Learn Hardcore Croatian: Njen stil je drukčiji, ali mi se sviđa.

njen – shorter form, very common in everyday speech.
njezin – longer form, often considered a bit more “textbook” or typical for standard Croatian, but also used in speech.

In your sentence you could also say:

Njezin stil je drukčiji, ali mi se sviđa.

Meaning is the same: “Her style is different, but I like it.”

What does drukčiji mean, and can I use drugačiji instead?

Drukčiji means “different” (of a different kind, not the same as usual/another one).

drukčiji and drugačiji are near-synonyms; in most contexts, you can freely swap them.

So you can also say:

Njen stil je drugačiji, ali mi se sviđa.

Small nuance:

drukčiji is very common in colloquial Croatian.
drugačiji is also very common and fully standard.
For a learner, you can treat them as equivalent “different” for now.

Why is je placed after stil in Njen stil je drukčiji?

Je is the 3rd person singular of biti (“to be”) and in Croatian it behaves like a clitic (a short, “light” word).

Clitics in Croatian tend to appear in the second position in the clause.

In your sentence:

1st element: Njen
2nd element: stil
Clitic je comes immediately after that second element → Njen stil je drukčiji.

Other possible word orders:

Drukčiji je njen stil. – “Her style is different.” (emphasis on different)
But Njen stil drukčiji je sounds odd in standard Croatian because je is pushed too far to the end.

What does mi se sviđa literally mean?

Literally, mi se sviđa means “(it) pleases itself to me” or more sensibly “it is pleasing to me”.

Breakdown:

stil = the subject (“style”)
sviđa = 3rd person singular of sviđati se (“to be pleasing”)
se = reflexive clitic that’s part of the verb sviđati se
mi = “to me” (dative of ja)

So the structure is like:
Njen stil (subject) + se sviđa (is pleasing) + mi (to me).
Natural English: “Her style is different, but I like it.”

Why is it sviđa and not sviđam or sviđam se?

Because the subject of the verb is njen stil, not “I”.

njen stil = 3rd person singular → verb must also be 3rd person singular: sviđa.
mi (“to me”) is not the subject; it’s an indirect object in the dative case.

So:

Njen stil mi se sviđa. = “Her style is pleasing to me.”
If you wrongly made it “I like myself” you’d say Sviđam se sebi, which is something quite different (“I like myself” / “I’m pleased with myself”).

What’s the difference between sviđa mi se and volim?

Both can translate as “I like” in English, but they behave and feel different.

sviđati se + DAT

Pattern: [subject] se sviđa [experiencer in Dative]
Example: Njen stil mi se sviđa.
Literally: “Her style is pleasing to me.”
Often used for first impressions, aesthetic liking, milder reactions:
- Sviđa mi se ta pjesma. – I like that song (it appeals to me).
- Ne sviđa mi se ovaj film. – I don’t like this movie.

voljeti + ACC

Pattern: [subject] voli [object in Accusative]
Example: Volim njen stil. – I like/love her style.
Stronger, more active feeling; can mean love or strong like:
- Volim tu pjesmu. – I love that song.
- Volim čokoladu. – I love chocolate.

In your sentence:

ali mi se sviđa sounds like a natural, slightly softer “but I like it”.

Why is it mi (dative) and not an accusative form like me?

The verb sviđati se uses the dative case for the person who experiences the feeling.

Think of it as:

X se sviđa Y-u
“X is pleasing to Y”

So:

mi = “to me” (dative)
ti = “to you” (dative)
mu = “to him” (dative), etc.

Examples:

Ta knjiga mi se sviđa. – That book is pleasing to me → I like that book.
Taj grad ti se ne sviđa. – You don’t like that city.
(Literally: “That city is not pleasing to you.”)

So it must be mi se sviđa, not me se sviđa.

Can I change the order of mi and se? For example, say Ali sviđa mi se or Ali se mi sviđa?

Yes to Ali sviđa mi se, no (in practice) to Ali se mi sviđa.

Ali mi se sviđa. – your original sentence.
- Ali (but) is the first element.
- Then come the clitics mi se, then the verb sviđa.
Ali sviđa mi se.
- Also correct and natural.
- Now sviđa comes right after ali, then the clitics follow behind the verb.
Ali se mi sviđa.
- Sounds unnatural in standard Croatian.
- The usual clitic order in this combination is mi se, not se mi, in this type of sentence.

For you as a learner, the safest patterns are:

[X] mi se sviđa.
Sviđa mi se [X].

What’s the difference between mi se sviđa and meni se sviđa?

mi and meni are both forms of “me” in the dative, but:

mi – clitic (weak form), usually unstressed, used in the middle of the sentence.
meni – full, stressed form, used for emphasis or contrast.

Compare:

Njen stil mi se sviđa. – Her style is pleasing to me. (neutral)
Njen stil meni se sviđa. – I like her style (maybe others don’t).
Here meni is emphasized: “to me”.

In your sentence:

Njen stil je drukčiji, ali mi se sviđa. – neutral.
Njen stil je drukčiji, ali meni se sviđa. – emphasizes that you like it.

Could I say Njen stil je drukčiji, ali ga volim instead?

Yes, that is grammatically correct and understandable.

ga = “him/it” (masculine singular, accusative)
Refers back to stil (masculine).

So:

Njen stil je drukčiji, ali ga volim.
= “Her style is different, but I like it” (or even “but I love it”).

Nuance:

ali mi se sviđa is slightly softer/impression-based: “but I like it / it appeals to me”.
ali ga volim is stronger: “but I (really) like/love it”.

Both are natural; which you choose depends on how strong you want the feeling to sound.

Why is there a comma before ali?

In Croatian, you normally put a comma before the conjunction ali (“but”) when it connects two clauses or contrasted parts.

So:

Njen stil je drukčiji, ali mi se sviđa. – correct.
Writing Njen stil je drukčiji ali mi se sviđa (without the comma) is considered wrong or at least non-standard in formal writing.

Other examples:

Umoran sam, ali moram raditi. – I’m tired, but I have to work.
Mali je, ali hrabar. – He’s small, but brave.