Learn Hardcore Croatian: Djeca uče pisati na tipkovnici jednako brzo kao odrasli. - Children are learning to type on the keyboard just as fast as adults.

In this sentence, Djeca uče pisati na tipkovnici jednako brzo kao odrasli, we naturally translate it with children in general:
Children learn to type on a keyboard as fast as adults.

What grammatical form is djeca? It ends in -a but uses the plural verb uče.

Djeca is an irregular plural noun:

Singular: dijete – child
Plural: djeca – children

It is grammatically neuter plural, even though it looks like a singular -a word. Because it is plural, it takes a plural verb:

Djeca uče. – Children learn / are learning.
(Not: Djeca uči.)

In this sentence, djeca is in the nominative plural (subject of the verb uče).

What does uče mean exactly, and how is it formed?

Uče is the 3rd person plural present tense of the verb učiti – to learn / to study.

Conjugation of učiti (present tense):

(ja) učim – I learn
(ti) učiš – you learn (sg.)
(on/ona/ono) uči – he/she/it learns
(mi) učimo – we learn
(vi) učite – you learn (pl./formal)
(oni/one/ona) uče – they learn

So Djeca uče = The children learn / are learning.

Why is it uče pisati and not something like uče da pišu?

In Croatian, the usual pattern after učiti (to learn) is:

učiti + infinitive

Examples:

učim govoriti hrvatski – I’m learning to speak Croatian
uči voziti – he/she is learning to drive
djeca uče pisati – children are learning to write

You can sometimes see učiti da + finite verb in some contexts, but with basic skills like writing, reading, speaking, driving, the natural and most common structure is učiti + infinitive.

So uče pisati literally = (they) learn to write.

What does pisati mean here? Is it “to type” or “to write by hand”?

Pisati is a general verb meaning to write. It doesn’t specify how you write.

pisati olovkom – write with a pencil
pisati rukom – write by hand
pisati na računalu – write on a computer
pisati na tipkovnici – write on/at the keyboard → effectively to type

So in this sentence:

pisati na tipkovnici = to write on the keyboard, i.e. to type.
English prefers the specific verb to type, but Croatian just clarifies the method with the phrase na tipkovnici.

Why is it na tipkovnici and not just tipkovnica or some other ending?

Na tipkovnici is preposition + case:

na
- locative case → na tipkovnici

Use na + locative mainly for location (“on / at / in”):

na stolu – on the table
na zidu – on the wall
na tipkovnici – on the keyboard

So:

pisati na tipkovnici – write on the keyboard (location)
tipkovnica on its own is just the noun keyboard (nominative singular)
tipkovnicom (instrumental) would mean using the keyboard as an instrument:
pisati tipkovnicom ≈ write using a keyboard – grammatically OK, but not the usual collocation here.

In this sentence, na tipkovnici is natural because it describes where/ how the writing happens: on the keyboard.

What does jednako brzo kao mean, and how does this comparison work?

jednako brzo kao = as fast as / equally fast as

Structure:

jednako – equally
brzo – fast, quickly (adverb)
kao – as

So:

jednako brzo kao odrasli – as fast as adults (do)

Typical comparison patterns in Croatian:

tako brzo kao… – so fast as / as fast as
isto (tako) brzo kao… – just as fast as
jednako brzo kao… – equally fast as

All are grammatically fine; jednako brzo kao emphasizes equal degree very clearly.

Why is brzo used and not brz?

Brz is an adjective: “fast” describing a noun. Brzo is an adverb: “fast, quickly” describing a verb.

Here we describe the manner of the action (“how do they learn/ type?”), so we need an adverb:

brz auto – a fast car (adjective)
auto vozi brzo – the car goes fast (adverb)
djeca uče brzo – children learn quickly
djeca uče pisati jednako brzo kao odrasli – children learn to write just as quickly as adults

What form is odrasli, and why doesn’t it have a verb after it in the Croatian sentence?

Odrasli here is:

masculine nominative plural of the adjective odrastao – grown-up, adult
used as a noun → adults.

So:

odrastao čovjek – an adult man
odrasli – adults (used as a noun, “the grown-ups”)

In the sentence:

Djeca uče pisati … jednako brzo kao odrasli.

The verb in the second part ([odrasli] uče pisati) is omitted because it’s understood from the first part. It’s an example of ellipsis. Fully spelled out, it would be:

Djeca uče pisati na tipkovnici jednako brzo kao odrasli (uče pisati na tipkovnici).

But Croatian prefers the shorter form when the meaning is clear.

Why odrasli and not odrasle or odraslih?

Those are different cases and genders:

odrasli – nominative masculine plural
→ subject or part of a comparison like here
odrasle – could be:
- accusative feminine plural
- nominative feminine plural (short-form adjective, less common as a stand‑alone noun)
odraslih – genitive plural (all genders)

In …jednako brzo kao odrasli, the comparison is between Djeca (nominative plural) and odrasli (nominative plural). So both sides of the comparison are in the nominative plural.

Could the word order be different, like Djeca jednako brzo uče pisati na tipkovnici kao odrasli?

Yes. Croatian word order is more flexible than English. All of these are possible and natural, with slight differences in emphasis:

Djeca uče pisati na tipkovnici jednako brzo kao odrasli.
Neutral, smooth – the original.
Djeca jednako brzo uče pisati na tipkovnici kao odrasli.
Emphasizes more on how quickly they learn.
Djeca uče jednako brzo pisati na tipkovnici kao odrasli.
Slight emphasis on jednako brzo as part of the learning process.

The meaning stays the same: children and adults are equally fast at learning to type.

What is the difference between učiti and naučiti in this kind of sentence?

Both are related to learning, but they differ in aspect:

učiti – imperfective, focuses on the process of learning
→ to be learning / to learn (ongoing, repeated)
naučiti – perfective, focuses on the result (having learned, finished)
→ to learn (to the point of knowing), to master

In your sentence:

Djeca uče pisati na tipkovnici…
= Children are in the process of learning to type (or typically can learn).

If you said:

Djeca nauče pisati na tipkovnici jednako brzo kao odrasli.
it would mean: Children learn (manage to learn / end up learning) to type as fast as adults, with more focus on reaching the skill rather than being in the learning process.

How do you pronounce djeca and uče?

Pronunciation tips:

djeca – /d͡ʑɛtsa/
- dj is like softened d
  - y, similar to dy in “dune” (in many accents)
- c is always ts, like ts in “cats” → roughly “dyet-sa”
uče – /ûtʃe/
- č is like ch in “church” → “oo-che” (with stress on u: Û‑če)

So the whole sentence flows something like:
DYET-sa OO-che PEE-sa-tee na TEEP-kov-nee-tsee YED-na-ko BRZ-o kao OD-ra-slee (approximate).