Learn Hardcore Croatian: On piše broj u bilježnicu. - He is writing the number in the notebook.

On piše broj u bilježnicu.

He is writing the number in the notebook.

Breakdown of On piše broj u bilježnicu.

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Questions & Answers about On piše broj u bilježnicu.

Why is the subject On (he) written at all? Can it be omitted in Croatian?

Croatian is a pro‑drop language, which means the subject pronoun is often left out because the verb ending already shows the person.

On piše broj u bilježnicu. – grammatically correct, with a neutral or slightly emphatic “he”: He (and not someone else) is writing the number.
Piše broj u bilježnicu. – also fully correct and very natural; simply “He is writing the number in the notebook,” with no special emphasis on he.

So yes, you can omit On unless you want to:

contrast people (On piše, a ona čita. – He is writing, and she is reading.), or
avoid ambiguity in a longer context.

Why is the verb piše used here? How does pisati conjugate?

The infinitive is pisati (to write). In the present tense (imperfective aspect), it’s conjugated:

ja pišem – I write / am writing
ti pišeš – you (sg.) write / are writing
on / ona / ono piše – he / she / it writes / is writing
mi pišemo – we write / are writing
vi pišete – you (pl./formal) write / are writing
oni / one / ona pišu – they write / are writing

In the sentence On piše broj u bilježnicu, piše is 3rd person singular, matching On (he).

In English I’d say “He is writing a number.” Why is there no article before broj in Croatian?

Croatian has no articles (a, an, the). The noun broj just appears on its own, and context tells you whether it’s a number, the number, or simply numbers in general.

On piše broj u bilježnicu.
– can be understood as He is writing a number in the notebook or He is writing the number in the notebook, depending on context.

If you really need to emphasize “one single number”, you can add jedan:

On piše jedan broj u bilježnicu. – He is writing one (single) number in the notebook.

But normally just broj is enough.

What exactly does broj mean here? Just “number,” or also “phone number,” etc.?

Broj is a general word for number in Croatian. It can mean:

a digit or number in math: 3 je neparan broj. – 3 is an odd number.
a phone number: Koji je tvoj broj? – What’s your (phone) number?
a house number: Kućni broj – house number
an issue of a magazine/newspaper: zadnji broj časopisa – the latest issue of the magazine

In On piše broj u bilježnicu, it could be any kind of number (phone number, PIN, page number, etc.) – the sentence itself doesn’t specify which.

Why is it bilježnicu and not bilježnica? What case is that?

The base (nominative singular) is bilježnica (notebook), a feminine -a noun.

In the sentence, it appears as bilježnicu because:

The preposition u
- a sense of motion / direction (“into”) requires the accusative case.
Feminine nouns ending in -a change to -u in the singular accusative.

So:

Nominative (dictionary form): bilježnica – notebook
Accusative (here): bilježnicu – into the notebook

Hence u bilježnicu = into the notebook.

Why is broj unchanged in form? Isn’t it also in the accusative case?

Yes, broj is also in the accusative case: it’s the direct object of the verb piše (he writes what? → broj).

The noun broj is masculine and inanimate. For such nouns, the accusative singular looks the same as the nominative singular:

Nominative: broj – a number
Accusative: broj – (he writes) a number

So it is in the accusative; it just doesn’t change form.

What’s the difference between On piše broj u bilježnicu and On piše broj u bilježnici?

The difference comes from the case after u and the idea of motion vs. location:

On piše broj u bilježnicu.
- bilježnicu = accusative → motion/direction
- Meaning: He is writing the number into the notebook (i.e. putting it there).
On piše broj u bilježnici.
- bilježnici = locative → location
- Meaning: He is writing the number in the notebook (the notebook is the place where the writing happens, but it doesn’t stress the “into” idea as much).

In practice, both can often translate as in the notebook, but:

u bilježnicu emphasizes the target of the writing (onto the pages, into it as a container).
u bilježnici emphasizes the location (within the notebook, as opposed to somewhere else).

Why is the preposition u used with bilježnicu, but I’ve seen na with other things, like na papir?

Both u and na can appear with writing, but they’re used with different kinds of nouns and slightly different imagery:

u (in, into) with things you see as containers / volumes:
- u bilježnicu – in/into a notebook
- u knjigu – in/into a book
- u bilježnici – in the notebook (location)
na (on, onto) with surfaces:
- na papir – onto paper
- na ploču – on(to) the board
- na zid – on(to) the wall

So for bilježnica, Croatian conceptualizes it as something you write in / into, not usually on.

Can I change the word order? For example: On u bilježnicu piše broj or U bilježnicu on piše broj?

Yes, Croatian word order is fairly flexible. All of these are grammatical:

On piše broj u bilježnicu. – neutral, common order.
On u bilježnicu piše broj. – puts slight focus on u bilježnicu (where he writes).
U bilježnicu on piše broj. – strong focus on u bilježnicu; often contrastive:
- U bilježnicu on piše broj, a na papir bilješke.
  – Into the notebook he writes the number, and on paper (he writes) notes.

Meaning remains basically the same, but word order is used for information focus and emphasis, not for basic grammar like in English.

How do aspect pairs work here? What’s the difference between pisati and napisati?

Croatian verbs come in aspect pairs:

pisati – imperfective (ongoing, repeated, process)
napisati – perfective (completed action, result)

Compare:

On piše broj u bilježnicu.
– He is writing / writes a number in the notebook. (focus on the process or habit)
On će napisati broj u bilježnicu.
– He will write (and complete writing) the number in the notebook.
On je napisao broj u bilježnicu.
– He (has) written / wrote the number in the notebook (completed, result).

So pisati doesn’t tell you that the action is finished; napisati does.

How would I express the English distinction “He writes” vs “He is writing” with this sentence?

Croatian present tense (with imperfective verbs like pisati) usually covers both English:

On piše broj u bilježnicu.
1. He is writing a number in the notebook (right now).
2. He writes a number in the notebook (e.g. every time, as a habit).

To make the meaning more specific, Croatians usually add time expressions:

Sada on piše broj u bilježnicu. – Right now he is writing a number…
Svaki put on piše broj u bilježnicu. – Every time he writes a number…

But grammatically, it’s the same tense form.

How would I say this sentence in the past and in the future?

Using pisati (imperfective) or napisati (perfective), you get:

Past (imperfective – focusing on process / background):

On je pisao broj u bilježnicu.
– He was writing / used to write a number in the notebook.

Past (perfective – focusing on completion):

On je napisao broj u bilježnicu.
– He wrote / has written the number in the notebook.

Future (imperfective – focus on process or repeated action in future):

On će pisati broj u bilježnicu.
– He will be writing / will write (repeatedly) a number in the notebook.

Future (perfective – one completed event):

On će napisati broj u bilježnicu.
– He will write (and finish writing) the number in the notebook.

How do you correctly pronounce bilježnicu? What about lj and ž?

Bilježnicu is pronounced approximately: BEE-lyeh-zh-nee-tsoo.

Details:

bi – like bee
lj – a single sound, like the lli in million ([ʎ])
e – like e in bet
ž – like s in measure ([ʒ])
ni – like nee
cu (-cu) – like tsoo

Syllable split: bi‑lje‑žni‑cu.
In normal speech, the stress is typically on the first or second syllable depending on dialect, but for a learner, getting the consonant sounds right (especially lj and ž) is the main thing.

Is bilježnica the only word for “notebook,” or are there variants?

Bilježnica is the standard and most common word for notebook in Croatian.

You might also encounter:

tekica – colloquial / regional (especially in some areas of Croatia), also meaning a notebook (often school notebook).
notes – a loanword (more like a notepad, smaller block).

In standard usage, especially in school and formal contexts, bilježnica is the default term, so On piše broj u bilježnicu uses the expected, neutral word.