Learn Hardcore Croatian: I ja pokušavam biti strpljiv prema sebi i tebi dok učim nove riječi. - I also try to be patient with myself and with you while I learn new words.

I ja pokušavam... can be understood as: “And I (too) am trying…” or “I also am trying…”.
It often connects to something said before: e.g. Ti učiš nove riječi, i ja pokušavam biti strpljiv… — You are learning new words, and I am trying to be patient…

So it’s not just a pure “and”; it often carries a small sense of “also / as well” when used with a pronoun like this.

Why do we need both I and ja? Could we say just Pokušavam biti strpljiv…?

You can say just Pokušavam biti strpljiv prema sebi i tebi…, and it would be grammatically correct.

Pokušavam biti… = “I am trying to be…” (the subject “I” is implied by the verb ending).
Adding ja explicitly (Ja pokušavam…) adds emphasis on the subject: I am trying.
Starting with I ja… both connects to what came before and emphasizes me too / I as well.

So:

Pokušavam biti strpljiv… – neutral, just stating what I do.
Ja pokušavam biti strpljiv… – slight emphasis on “I”.
I ja pokušavam biti strpljiv… – “And I (too) am trying to be patient…”.

Why is it pokušavam biti and not something like pokušavam da budem?

In standard Croatian, when you say “try to do something”, you almost always use:

pokušavati / pokušati + infinitive

So:

pokušavam biti strpljiv = “I am trying to be patient”

The structure “pokušavam da budem strpljiv” sounds Serbian, not standard Croatian. Croatians will understand it, but in Croatian norms the infinitive is preferred, not “da + finite verb” in this context.

Why is it strpljiv and not strpljivo?

Strpljiv is an adjective (“patient”), and here it describes the subject (“I”).

The pattern is:

biti + adjective → describes what the subject is
- biti strpljiv – “to be patient”
- biti sretan – “to be happy”
- biti umoran – “to be tired”

Strpljivo is the adverb (“patiently”):

Čekam strpljivo. – “I am waiting patiently.”

In your sentence the meaning is “to be patient (as a quality)”, so you use the adjective:
pokušavam biti strpljiv, not strpljivo.

Does strpljiv change if the speaker is a woman or if it’s plural?

Yes, strpljiv agrees in gender and number with the subject:

1 male speaker: (Ja) pokušavam biti strpljiv.
1 female speaker: (Ja) pokušavam biti strpljiva.
Group of men or mixed group: Mi pokušavamo biti strpljivi.
Group of women: Mi pokušavamo biti strpljive.

In your sentence, strpljiv tells us the speaker is grammatically masculine (or that’s the default form being used).

What exactly does prema mean here, and why do we use prema sebi i tebi?

Prema is a preposition that usually means:

“towards” (literally, direction)
or, figuratively, “towards / in relation to / to(wards) someone” in terms of attitude or behavior.

With feelings, attitudes, or treatment, it often means:

“towards / to(wards) someone, in how I behave to them”

So:

biti strpljiv prema nekome – “to be patient with someone”
biti ljubazan prema nekome – “to be kind to someone”

That’s why you say:

strpljiv prema sebi i tebi – “patient with myself and with you”.

Prema always takes the dative case, so “sebe / ja / ti” change to sebi, tebi.

What forms are sebi and tebi exactly? How do they relate to ja and ti?

Ja and ti are the nominative (subject) forms:

ja – I
ti – you (singular, informal)

Seb(i) and tebi are dative forms:

sebi – “to myself / for myself” (reflexive, dative)
tebi – “to you / for you” (2nd person singular, dative)

With prema, you must use the dative:

prema meni – toward me
prema tebi – toward you
prema sebi – toward myself / yourself / himself… (reflexive)

In your sentence, prema sebi i tebi = “towards myself and you” → “with myself and you”.

Could we say sa sobom i s tobom instead of prema sebi i tebi?

You can say sa sobom i s tobom, but the meaning shifts slightly.

biti strpljiv prema nekome – be patient towards someone (in your attitude, treatment).
biti strpljiv sa sobom / s tobom – be patient with someone, but more in the sense of handling or dealing with that person.

In many contexts they overlap, and both are understandable.
However, prema sebi i tebi is more standard/idiomatic when talking about attitude:

Pokušavam biti strpljiv prema sebi i tebi. – “I’m trying to be patient with myself and you (in how I treat us).”

Why is it dok učim and not kad učim?

Both dok and kad can be translated as “when”, but:

dok = “while / as long as”, focusing on duration / simultaneity.
kad = “when” in a more neutral or point-in-time sense.

Here, the idea is “during the time that I am learning new words”, so dok fits best:

…dok učim nove riječi. – “while I am learning new words.”

Kad učim nove riječi is possible, but it sounds more like “whenever I learn new words” or could be interpreted less clearly as to duration. Dok makes the “ongoing process” meaning clearer.

Why is it učim nove riječi and not naučim nove riječi?

This is about verb aspect:

učiti – imperfective: the ongoing process of learning
naučiti – perfective: to learn something to completion / to have learned it

In dok učim nove riječi, we’re talking about the ongoing activity of learning, so učim (imperfective) is correct.

If you said:

dok naučim nove riječi, it would mean something like “until I (manage to) learn the new words (completely)”, which is a different meaning.

Why is the word order učim nove riječi and not učim riječi nove?

The normal, neutral word order is:

učim + adjective + noun
→ učim nove riječi – “I am learning new words.”

Putting the adjective after the noun (učim riječi nove) is unusual and would sound poetic, stylistic, or marked in modern everyday Croatian. It could appear in poetry or song lyrics for rhythm or emphasis, but not as neutral speech.

So, in standard prose, say nove riječi, not riječi nove.

Why is the plural of riječ → riječi, and what gender/case is riječi here?

Riječ (“word”) is a feminine noun.

In your sentence:

riječi is accusative plural, because it’s the direct object of učim.
For this noun, nominative plural and accusative plural look the same: riječi.

Basic forms:

singular nominative: riječ
plural nominative: riječi
plural accusative: riječi

So nove riječi = “new words” (feminine, plural, accusative).

Can the subject pronoun be dropped here? Could I say just I pokušavam biti strpljiv… or just Pokušavam biti strpljiv…?

Yes:

Pokušavam biti strpljiv prema sebi i tebi dok učim nove riječi.
– Completely correct and most natural as a standalone sentence.
Ja pokušavam biti strpljiv…
– Adds emphasis: I am trying.
I ja pokušavam biti strpljiv…
– Connects to something else and emphasizes “and I (too)”.

You usually omit the pronoun (ja) unless you want emphasis or contrast.

How would the sentence change if I wanted to be polite/formal to “you” instead of informal tebi?

Croatian has a T–V distinction (informal vs formal “you”):

Informal singular: ti / tebi
Formal singular or plural: Vi / vama

So for a formal “you”, you would say:

I ja pokušavam biti strpljiv prema sebi i vama dok učim nove riječi.
– “And I am also trying to be patient with myself and with you (formal) while I am learning new words.”

Vama is the dative of Vi, used with prema.