Breakdown of Naša veza je važna za obitelj.
Questions & Answers about Naša veza je važna za obitelj.
In Croatian, possessive adjectives like naš / naša / naše must agree in gender, number, and case with the noun they describe.
- veza is a feminine singular noun (nominative case here).
- So you must use the feminine singular form: naša veza.
- naš is masculine singular (e.g. naš brat – our brother).
- naše is neuter singular or some plural forms (e.g. naše dijete – our child).
So:
- naša veza – correct (feminine)
- naš veza – incorrect
Veza is quite flexible. It can mean:
- a romantic relationship: ljubavna veza – romantic relationship
- any kind of relationship or bond: obiteljska veza – family tie
- connection or link (even technical or abstract): internet veza – internet connection
In Naša veza je važna za obitelj, context decides. Most naturally, it sounds like:
- our (emotional / personal) relationship is important for the family,
often understood as a romantic relationship between two people whose relationship affects the family.
You must use a form of biti (to be) in Croatian in this kind of sentence.
- je is the 3rd person singular present of biti.
- The basic pattern is: Subject + je + adjective/noun
→ Naša veza je važna.
Without je, the sentence is ungrammatical in standard Croatian:
- Naša veza važna za obitelj – wrong in standard language (it sounds like a note or a heading, not a normal sentence).
The adjective važan (important) changes to match the noun it describes.
Base forms:
- masculine: važan
- feminine: važna
- neuter: važno
Since veza is feminine singular, the adjective must also be feminine singular:
- Naša veza je važna.
Examples of the other forms:
- Naš odnos je važan. – Our relationship is important. (odnos is masculine)
- Naše dijete je važno. – Our child is important. (dijete is neuter)
After the preposition za, Croatian uses the accusative case.
So obitelj here is in the accusative singular:
- za obitelj – for (the) family
For many feminine nouns ending in -l / -j (like obitelj), the nominative and accusative singular look the same:
- Nominative: obitelj – family (as the subject)
- Accusative: vidim obitelj – I see (the) family
- With preposition: za obitelj – for the family
So you identify the case by the preposition (za → accusative), not by the ending.
- obitelj (singular) = family (as one unit)
- obitelji (plural) = families
In Naša veza je važna za obitelj, we are talking about one specific family (usually our/the family as a unit), so singular is natural.
za obitelji would mean for families in general, not for a specific one.
Yes, that is correct:
Naša veza je važna za obitelj.
→ Our relationship is important for the family. (context tells you which family)Naša veza je važna za našu obitelj.
→ Our relationship is important for our family. (explicitly says our family)
Grammatically in za našu obitelj:
- našu is feminine singular accusative (agreeing with obitelj).
- It’s used because the preposition za requires the accusative.
So:
- naša veza – nominative (subject)
- našu obitelj – accusative (object after za)
Croatian word order is more flexible than English. All of these are grammatically correct, but they differ in emphasis:
Naša veza je važna za obitelj.
– neutral, standard word order.Važna je naša veza za obitelj.
– emphasizes važna (the importance). Sounds like: It’s important – our relationship – for the family.Za obitelj je naša veza važna.
– emphasizes za obitelj (for the family).
Like: As far as the family is concerned, it’s our relationship that is important.
For a learner, the safest and most neutral is the original:
- Naša veza je važna za obitelj.
Yes, grammatically that is fine:
- Veza je važna za obitelj. – The relationship is important for the family.
However:
- Naša veza je važna za obitelj. – focuses on our specific relationship.
- Veza je važna za obitelj. – more general; a/the relationship is important for the family (which relationship must be clear from context).
So naša makes it explicitly personal and specific.
Both can often be translated as important, but there is a slight nuance:
- važna (from važan) – generally important, significant, of value.
- bitna (from bitan) – essential, crucial, fundamental.
In this sentence, you could also say:
- Naša veza je bitna za obitelj.
→ Our relationship is crucial/essential for the family.
In everyday speech, people sometimes use them interchangeably, but bitna can sound a bit stronger (it’s not just important, it’s essential).
Croatian has no articles (no “a/an/the”).
- obitelj can mean a family, the family, or family in general.
- The exact meaning comes from context, sometimes from word order or extra words (like naš, taj, etc.).
In this sentence, the most natural English translation is:
- Naša veza je važna za obitelj. → Our relationship is important for the family.
Why the?
- Because naša veza suggests we are within some specific family context, so obitelj is understood as our/the family in that shared context.
Approximate pronunciation (stressed syllables in CAPS):
veza → VEH-zah
- v like in voice
- e like in bed
- z like in zoo
- a like in father
važna → VAH-zhna
- ž is like the s in measure or vision
- a as in father
- na with a clear n, short a
obitelj → oh-BEE-tyelʹ
- o like in more (but shorter)
- i like in machine
- lj is a single sound, like lli in million
- final j is very soft, almost like the y in yes
In normal speech, obitelj is often pronounced something like o-BEE-tyelʹ, with the stress on BI.
You would change the noun and adjective to plural:
- Naše veze su važne za obitelj.
- naše – feminine plural (agreeing with veze)
- veze – plural of veza
- su – 3rd person plural of biti (are)
- važne – feminine plural of važan
So:
- singular: Naša veza je važna za obitelj.
- plural: Naše veze su važne za obitelj.