Learn Hardcore Croatian: Ovaj meni je kratak, ali dobar.

Croatian has several demonstrative pronouns that all translate as this/that in English, but they are used differently and must agree with the noun in gender, number and case.

ovaj = this (near the speaker), masculine singular
taj = that (near the listener or previously mentioned), masculine singular
onaj = that (over there), masculine singular
ovo = this (neuter singular, used on its own, or with neuter nouns)

The noun meni (menu) is treated as masculine singular, so you must use the masculine form:

ovaj meni – this menu (near me)
taj meni – that menu (near you / known from context)
onaj meni – that menu over there

You can’t say ovo meni because ovo is a neuter form and does not agree with the masculine noun meni. You could say just Ovo je meni. = This is a menu, where ovo stands alone and meni is in the predicate.

What gender and case are ovaj and meni in this sentence, and how do they agree?

In Ovaj meni je kratak, ali dobar. both ovaj and meni are:

Gender: masculine
Number: singular
Case: nominative (they are the subject of the sentence)

ovaj is a demonstrative adjective/pronoun that must match the noun it modifies:

ovaj meni – masculine singular nominative
If the noun were feminine: ova knjiga (this book)
If the noun were neuter: ovo pismo (this letter)

So the pattern is:

ovaj
- masculine nouns: Ovaj meni…
ova
- feminine nouns: Ova kava…
ovo
- neuter nouns: Ovo pivo…

Why is there no word for “a” or “the” before meni?

Croatian has no articles like English a/an or the. The noun meni on its own can mean:

a menu
the menu
just menu in general

Which English article you use depends entirely on the context, not on any extra Croatian word.

So:

Ovaj meni je kratak, ali dobar.
→ This menu is short, but (it is) good.
(could be understood as “this particular menu is short, but good”)

The demonstrative ovaj already gives the sense of “this”, which in English usually goes with the rather than a, but grammatically Croatian doesn’t mark definiteness the way English does.

Is meni here the same word as the English “menu”?

Yes, meni is a borrowing from French menu, just like in English. It means menu, usually a restaurant menu or a fixed-price menu / set menu.

A few notes:

A more “native” Croatian word is jelovnik, which also means menu:
- jelovnik – general term, often used in more formal or “purist” contexts
- meni – very common in everyday speech and in restaurants

Examples:

Mogu li dobiti meni? – Can I have the menu?
Gdje je jelovnik? – Where is the menu?

In your sentence, Ovaj meni je kratak, ali dobar., meni = menu in the usual sense.

Isn’t meni also the dative of ja (to me)? How do I know which meni it is?

Good observation: meni can indeed be:

a noun meaning menu
the dative/locative singular of the pronoun ja (I), meaning to me / for me / at me

You tell them apart mainly by position, meaning and context:

As a noun (menu)
- It behaves like a normal noun:
  - Ovaj meni je kratak. – This menu is short. (subject)
  - Gledam meni. – I’m looking at the menu. (object)
- It can be modified by adjectives: veliki meni, dnevni meni etc.
As a pronoun (to me/for me)
- It usually appears after a verb or preposition:
  - Daj meni. – Give (it) to me.
  - Meni je hladno. – I am cold. (literally: To me, it is cold.)

In Ovaj meni je kratak, ali dobar., meni is clearly a noun because:

it has a demonstrative ovaj in front of it
it is the subject of the sentence
the meaning talks about a menu, not about “me”

Why is the verb je needed here? Could you say Ovaj meni kratak, ali dobar without je?

In normal, full sentences in standard Croatian, the present tense of biti (to be) is usually required:

Ovaj meni je kratak, ali dobar. – grammatical, neutral
Ovaj meni kratak, ali dobar. – possible only in very informal, telegraphic or stylistic speech (sounds like a note, not full speech)

So in regular conversation or writing you should keep the verb:

je – 3rd person singular present of biti
- Meni je kratak. – It is short.
- Film je dobar. – The film is good.

There is also a longer form jest, but it’s more formal/archaic and rarely used in everyday speech. You might see it for emphasis or in writing:

Ovaj meni jest kratak, ali dobar. – This menu *is short, but (it is) good.* (emphasis on “is”)

Why is kratak used here, and not kratki? Aren’t both forms possible?

Kratak is the “short” (predicative) form of the adjective, and kratki is the “long” (attributive) form. Croatian has a number of adjectives that have these two related forms.

Rough rule:

Predicative use (after to be):
- Meni je kratak. – The menu is short.
Attributive use (directly in front of a noun):
- kratki meni – a short menu

So you usually say:

Film je kratak. – The film is short.
kratki film – a short film

Using kratki in your sentence (Ovaj meni je kratki) would be ungrammatical in standard Croatian; for predicative position you want kratak (masc. sg. nom. predicative form).

Why is it dobar and not dobro? In English we just say “good”.

In Croatian, adjectives must agree with the noun in gender, number and case, even when used as a predicate (“X is good”).

The noun meni is masculine singular, so the adjective must be masculine singular nominative:

dobar – masculine singular nominative
dobra – feminine singular nominative
dobro – neuter singular nominative

Compare:

Ovaj meni je dobar. – This menu is good. (masc.)
Ova knjiga je dobra. – This book is good. (fem.)
Ovo vino je dobro. – This wine is good. (neut.)

So dobro is good for neuter nouns (or as an adverb), not for a masculine noun like meni when used as a predicate adjective.

Why is there a comma before ali in kratak, ali dobar?

In standard Croatian, a comma is required before the conjunction ali (but). This is different from English mainly in that the rule is stricter: you normally always put a comma before ali when it connects two clauses or two parts that are clearly contrasted.

So:

Ovaj meni je kratak, ali dobar. – correct
Ovaj meni je kratak ali dobar. – considered incorrect / non-standard in writing

Other examples:

On je pametan, ali lijen. – He is intelligent but lazy.
Želim izaći, ali nemam vremena. – I want to go out, but I don’t have time.

Can I change the word order and say Ovaj je meni kratak, ali dobar?

Yes, Ovaj je meni kratak, ali dobar. is possible, but it sounds different and in most contexts confusing.

Two issues:

Typical neutral word order is the one you were given:
- Ovaj meni je kratak, ali dobar.
  Demonstrative + noun form a clear phrase: this menu.
If you say Ovaj je meni kratak…, many speakers will initially parse meni as the dative pronoun (to me) rather than the noun menu, and understand:
- Ovaj je meni kratak. ≈ This one is short for me.
  (e.g. this skirt is short for me)

So, for the clear meaning “This menu is short, but (it is) good”, stick to:

Ovaj meni je kratak, ali dobar.

How would I say “This menu is very short, but good” in Croatian?

You can add an adverb like vrlo, jako, or baš in front of kratak:

Ovaj meni je vrlo kratak, ali dobar. – This menu is very short, but good.
Ovaj meni je jako kratak, ali dobar. – This menu is really/very short, but good.
Ovaj meni je baš kratak, ali dobar. – This menu is really short, but good. (more colloquial)

The position is:

[subject] + je + [adverb] + [adjective]
→ Ovaj meni je jako kratak.

Is the word order Ovaj meni je kratak, ali dobar fixed, or can I rearrange it?

Word order in Croatian is freer than in English, but there is still a “most natural” order. For this sentence, the standard neutral order is:

[Ovaj meni] [je] [kratak], [ali] [dobar].

Some variations:

Je can sometimes move, but not very freely here:
- Ovaj je meni kratak, ali dobar. – grammatically possible, but as noted earlier, risks confusion with meni = to me.
Moving adjectives around inside the predicate is limited; you can emphasize by repetition or splitting, but for a learner the safest is:

Ovaj meni je kratak, ali dobar.

So yes, Croatian allows more reordering than English, but for clear, natural speech in this case you should keep this word order.