Learn Hardcore Croatian: Cijenim tvoj savjet.

Croatian has only one present tense form here; it covers both English I appreciate and, in contexts where English might say I am appreciating, you still just use cijenim.

Why is there no separate word for I in Cijenim tvoj savjet?

Croatian usually drops subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows the person.

cijenim → the ending -im tells you it is I (ja).
So ja cijenim is grammatically fine, but ja is normally omitted unless you want to emphasize I specifically.

Examples:

Cijenim tvoj savjet. – I appreciate your advice.
Ja cijenim tvoj savjet, ali on ne. – I appreciate your advice, but he doesn’t. (emphasis on I)

What does tvoj mean, and why is it tvoj and not tvoje or tvoja?

Tvoj is the informal singular possessive your.

It behaves like an adjective and must agree with the noun in gender, number and case.

savjet is masculine singular, and here it is in the accusative (direct object).
For masculine inanimate nouns, nominative and accusative look the same.
So we use the masculine singular form tvoj.

Rough guide:

tvoj savjet – your advice (masculine)
tvoja knjiga – your book (feminine)
tvoje pivo – your beer (neuter)

In this sentence, because savjet is masculine, tvoj is the correct form.

What case is tvoj savjet, and why does it look like the basic form?

In Cijenim tvoj savjet, the phrase tvoj savjet is in the accusative case, because it is the direct object of the verb cijenim.

However, for masculine inanimate nouns like savjet, the nominative and accusative forms are identical:

Nominative (dictionary form): (taj) savjet
Accusative: (vidim) savjet

So it looks like the basic form, but grammatically it’s functioning as the accusative object of cijenim.

You can see a clearer difference with animate masculine nouns:

Vidim tvoj stol. – I see your table. (stol = inanimate → accusative = stol)
Vidim tvojeg brata. – I see your brother. (brat = animate → accusative = brata)

Is Cijenim tvoj savjet informal or formal? How would I say it politely to someone I don’t know well?

Cijenim tvoj savjet is informal, addressed to one person you are on ti terms with (friends, family, etc.).

For polite or formal address (to one person you address as Vi, or to multiple people), you use vaš:

Cijenim vaš savjet. – I appreciate your advice. (formal or plural “your”)

So:

to a friend: Cijenim tvoj savjet.
to your professor/boss (formally): Cijenim vaš savjet.

Can I change the word order, like Tvoj savjet cijenim? Does it sound strange?

Yes, you can change the word order. Croatian word order is relatively flexible, and changes mostly affect emphasis rather than basic meaning.

Some natural variants:

Cijenim tvoj savjet. – neutral, standard.
Tvoj savjet cijenim. – emphasizes your advice in contrast to something else, e.g.:
- Tvoj savjet cijenim, ali njegov ne. – I appreciate your advice, but not his.
Stvarno cijenim tvoj savjet. – I really appreciate your advice.
Jako cijenim tvoj savjet. – I greatly/very much appreciate your advice.

All of these are grammatically correct; context decides which sounds most natural.

How do I talk about “advice” in general or about multiple pieces of advice? Is savjet countable?

Yes, savjet is a countable noun in Croatian.

savjet – (one) piece of advice
savjeti – (several) pieces of advice

Examples:

Treba mi savjet. – I need (some) advice / I need a piece of advice.
Treba mi nekoliko savjeta. – I need several pieces of advice.
Cijenim tvoje savjete. – I appreciate your (various) pieces of advice.

In Cijenim tvoj savjet, you can understand it as either:

this particular piece of advice you gave, or
advice in a more general sense, depending on context.

How is cijeniti different from verbs like sviđati se, voljeti, or poštovati?

They all express positive attitudes, but with different nuances:

cijeniti – to appreciate, value, esteem
- Cijenim tvoj savjet. – I appreciate your advice.
- Cijenim te kao prijatelja. – I value you as a friend.
sviđati se – to like (find pleasant, appealing)
- Sviđa mi se tvoj prijedlog. – I like your proposal.
- This is more about taste or preference.
voljeti – to love, to like (strongly)
- Volim tvoj stil. – I like your style.
- Volim te. – I love you.
poštovati – to respect
- Poštujem tvoj stav. – I respect your stance/opinion.

So Cijenim tvoj savjet is specifically about valuing the advice, not just liking it or respecting the person in general.

Is cijeniti imperfective or perfective, and what does that mean for cijenim?

Cijeniti is an imperfective verb.

Imperfective verbs in Croatian are used for:

ongoing actions,
repeated or habitual actions,
states or attitudes.

So cijenim expresses a current or general attitude:

Cijenim tvoj savjet. – I (generally) appreciate your advice / I appreciate it now.

There isn’t a neat, everyday perfective pair that just means “to (once) come to appreciate” in the same simple sense; you’d usually express that with additional words:

Počeo sam cijeniti tvoj savjet. – I started to appreciate your advice.
Nakon toga sam još više cijenio tvoj savjet. – After that I appreciated your advice even more.

Could I say something like “I am grateful for your advice” instead? How would that differ in Croatian?

Yes, that’s a slightly different nuance in English, and Croatian would normally use a different structure:

Zahvalan sam na tvom savjetu. – I am grateful for your advice. (male speaker)
Zahvalna sam na tvom savjetu. – (female speaker)

Key differences:

cijeniti + accusative – direct object:
- Cijenim tvoj savjet. – I value/appreciate your advice.
biti zahvalan na + locative:
- Zahvalan sam na tvom savjetu. – I am grateful for your advice.

So you don’t say cijenim na tvom savjetu; cijeniti takes a direct object, not na + case.

How should I pronounce Cijenim tvoj savjet?

Approximate pronunciation (stressed syllables in caps):

CI-jen-im – Cijenim
- c = like ts in cats
- j = like y in yes
- so roughly TSYEH-neem
tvoj
- tv cluster as in tv in English
- oj like oy in boy
- roughly tvoy
SAV-jet – savjet
- s like s in see
- v as English v
- j again like y in yes
- roughly SAHV-yet

So the whole sentence is roughly: TSYEH-neem tvoy SAHV-yet.

Can Cijenim tvoj savjet refer both to this one specific piece of advice and to your advice in general?

Yes, context decides.

If you just received one specific suggestion, it most naturally means:
- I appreciate this particular advice you just gave.
In a more general, habitual sense, it can also mean:
- I appreciate your advice (whenever you give it / in general).

If you want to make “in general” really clear, you might say:

Uvijek cijenim tvoj savjet. – I always appreciate your advice.
Jako cijenim tvoje savjete. – I really appreciate your (various) pieces of advice.