Word by word:
So the key cases:
In time expressions, Croatian often uses na + accusative to mean on (a specific day / date / holiday):
Using u + locative with dan (u danu) is possible in other contexts, but it changes the meaning and sounds unusual here.
For names of holidays or special days, na + accusative is the normal, idiomatic choice. So Na Svjetski dan životinja is the natural way to say On World Animal Day.
Compare:
The pattern dan + genitive plural is very common:
So Dan životinja = Day of Animals (i.e., animals in general), not Day of (one) animal, which would be Dan životinje.
Djeca is the irregular plural of dijete (child).
Even though djeca looks a bit different from a typical plural, grammatically it is a neuter plural noun, and in modern usage it normally takes 3rd person plural verb forms:
So djeca idu is exactly like English children go.
Yes, Djeca idu u azil za životinje na Svjetski dan životinja is also grammatically correct.
Croatian word order is quite flexible. Putting Na Svjetski dan životinja at the beginning:
So the chosen order sounds natural and slightly highlights the special day. The alternative order is fine but has a bit less emphasis on the day.
The preposition u can take either:
In the sentence, the children are going to the shelter (movement), so we use accusative:
If we were talking about being in the shelter (no movement), we’d use locative:
So:
Azil za životinje literally means shelter for animals.
In Croatian, za + accusative is a very common way to express “for X”, especially when describing the target group or purpose:
So:
You could theoretically say azil životinja (with životinja in genitive plural), but it would sound less natural and more like a technical label or a slightly awkward noun–noun compound. The standard, idiomatic phrase is azil za životinje.
You’re right: životinje is both:
After the preposition za, Croatian always uses the accusative. So in za životinje, životinje is accusative plural, even though it has the same form as the nominative plural.
Many feminine nouns in -a have identical nominative plural and accusative plural forms. Context (and the preposition) tells you the case.
In Croatian, with names of holidays, memorial days, etc., typically only the first word is capitalized:
If the first word is an adjective, that adjective is capitalized, and the rest remains lower-case (unless there’s a proper name like Zemlje):
So we write:
Writing Svjetski Dan Životinja with every word capitalized would look English-influenced and is not standard Croatian.
Idu is 3rd person plural, present tense of the verb ići (to go). Ići is irregular. Present tense forms:
So djeca idu = the children go.
The infinitive is ići, but the present stem is id-, not i-, which is why you get idem, ideš, idu, not ićem, ićeš, iću.
Yes, grammatically you can say:
This would mean: On World Animal Day the children go to the shelter.
However:
In most real-life contexts, if you are talking about World Animal Day and azil, people will understand you mean an animal shelter, but adding za životinje makes it explicit and is more natural when teaching or in neutral description.
Yes:
Adding Svjetski (world, global) makes it clear that this is the official international day, not just any “animal day” a school or town might create.
Approximate pronunciation (IPA-like, but written simply):
Svjetski → [svyets-kee]
životinja → [zhee-VOH-tee-nyah]
Perfect, authentic stress is less important at the beginning; focus on getting ž, nj, and the consonant clusters reasonably clear.