Learn Hardcore Croatian: Nekad vikendom radije spavam dugo nego idem u park. - Sometimes on weekends I prefer to sleep for a long time rather than go to the park.

nekad
- Colloquial, very common in speech.
- Meaning here: sometimes / at times.
- Example: Nekad kasnim na posao. – Sometimes I’m late for work.
ponekad
- Slightly more “neutral”/standard for sometimes.
- You can safely replace nekad with ponekad:
  Ponekad vikendom radije spavam dugo nego idem u park.
ikad
- Means ever (at any time), usually in questions or negatives.
- Example: Jesi li ikad bio u Hrvatskoj? – Have you ever been to Croatia?
nekada
- Literally some time (ago), once / long ago / in the past.
- Example: Nekada sam tamo živio. – I used to live there / I once lived there.

So in this sentence, nekad = ponekad = sometimes. It does not mean once/long ago here; the habitual present (spavam, idem) makes the “sometimes” meaning clear.

Isn’t nekad vikendom redundant? Both seem to talk about time.

They do different jobs:

nekad = sometimes, not always
vikendom = on weekends (as a general, repeated time)

So Nekad vikendom… means:

Sometimes, on weekends, I’d rather sleep long than go to the park.

It implies:

This is about weekends in general (habit),
And even on weekends, you don’t always do this—only sometimes.

You could also say just:

Vikendom radije spavam dugo nego idem u park. – On weekends I rather sleep long than go to the park. (sounds more like a regular pattern)
Nekad radije spavam dugo nego idem u park. – Sometimes I’d rather sleep long than go to the park. (no mention of weekends specifically)

Putting both together narrows it to some weekends.

What case is vikendom, and why is it used instead of something like za vikend?

Vikendom is the instrumental singular of vikend used adverbially to mean “on weekends / during the weekend (as a habit)”.

Common options:

vikendom – on weekends (habitual)
- Vikendom radim. – I work on weekends.
za vikend – this / that / the weekend (more concrete)
- Što radiš za vikend? – What are you doing this weekend?
tijekom vikenda – during the weekend (more formal, often specific)
- Tijekom vikenda je padala kiša. – It rained during the weekend.

In your sentence, vikendom fits best because we’re talking about a general habit: what you (sometimes) prefer to do on weekends.

What is radije, and how does this comparison with nego work?

Radije is the comparative form of the adverb rado (gladly, willingly).

rado – gladly
radije – more gladly, rather / prefer to
najradije – most gladly, (would) most prefer to

The common pattern is:

radije + [verb phrase A] + nego + [verb phrase B]

meaning:

I’d rather do A than (do) B.

In your sentence:

radije spavam dugo – I’d rather sleep long
nego idem u park – than go to the park

Other examples:

Radije pijem čaj nego kavu. – I’d rather drink tea than coffee.
Najradije ostajem doma. – I most prefer staying at home.

Why is it radije spavam dugo nego idem u park, not radije spavati dugo nego ići u park?

Croatian normally keeps full, conjugated clauses in this kind of comparison:

Radije spavam nego radim. – I’d rather sleep than work.
Radije idem kući nego ostajem ovdje. – I’d rather go home than stay here.

Using infinitives (spavati, ići) is possible, but usually:

either with an auxiliary (radije bih spavao nego išao), or
in more reduced / elliptical structures.

So you might hear:

Radije bih spavao nego išao u park. – I’d rather sleep than go to the park.
Radije spavati nego raditi! – Better to sleep than to work! (more like a slogan or exclamation)

In everyday neutral sentences about your habits, the version with spavam / idem is the most natural.

Why is it spavam dugo? Could we also say dugo spavam?

Both spavam dugo and dugo spavam are grammatically correct. The difference is in emphasis and style.

spavam dugo – more neutral; verb first, then how long:
- Radije spavam dugo. – I’d rather sleep for a long time.
dugo spavam – puts some emphasis on dugo (for a long time):
- Dugo spavam kad sam umoran. – I sleep for a long time when I’m tired. (emphasis: the duration)

In your sentence, spavam dugo feels slightly more neutral and common, but dugo spavam would also be understood and acceptable, just with a tiny shift of emphasis.

Why is the present tense (spavam, idem) used when we’re talking about habits?

Croatian uses the simple present tense both for:

Actions happening now
- Sad spavam. – I’m sleeping now.
Regular habits / general truths
- Svaki dan pijem kavu. – I drink coffee every day.
- Nekad vikendom radije spavam dugo nego idem u park. – Sometimes on weekends I’d rather sleep long than go to the park.

English often uses “I usually…” / “I sometimes…” with simple present too, or “I tend to…”, while Croatian just uses the same present forms and lets adverbs (like nekad, vikendom) show that this is a habit, not a one-time action.

Why is it u park, not u parku?

Because idem (I go) expresses movement toward a place, Croatian uses:

u + accusative for movement into / to a place
- Idem u park. – I’m going to the park.
- Idem u školu. – I’m going to school.
u + locative for being in a place (no movement)
- Šetam u parku. – I walk in the park.
- U školi sam. – I am at school.

In your sentence we have idem (movement), so:

u park (accusative) = to the park, not u parku (in the park).

Could the sentence be shortened to just Nekad vikendom radije spavam dugo.? Would that sound complete?

Yes, that is a perfectly fine, complete sentence:

Nekad vikendom radije spavam dugo.
– Sometimes on weekends I’d rather sleep long.

Here, the contrast (rather than what?) is implied, not stated. In everyday conversation, context often makes the alternative clear:

Perhaps you just talked about going out, doing sports, visiting friends, etc.

Adding nego idem u park explicitly states the alternative and makes the comparison clear:

… radije spavam dugo nego idem u park. – rather sleep long than go to the park.

Is the word order Nekad vikendom radije spavam dugo… fixed, or can the adverbs move?

The word order is flexible, but some positions sound more natural than others.

Original:

Nekad vikendom radije spavam dugo nego idem u park.

Possible and natural variants:

Vikendom nekad radije spavam dugo nego idem u park.
Radije nekad vikendom spavam dugo nego idem u park. (less common, but acceptable)

Less natural / awkward:

Spavam dugo nekad vikendom radije nego idem u park. (too jumbled)

General tendencies:

Time adverbs like nekad, vikendom, ponekad usually go near the beginning of the clause.
Radije normally sits just before the verb it modifies (radije spavam, radije idem).

So the given order is natural and clear.

Why is there no comma before nego?

In Croatian, a comma is not always required before nego.

In this sentence:

radije spavam dugo nego idem u park

we have:

One subject (I, implied),
Two short, parallel verb phrases (spavam dugo / idem u park),
Connected by a simple comparative structure radije … nego ….

In such short, balanced comparisons, it is normal to omit the comma:

Radije pijem čaj nego kavu.
Radije idem pješice nego tramvajem.

A comma becomes more likely when the clauses are longer or more complex, or when you want to emphasize a pause, but here it’s standard and natural to write it without a comma.

How do you pronounce the tricky words here: nekad, vikendom, radije, and nego?

Approximate English-friendly hints (stress marked with bold):

Nekad – NE-kad
- NE as in “net”, kad like “cut” but with a k at the start.
Vikendom – VI-ken-dom
- VI like “vee”, ken like “Ken”, dom like “dom” in “domain” but shorter.
Radije – RA-di-je
- RA like “rah”, di like “dee”, je like “yeh”.
Nego – NE-go
- NE like “net”, go like “go” but shorter.

All vowels are clear and short (no English-style diphthongs), and every letter is pronounced. The stress is usually on the first syllable in these words as shown.