Learn Hardcore Croatian: Učenik sjedi u učionici i piše bilješke. - The pupil is sitting in the classroom and writing notes.

Croatian has no articles like English a/an/the.
Whether you mean a student or the student is understood from context, not from a separate word.

So:

Učenik sjedi… can mean A student is sitting… or The student is sitting…, depending on what has already been mentioned or is obvious to the speakers.
The same is true for u učionici (in a/the classroom) and piše bilješke (writing notes/the notes).

You never add anything like “the” or “a” in front of Croatian nouns.

What is the difference between učenik and student?

Both refer to someone who is studying, but:

učenik = usually a pupil in primary or secondary school.
student = usually someone in university / college.

So this sentence suggests a school pupil rather than a university student. If you wanted a university context, you would more naturally say:

Student sjedi u predavaonici i piše bilješke.
(The university student is sitting in the lecture hall and taking notes.)

In English we say “is sitting” and “is writing”. Why does Croatian just use sjedi and piše?

Croatian does not have a separate present continuous form like English “is sitting / is writing”.

The simple present in Croatian covers both:

Učenik sjedi…
= The student sits… or The student is sitting…
…i piše bilješke.
= …and writes notes or …and is writing notes.

Context usually makes it clear whether the action is:

happening right now, or
a habitual/regular action.

You do not say anything like “je sjedeći” or “je pišući” for present continuous; that’s incorrect in normal speech.

What’s the difference between sjedi and forms like sjedne or sjesti?

There are two different verbs involved:

sjediti – to be sitting, to be in the state of sitting (imperfective)
- sjedi = (he/she) is sitting or (he/she) sits
sjesti – to sit down, to move into a sitting position (perfective)
- sjedne = (he/she) sits down (single completed action)

In your sentence:

Učenik sjedi u učionici…
describes the state: he is already sitting.

If you wanted to describe the moment he sits down, you’d say something like:

Učenik sjedne u klupu. – The student sits down at the desk.

Why is it u učionici and not u učionica? What case is this?

U učionici is locative case singular of učionica (classroom).

Croatian uses preposition + case combinations:

u + locative = location (where something is)
- u učionici – in the classroom (location, static)
u + accusative = direction, movement into
- Idem u učionicu. – I’m going into the classroom.

Declension of učionica (singular, relevant forms):

Nominative: učionica (subject form)
Accusative: učionicu (I see the classroom / going into)
Locative: učionici (in the classroom, about the classroom – after certain prepositions)

So u učionici is correct because the sentence describes where he is, not where he is going.

What case is bilješke in, and why that form?

Bilješke here is accusative plural feminine of bilješka (a note).

The verb pisati (to write) takes a direct object in the accusative.
He is writing what? → bilješke (notes).

For the noun bilješka:

Nominative singular: bilješka – a note (subject)
Accusative singular: bilješku – I’m writing a note
Nominative plural: bilješke – notes (as subject)
Accusative plural: bilješke – I’m writing notes

Nominative plural and accusative plural look the same (bilješke), which is common for many feminine nouns. In this sentence, context and the verb tell you it’s functioning as the object (accusative).

Why is it sjedi and not sjede? How does subject–verb agreement work here?

Croatian verbs must agree with the subject in person (1st/2nd/3rd) and number (singular/plural).

učenik = third person, singular, masculine
→ verb must be 3rd person singular: sjedi

If the subject were plural:

Učenici sjede u učionici i pišu bilješke.
- učenici – students (plural)
- sjede – they sit / are sitting
- pišu – they write / are writing

So you choose sjedi vs sjede based on whether it’s one pupil or several.

Can the word order change? For example, can I say U učionici učenik sjedi i piše bilješke?

Yes. Croatian word order is fairly flexible compared to English. All of these are grammatically possible:

Učenik sjedi u učionici i piše bilješke.
U učionici učenik sjedi i piše bilješke.
U učionici sjedi učenik i piše bilješke.

They all contain the same basic information, but word order affects emphasis:

Starting with Učenik puts emphasis on who is doing the action.
Starting with U učionici highlights where the action is happening, useful when setting the scene.
Putting učenik later can sound more stylistic or contrastive, like:
“In the classroom, it is the student who is sitting and writing notes (and maybe someone else isn’t).”

For everyday neutral style, the original order is very natural.

Can I drop učenik and just say Sjedi u učionici i piše bilješke.?

Yes, if the subject is already clear from context, you can omit it.

Croatian often drops the subject (it’s a “pro‑drop” language) because:

Verb endings already say who is doing the action (I/you/he, she, they, etc.).
If it’s obvious who you’re talking about, there’s no need to repeat the noun or pronoun.

So, in a context where it’s already known that you’re talking about “the student”, you could say:

Sjedi u učionici i piše bilješke. – (He/She) is sitting in the classroom and writing notes.

If you need to introduce the student for the first time, it’s better to include Učenik.

Why is the preposition u used here, and not na?

Both u and na can mean something like “in / on / at”, but they’re used with different kinds of places and often are fixed with certain nouns.

u literally means in(side):
- u učionici – in the classroom (inside the room)
- u kući – in the house
- u gradu – in the city
na more often means on or at, but with some nouns it corresponds to English in:
- na stolu – on the table
- na poslu – at work
- na satu – in class / during the lesson

A classroom is seen as a room (an enclosed space), so you use u učionici. You wouldn’t say na učionici.

How do you pronounce the tricky letters in učenik, učionici, and bilješke?

Key pronunciation points:

č (as in učenik, učionici)
- Pronounced like “ch” in “church”.
š (in bilješke)
- Like “sh” in “she”.
lj (in bilješke)
- A single sound, similar to “lli” in Spanish “llama”, or like “l” in “million” (a palatal “soft” L).
c (in učionici)
- Like “ts” in “cats”.
i is always like “ee” in “see”, never like English short “i”.
e is like “e” in “bed”, not like “ee”.

Very rough syllable division and emphasis:

U-če-nik – stress usually on the first syllable: Ū‑če‑nik
U-či-o-ni-ci – Ū‑či‑ō‑ni‑ci (often first syllable stressed)
Bil-je-ške – BÍL‑je‑ške (stress on bil)

Croatian is generally close to phonetic spelling, so once you know the letter sounds, pronunciation is consistent.

What is the feminine form of učenik, and would anything in the sentence change?

The feminine form is učenica (female pupil).

If you want to say “The (female) pupil is sitting…”, you change the noun, but the verbs stay the same:

Učenica sjedi u učionici i piše bilješke.

Verbs in the present tense do not change form for masculine vs feminine; they only change for person and number.
Adjectives and past tense forms, however, would change gender, e.g.:

Učenik je bio u učionici. – The (male) pupil was in the classroom.
Učenica je bila u učionici. – The (female) pupil was in the classroom.

Why bilješke and not a singular form like bilješku? Is “notes” usually plural in Croatian too?

Yes, “notes” in the sense of classroom notes is normally plural in Croatian, just like in English.

bilješka – a (single) note
bilješke – notes (as a collection of written points)

Typical expressions:

pisati bilješke – to write/take notes
praviti bilješke – to make notes
učiti iz bilješki – to study from (one’s) notes

You’d use the singular bilješku when you clearly mean a single note:

Napiši jednu bilješku. – Write one note.

In your sentence, he is writing general classroom notes, so bilješke (plural) is natural.

Could I say something like uzima bilješke or piše zabilješke instead of piše bilješke?

There are some alternatives, but piše bilješke is the most standard and neutral for “taking notes”:

pisati bilješke – to write / take notes (most common)
uzimati bilješke – literally “to take notes”; understood, but less common and often influenced by English.
pisati zabilješke – can work, but zabilješke often suggests annotations / jottings / written remarks, not just ordinary class notes.

If you simply mean what students normally do during a lesson, piše bilješke is the best choice.

Why is Učenik capitalized? Are Croatian nouns usually capitalized like in German?

Učenik is capitalized here only because it’s the first word of the sentence.

In Croatian:

You do not normally capitalize all nouns (unlike German).
You capitalize:
- the first word in a sentence,
- proper names (Ana, Zagreb, Hrvatska),
- official names of institutions, holidays, etc.

So in the middle of a sentence you would write:

Vidim učenika koji sjedi u učionici i piše bilješke.
(I see a pupil who is sitting in the classroom and writing notes.)

Here učenika is lowercase.