Learn Hardcore Croatian: Mačka rado spava pokraj zdjele s voćem na stolu. - The cat gladly sleeps next to the bowl with fruit on the table.

Croatian has no articles like a or the. The noun mačka simply means cat, and the context decides whether you understand it as the cat or a cat.

In this sentence, you’d normally translate Mačka rado spava… as The cat likes to sleep…, because we’re talking about a specific, known cat (it has a particular habit). If you wanted to stress a cat (any cat), you might add jedna:

Jedna mačka rado spava… – One cat / a certain cat likes to sleep…

But even then, English speakers will often still translate it based on context, not word-for-word.

What exactly does rado mean, and why is it used instead of a verb like voli?

Rado is an adverb meaning roughly gladly, willingly, or with pleasure. In practice, it often corresponds to English likes to with verbs of habit:

Mačka rado spava…
Literally: The cat gladly sleeps…
Natural English: The cat likes to sleep…

If you used voli, you would say:

Mačka voli spavati pokraj zdjele… – The cat likes sleeping next to the bowl…

Both are correct, but:

rado + verb is a bit lighter and very common in everyday speech for habitual preferences.
voli + infinitive can sound a bit stronger or more explicit: likes/loves doing X.

So rado spava is a compact way to say likes to sleep.

Could I say Mačka spava rado pokraj zdjele… instead of Mačka rado spava…? How flexible is the word order with rado?

Yes, Croatian word order is relatively flexible, and both are grammatically correct:

Mačka rado spava pokraj zdjele…
Mačka spava rado pokraj zdjele…

Differences:

Mačka rado spava… sounds a bit more neutral and is probably the most natural version.
Mačka spava rado… slightly emphasizes the manner of sleeping (that it is done gladly), but it’s still fine.

In general, adverbs like rado most often come before the verb in neutral, everyday sentences, but they can move for emphasis or rhythm.

What does pokraj mean, and is it the same as pored, kraj, or do?

Pokraj is a preposition meaning beside, next to, by. It always takes the genitive case.

Common near-synonyms (all take the genitive):

pokraj zdjele – beside/next to the bowl
pored zdjele – beside the bowl
kraj zdjele – by the bowl
do zdjele – (right) by / (up) close to the bowl

In many contexts they can be used interchangeably. Rough tendencies:

pokraj / pored – very common, neutral.
kraj – can sound a bit more literary or poetic in some uses, but also common in speech.
do – often emphasizes closeness.

So you could also say:

Mačka rado spava pored zdjele s voćem na stolu.
Mačka rado spava kraj zdjele s voćem na stolu.

Why is it zdjele and not zdjela? What case is that?

The base (dictionary) form is:

zdjela – bowl (nominative singular, feminine)

After pokraj, you must use the genitive case:

pokraj + genitive
pokraj zdjele – beside the bowl

So the form zdjele is genitive singular of a regular feminine -a noun:

Nominative: zdjela
Genitive: zdjele

You’ll see this pattern all the time with prepositions that require the genitive (e.g. bez zdjele, iz zdjele, pokraj zdjele, pored zdjele, kraj zdjele).

What does s voćem literally mean, and why is voćem used instead of voće?

The base noun is:

voće – fruit (a mass noun, neuter)

With the preposition s (or sa) meaning with, you normally use the instrumental case:

s + instrumental → s voćem – with fruit

So:

voće – nominative (dictionary form)
voćem – instrumental singular

In English we’d usually say a bowl of fruit, but Croatian can express it as:

zdjela s voćem – literally bowl with fruit

Both of the following are natural:

zdjela s voćem – bowl with fruit
zdjela voća – bowl of fruit (genitive voća)

The sentence uses the s + instrumental version.

Why is it na stolu and not na stol? What is the difference?

The preposition na can take either the locative or accusative case, and the meaning changes:

na + locative → location (where something is)
na + accusative → direction (to where something is moving)

Here, we are describing location (where the bowl is), so we need the locative:

stol – table (nominative)
na stolu – on the table (locative)

If you were describing movement onto the table, you would use accusative:

Mačka skače na stol. – The cat jumps onto the table.
Stavlja zdjelu na stol. – (He/She) puts the bowl onto the table.

In the original sentence there is no motion, just location, so na stolu is correct.

Is it clear from this sentence whether the cat is on the table, or only the bowl is on the table?

By default, Croatian speakers will usually understand:

The bowl is on the table.
The cat is beside that bowl (the cat might be on the table too, but the sentence doesn’t have to imply that).

Structurally, na stolu most naturally attaches to the nearer noun phrase zdjele s voćem:

pokraj [zdjele s voćem na stolu]

If you want to make it very clear that the cat is on the table, you can move the phrase:

Mačka na stolu rado spava pokraj zdjele s voćem.
→ The cat (which is on the table) likes to sleep next to the bowl of fruit.

If you want to stress that only the bowl is on the table, your original sentence is already good, or you can emphasize it:

Mačka rado spava pokraj zdjele s voćem koja je na stolu.
(…next to the bowl of fruit that is on the table.)

What kind of noun is voće? How do I say a fruit or three fruits?

Voće is:

neuter, singular, and
used mainly as a mass noun meaning fruit in general.

It’s like English fruit vs a piece of fruit:

Volim voće. – I like fruit.

To talk about individual fruits, you normally use specific countable nouns:

jabuka – apple
banana – banana
naranča – orange

Or you can say:

plod (fruit, produce) → tri ploda – three fruits (more formal/literary in this sense)

In everyday speech, you’d usually specify the type:

Tri jabuke – three apples
Tri naranče – three oranges

Can I rephrase this sentence in another natural way in Croatian with the same meaning?

Yes, several variations are natural, with small nuances:

Using voli + infinitive:
- Mačka voli spavati pokraj zdjele s voćem na stolu.
  Very close in meaning, perhaps a bit more explicit: The cat likes to sleep…
Changing the synonym for pokraj:
- Mačka rado spava pored zdjele s voćem na stolu.
- Mačka rado spava kraj zdjele s voćem na stolu.
Light word-order changes:
- Mačka rado spava na stolu pokraj zdjele s voćem.
  Suggests a bit more strongly that the cat itself is on the table.

All of these are correct; they mainly differ in emphasis and rhythm, not in basic meaning.