Learn Hardcore Croatian: Moj cilj je učiti hrvatski bez stresa. - My goal is to study Croatian without stress.

Because in English you say “My goal is to learn”, not “My goal is I learn.”
Croatian does the same thing: after “je” in this kind of sentence, you use the infinitive.

Moj cilj je učiti hrvatski. = My goal is to learn Croatian.
– učiti = infinitive, “to learn / to study”
Učim hrvatski. = I am learning Croatian.
– učim = 1st person singular, “I learn”

So “učiti” matches the English infinitive “to learn”.

Could I also say “Moj cilj je da učim hrvatski bez stresa”? What is the difference?

Yes, you can say it, and it’s grammatically correct, but it sounds heavier and more “clunky” here.

Moj cilj je učiti hrvatski bez stresa.
– Natural, neutral, and the most common way.
Moj cilj je da učim hrvatski bez stresa.
– Possible, but feels more like “My goal is that I (should) learn Croatian without stress.”
– Used more when emphasizing a concrete situation or condition (what happens / should happen), not a general goal.

For simple “My goal is to …” statements, prefer the infinitive: Moj cilj je učiti…

Why is it “hrvatski” and not “hrvatski jezik”?

Both are correct:

Moj cilj je učiti hrvatski bez stresa.
Moj cilj je učiti hrvatski jezik bez stresa.

In everyday speech, Croatians often drop “jezik” (language) and just say the adjective hrvatski, and everyone understands it means “Croatian (language)”.

The same happens with other languages:

učiti engleski (jezik) – to learn English
učiti njemački (jezik) – to learn German

Adding jezik is a bit more explicit or formal, but not necessary.

What case is “hrvatski” in here, and why?

Hrvatski is in the accusative singular (masculine).

Reason: učiti is a verb that takes a direct object (what are you learning?).
učiti + što? (what?)

učiti hrvatski – to learn Croatian
učiti matematiku – to learn math
učiti povijest – to learn history

Masculine inanimate nouns in the accusative look the same as in the nominative, so hrvatski (jezik) doesn’t change form here.

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

Because the preposition bez (without) always takes the genitive case.

bez
- genitive

Here, stres is a masculine noun:

Nominative: stres
Genitive: stresa

So after bez you must say bez stresa.

More examples:

bez problema – without problems
bez novca – without money
bez šećera – without sugar

Can I change the word order? For example, “Moj cilj je bez stresa učiti hrvatski”?

Yes, Croatian word order is fairly flexible, and all of these are possible:

Moj cilj je učiti hrvatski bez stresa. – neutral, most natural.
Moj cilj je bez stresa učiti hrvatski. – slight emphasis on without stress.
Moj cilj je učiti bez stresa hrvatski. – possible, but less natural.

The safest, most typical choice is the original:
Moj cilj je učiti hrvatski bez stresa.

Why is it “Moj cilj je …” and not “Moje je cilj …” or something else?

The pattern is:

moj (my) + cilj (goal)
– cilj is masculine singular, so its possessive must be moj.

Forms of moj:

masculine: moj prijatelj (my friend – m.)
feminine: moja knjiga (my book)
neuter: moje dijete (my child)

Word order variations:

Moj je cilj učiti hrvatski bez stresa. – also correct, puts light focus on “moj”.
Moj cilj je učiti hrvatski bez stresa. – the most usual version.

But “Moje je cilj” is wrong because moje doesn’t match the masculine noun cilj.

What is the difference between “učiti” and “naučiti” in this sentence?

Aspect difference:

učiti – imperfective, focuses on the process: to be learning / to study
naučiti – perfective, focuses on the result: to learn completely, to have learned

So:

Moj cilj je učiti hrvatski bez stresa.
– My goal is to be learning / to study Croatian without stress (ongoing activity).
Moj cilj je naučiti hrvatski bez stresa.
– My goal is to (eventually) learn / master Croatian without stress (reach the end result).

Both are correct; choose the one that matches what you want to stress: process (učiti) vs final mastery (naučiti).

How do you pronounce “učiti” and where is the stress?

Pronunciation: [oo-chee-tee]

u – like “oo” in “food”
č – like “ch” in “church”
ti – “tee”

Stress: on the first syllable: Ú-či-ti.

So you say: Účiti, not učÍti.

Why is there no word for “to” before “učiti”, like in English “to learn”?

Croatian infinitives are single words and don’t need a particle like English to.

English: to learn – verb + “to”
Croatian: učiti – just the verb form

So after je you directly use the infinitive:

Moj cilj je učiti… – My goal is to learn… No extra word for “to” is needed.

Can I omit “je” and say “Moj cilj učiti hrvatski bez stresa”?

No, not in standard Croatian. You need the verb “je” (is) in this sentence.

Correct options:

Moj cilj je učiti hrvatski bez stresa.
Moj je cilj učiti hrvatski bez stresa.

Leaving je out (Moj cilj učiti…) is not grammatical in standard language.

Is “stresa” singular or plural, and what is its base form?

The base (dictionary) form is the nominative singular: stres.

In the sentence, you see:

bez stresa – genitive singular

It’s singular here; you are talking about the absence of stress in general, not multiple separate “stresses”.

Plural forms would be:

nominative plural: stresovi
genitive plural: stresova

How would I say “Our goal is to learn Croatian without stress”?

You just change moj (my) to the appropriate possessive for we:

Naš cilj je učiti hrvatski bez stresa.
– naš = our (masculine singular to match cilj)

Everything else stays the same.