Learn Hardcore Croatian: Kad turist izgubi smjer u stranom gradu, dobar vodič mu daje jasan prijevod svih uputa. - When a tourist loses their way in a foreign city, a good guide gives them a clear translation of all the instructions.

General truths / habits (the so‑called “gnomic” present)
- Kad turist izgubi smjer…, dobar vodič mu daje…
  = Whenever a tourist loses their way…, a good guide gives them…
Future time after words like kad, ako, čim, etc.
- Kad dođeš, javi se.
  = When you come, let me know.

So the present here doesn’t mean “right now”; it expresses a regular, typical situation, just like English when + present does.

What does izgubi smjer literally mean? Why not say izgubi se?

izgubiti smjer literally = to lose (one’s) direction
izgubiti se = to get lost (as a person, to disappear from the right path)

Nuance:

izgubi smjer focuses on losing one’s sense of direction/orientation.
izgubi se is more general and very common in everyday speech.

Both are possible, but they are not identical:

Kad se turist izgubi u stranom gradu…
= When a tourist gets lost in a foreign city…
Kad turist izgubi smjer u stranom gradu…
= When a tourist loses their sense of direction in a foreign city… (slightly more “technical”/formal).

What grammatical case is turist in, and what role does it have in the sentence?

turist is in the nominative singular (masculine).

Role:

It is the subject of the first clause:
- Kad turist izgubi smjer…
  - turist (subject)
  - izgubi (verb)
  - smjer (object)

Later, turist is referred to again by the pronoun mu (dative singular) in the second clause: dobar vodič mu daje…
So mu = to the tourist / to him.

What is mu, and why does it come before daje?

mu is a clitic pronoun:

Person: 3rd
Number: singular
Gender: masculine/neuter
Case: dative
Meaning: to him / to it (here: to the tourist)

It stands for turistu (to the tourist):

dobar vodič mu daje jasan prijevod…
= a good guide gives him a clear translation…

Position:

Croatian clitic pronouns (mi, ti, mu, joj, im, ga, je, se, etc.) usually go in “second position” in a clause.
In …dobar vodič mu daje…, the first stressed unit is dobar vodič, and mu comes right after it, before the main verb daje.

You could move it slightly:

…dobar mu vodič daje… (also natural)
…dobar vodič daje mu… is possible but sounds less neutral and can create emphasis or sound a bit awkward in normal prose. Native speakers almost always place mu early in the clause.

Why is smjer in that form? What case is it?

smjer is in the accusative singular (masculine inanimate).

Verb izgubiti (to lose) takes a direct object in the accusative:
- izgubi smjer = loses (the) direction

For masculine inanimate nouns like smjer, the nominative and accusative forms are identical:

Nominative: smjer
Accusative: smjer

What case is u stranom gradu, and how do stranom and gradu agree?

u stranom gradu is in the locative singular.

Preposition u
- location (where?) typically requires the locative:
- u gradu = in the city
- u stranom gradu = in a foreign city
Agreement:
- grad is masculine singular.
- Locative of grad = gradu.
- The adjective stran must match grad in gender, number, and case:
  - masculine, singular, locative → stranom

So:

u (preposition)
stranom (adjective, masc. sg. loc.)
gradu (noun, masc. sg. loc.)

What case is dobar vodič, and is it the subject of the second clause?

Yes. dobar vodič is in the nominative singular (masculine) and is the subject of the second clause:

dobar vodič mu daje jasan prijevod svih uputa
- dobar vodič – subject
- mu – dative object (= to the tourist)
- daje – verb
- jasan prijevod svih uputa – direct object (what he gives)

The adjective dobar agrees with vodič in gender (masc.), number (sg.), and case (nom.).

Why is it jasan prijevod svih uputa? What cases are jasan prijevod and svih uputa?

jasan prijevod is in the accusative singular (masculine) as the direct object of daje:
- daje što? → jasan prijevod (gives what? a clear translation)
svih uputa is genitive plural (feminine) and depends on prijevod:
- prijevod čega? → svih uputa (translation of all the instructions)

So the structure is:

daje (gives)
jasan prijevod (a clear translation – direct object, acc. sg.)
svih uputa (of all the instructions – genitive plural, complement of translation)

Why is svih used instead of sve before uputa?

Because svih is the genitive plural form of sav / sva / sve (“all”) that agrees with uputa in gender, number, and case.

Nominative plural feminine (used for subject or simple “all [these] X”):
- sve upute = all the instructions (as a subject or object)
Genitive plural feminine (used after prijevod, which requires genitive):
- svih uputa = of all the instructions

So:

jasan prijevod svih uputa literally = a clear translation of all (the) instructions.

What exactly is uputa? Is it usually singular or plural in meaning?

uputa is a feminine noun meaning instruction, direction, guideline.

Forms:

Singular: uputa (one instruction)
Plural (nominative/accusative): upute (instructions)
Genitive plural: uputa (no ending)
- with svih → svih uputa = of all the instructions

In practice, upute is very often used in the plural to mean instructions as a set (like “directions, instructions” in English).

Could we say Kad se turist izgubi u stranom gradu… instead? Is that more natural?

Yes, that is very natural and frequently used:

Kad se turist izgubi u stranom gradu, dobar vodič mu daje jasan prijevod svih uputa.

Differences:

izgubiti se = to get lost (as a person in space)
izgubiti smjer = to lose one’s sense of direction (slightly more “technical”/formal)

Both sentences are correct.
Everyday speech would probably favor Kad se turist izgubi…, but the original version is also perfectly acceptable and clear.

Is turist here specifically male, and does mu mean “to him”? How would I make this more gender‑neutral?

Grammatically:

turist is masculine singular.
mu is 3rd person masculine/neuter dative singular (to him / to it).

In Croatian, the masculine singular is often used as a generic form to refer to a person of unspecified gender, especially in more formal or neutral contexts. So turist … mu can be understood as a tourist … to them in a generic sense, but it is grammatically masculine.

More explicitly neutral or inclusive options:

Use the plural generically:
- Kad turisti izgube smjer u stranom gradu, dobar vodič im daje jasan prijevod svih uputa.
  (When tourists lose their way…, a good guide gives them…)
Or mention both genders (common in some formal writing):
- Kad turist ili turistkinja izgubi smjer…, dobar im vodič daje…

Can I change the word order dobar vodič mu daje jasan prijevod?

Some variants are possible, but clitics like mu want to stay early in the clause.

Most natural:

dobar vodič mu daje jasan prijevod
dobar mu vodič daje jasan prijevod (also common and natural)

Less neutral / more marked:

dobar vodič daje mu jasan prijevod – grammatically OK but sounds slightly unusual in standard, neutral style; it may sound as if you are emphasizing daje or mu.

Basic rule: keep mu close to the beginning of the clause, right after the first stressed phrase.