Learn Hardcore Croatian: To je nepoznata osoba.

In Croatian, to je is a very common way to introduce or identify something or someone you see or are talking about, similar to English That is / This is / It’s.

You could also hear:

Ovo je nepoznata osoba. – This is an unknown person. (more like this one here, close to me)

But To je nepoznata osoba. is the most neutral and common way to say it.

Why is the verb je (is) placed after To and not at the beginning?

Croatian does not put the verb first in simple statements the way English sometimes can (e.g. Is that…? for questions).

The usual neutral order here is:

To (subject) + je (verb) + nepoznata osoba (what it is)

So:

To je nepoznata osoba. = That is an unknown person.

The verb je is a clitic (a short, unstressed form) and almost always appears in the second position in the sentence, which is why you don’t normally say:

✗ Je to nepoznata osoba. (wrong as a statement; might appear only in special structures or in poetry)

Why is it nepoznata osoba and not nepoznat osoba or nepoznato osoba?

Because the adjective nepoznata has to agree in gender, number, and case with the noun osoba.

osoba (person) is grammatically feminine singular, nominative case.
The basic adjective is nepoznat (unknown).
Feminine singular nominative form of nepoznat is nepoznata.

So you get:

nepoznat – masculine singular (e.g. nepoznat čovjek – an unknown man)
nepoznata – feminine singular (e.g. nepoznata osoba – an unknown person)
nepoznato – neuter singular (e.g. nepoznato dijete – an unknown child)

Since osoba is feminine, you must use nepoznata osoba.

Is the word osoba always feminine, even if we’re talking about a man?

Yes. Osoba is grammatically feminine, regardless of the actual sex of the person.

Ta osoba je muškarac. – That person is a man.
Ta osoba je žena. – That person is a woman.

In both sentences, osoba stays feminine, and any adjectives that describe it will also be in the feminine form:

nepoznata osoba – unknown person
zanimljiva osoba – interesting person

So To je nepoznata osoba. can refer to a man or a woman.

What case is nepoznata osoba in, and why?

Nepoznata osoba is in the nominative singular.

In Croatian, when you say X is Y (with the verb biti – to be), the part after je (the “Y”) is usually also in the nominative. This is like a predicate nominative in grammar terms.

Structure:

To (nominative) + je (is) + nepoznata osoba (nominative)

So:

To je nepoznata osoba. – That is an unknown person.

No other case is needed here because we’re just identifying who or what To is.

Why is there no word for a/an in To je nepoznata osoba?

Croatian has no articles (no a/an and no the), so they are simply not used.

English:

That is an unknown person.
Croatian:
To je nepoznata osoba.

The indefinite idea of a/an is usually expressed by:

word order
context
sometimes by adding words like neka (some) – To je neka nepoznata osoba. (That is some unknown person.)

But in most neutral contexts, To je nepoznata osoba. naturally corresponds to That is an unknown person. with no extra word for a/an.

Can I just say To je nepoznata without osoba?

Yes, in some contexts you can shorten it to:

To je nepoznata.

This would sound like:

That’s a stranger. / She’s a stranger.

However:

It sounds more colloquial and is more natural when the context is very clear (for example, you are clearly talking about a woman you see).
It will usually be understood as feminine (about a woman) because nepoznata is feminine; for a man you’d normally say:
- To je nepoznat. – That’s a stranger (male).

To je nepoznata osoba. is more neutral and precise, not tied to the idea of male/female as strongly in everyday use.

What is the difference between nepoznata osoba and stranac?

They are related but not identical in meaning:

nepoznata osoba
- literally: unknown person
- focus: I don’t know who this person is.
- says nothing about nationality or origin.
stranac (masc.), strankinja (fem.)
- usual meaning: foreigner, someone from another country.
- can also mean stranger in some contexts, but often with a nuance of being from elsewhere / not local.

So:

To je nepoznata osoba. – That’s a person we don’t know.
On je stranac. – He’s a foreigner. (or: He’s an outsider / not from here.)

If you specifically want stranger without the “foreigner” idea, nepoznata osoba or just nepoznat / nepoznata in context is safer.

Does nepoznata osoba mean “stranger” in the same way as in English, or is it more formal?

Nepoznata osoba is a bit more formal / neutral and descriptive than the English word stranger.

Literally: unknown person.
Common in:
- police or official contexts
- written notices
- more neutral or careful speech

In everyday speech, people might say:

To je neki lik, ne poznajem ga. – That’s some guy, I don’t know him.
To je nepoznat tip. – That’s some guy I don’t know.

So To je nepoznata osoba. is perfectly correct and natural, but it can sound a bit less casual than saying That’s some guy I don’t know in English.

Can I change the word order to Nepoznata osoba je to? Does it mean the same?

You can say Nepoznata osoba je to, but:

It is not the neutral, everyday word order.
It sounds more emphatic, sometimes stylistic or poetic, like:
- An unknown person, that is.
- That is an unknown person (and not something else).

Neutral, normal statement:

To je nepoznata osoba.

Changed order for emphasis:

Nepoznata osoba je to. – putting focus on nepoznata osoba.

For a learner, it’s best to stick to:

To je nepoznata osoba.

Is je here the same verb as English to be? How would it change in other forms?

Yes. Je is the 3rd person singular of biti – to be.

Present tense of biti:

ja sam – I am
ti si – you are (sg.)
on/ona/ono je – he/she/it is
mi smo – we are
vi ste – you are (pl. or formal)
oni/one/ona su – they are

So you could say:

Ja sam nepoznata osoba. – I am an unknown person.
On je nepoznata osoba. – He is an unknown person.
One su nepoznate osobe. – They (fem.) are unknown persons.

In your sentence:
To je nepoznata osoba. – That is an unknown person.

How do you pronounce nepoznata osoba, and where is the stress?

Approximate pronunciation (in simple English-based transcription):

nepoznata → NEH-po-za-ta
- stress usually on the first syllable: NEH
osoba → O-so-ba
- stress usually on O: O-so-ba

Put together:

To je nepoznata osoba.
→ Toh yeh NEH-po-za-ta O-so-ba.

All vowels are short and clear:

o like in not (but a bit shorter, more closed)
a like in father
e like in bed

When would I use nepoznato or nepoznat, instead of nepoznata?

You choose the ending based on the gender and number of the noun:

nepoznat – masculine singular
- nepoznat čovjek – an unknown man
- To je nepoznat susjed. – That is an unknown neighbor (male).
nepoznata – feminine singular
- nepoznata osoba – an unknown person
- nepoznata žena – an unknown woman.
nepoznato – neuter singular
- nepoznato dijete – an unknown child
- can also be used as a noun: Volim nepoznato. – I like the unknown.

In the sentence To je nepoznata osoba., you must use nepoznata because osoba is feminine.