastanku hoću mirnu raspravu. – “I want a calm discussion,” possibly with a bit more force.
htio bih / želio bih – “I would like”
- Conditionally polite, softer, more courteous.
- Na sljedećem sastanku htio bih samo mirnu raspravu bez velikog stresa. – “I would just like a calm discussion without much stress.”

In a meeting context, if you want to sound especially polite, htio bih / želio bih is often preferred.

Why is there no comma after “Na sljedećem sastanku” at the beginning?

In Croatian, a short initial prepositional phrase like Na sljedećem sastanku doesn’t have to be followed by a comma. Both are possible:

Na sljedećem sastanku želim samo mirnu raspravu… – perfectly fine, especially in everyday writing.
Na sljedećem sastanku, želim samo mirnu raspravu… – also acceptable, but the comma slightly emphasizes the phrase as an introductory element.

General tendency:

Short, tightly connected time/place phrases (e.g. Jučer sam bio doma., U školi učimo engleski.) often appear without a comma.
Longer or more complex introductory elements more often do get a comma.

So the version without a comma is normal and natural here.

How is “sljedećem” pronounced, and what’s going on with the letters lj and đ?

Sljedećem is pronounced roughly like:

slje-de-chem

Details:

lj = a palatal l, similar to Italian gli in famiglia or Portuguese lh in filho. It’s one sound, not l + j.
- IPA: /ʎ/
đe (the letter đ) is like the j in English “judge” or “jam”.
- IPA: /dʑ/ or /dʒ/ depending on transcription
The ć in sljedećem is a soft ch sound, similar to the t in “nature” in some English pronunciations, but softer and more fronted.
- IPA: /tɕ/

Syllables: slje-je-ćem (often practically slje-de-ćem in casual speech).

Can I say “Na idućem sastanku” instead of “Na sljedećem sastanku”?

Yes. sljedeći and idući are often synonyms meaning “next”, and both are common.

Na sljedećem sastanku… – At the next meeting…
Na idućem sastanku… – At the next meeting…

Minor nuance:

Some speakers feel sljedeći is a tiny bit more “neutral/standard,”
and idući slightly more colloquial in some regions,
but in practice both are widely used and understood, and your sentence is fine with either.

Could I move words around, for example say “Želim na sljedećem sastanku samo mirnu raspravu bez velikog stresa”?

Yes, Croatian word order is relatively flexible. Your alternative:

Želim na sljedećem sastanku samo mirnu raspravu bez velikog stresa.
is grammatically correct.

Some common, natural options:

Na sljedećem sastanku želim samo mirnu raspravu bez velikog stresa.
Želim samo mirnu raspravu bez velikog stresa na sljedećem sastanku.
Samo želim mirnu raspravu bez velikog stresa na sljedećem sastanku.

All are understandable; subtle differences are mostly about emphasis (what you put near the beginning or after samo). The original version is very clear and natural.

What are the base forms (dictionary forms) of the declined words in the sentence?

Here are the key words in the sentence and their base (nominative singular) forms:

na sljedećem sastanku
- na – (preposition) on/at
- sljedećem → sljedeći – next (adjective, m.sg.)
- sastanku → sastanak – meeting (noun, m.sg.)
želim → željeti – to want, to wish (verb, infinitive)
samo – only, just (adverb; not declined)
mirnu raspravu
- mirnu → mirna – calm (adjective, f.sg.)
- raspravu → rasprava – discussion/debate (noun, f.sg.)
bez velikog stresa
- bez – without (preposition, takes genitive)
- velikog → velik (also veliki) – big, large (adjective, m.sg.)
- stresa → stres – stress (noun, m.sg.)

Knowing these base forms helps you look them up in dictionaries and understand why they change shape in the sentence.