Learn Hardcore Croatian: Moja kćer voli učiti hrvatski u parku. - My daughter likes to study Croatian in the park.

k is like k in kite.
ć is a soft ch sound, shorter and “sharper” than English ch, something like ty
- ch together.
r is rolled or tapped (like in Spanish or Italian).
e is a short e as in pet.

The cluster kć is pronounced as two consonants in a row, roughly like k-ch said quickly:
kćer ≈ “k-cher” with a tapped r at the end.

Also note: ć is different from č:

ć – softer, more palatal.
č – harder, like the ch in chocolate.

What form of the verb is voli, and how do you conjugate voljeti in the present tense?

Voli is the 3rd person singular, present tense of the verb voljeti (to like / to love).

Present tense of voljeti:

ja volim – I like / love
ti voliš – you (sg.) like / love
on / ona / ono voli – he / she / it likes / loves
mi volimo – we like / love
vi volite – you (pl. / formal) like / love
oni / one / ona vole – they like / love

In the sentence, moja kćer = ona (she), so the correct form is voli.

Why is učiti in the infinitive form here?

In Croatian, when you have a verb like voljeti (to like / love) followed by another verb, that second verb usually appears in the infinitive.

Pattern:

voli + infinitive

So:

Moja kćer voli učiti. – My daughter likes to study / learn.
Volim čitati. – I like to read.
Ne volimo čekati. – We don’t like to wait.

Therefore učiti is in its dictionary/infinitive form because it directly follows voli.

Does učiti mean “to study”, “to learn”, or “to teach”?

Učiti can mean to study / to learn, and in some structures it can also mean to teach. The meaning depends on what follows it:

učiti + accusative (thing)
- učiti hrvatski – to study/learn Croatian
- učiti matematiku – to study/learn mathematics
This is the meaning in your sentence:
Moja kćer voli učiti hrvatski – My daughter likes to study/learn Croatian.
učiti + accusative (person) (+ accusative (subject)) – to teach
- učiti djecu hrvatski – to teach children Croatian
- On uči studente engleski. – He teaches students English.

If you want to clearly say to teach, there is also podučavati or predavati, but učiti is very commonly used with both meanings.

Why is hrvatski used alone, without jezik?

Hrvatski is originally an adjective meaning Croatian (as in hrvatski jezik – Croatian language).

In practice, Croatians often drop jezik (language) and just use the masculine adjective form as a noun to mean the language itself:

hrvatski (jezik) – Croatian (language)
engleski (jezik) – English
njemački (jezik) – German

So:

učiti hrvatski = to study/learn Croatian
instead of the longer
učiti hrvatski jezik

Both are correct; the shorter version is very natural.

Why is there no word for “the” or “a” in this sentence?

Croatian does not have articles like the or a/an in English.

Meaning that:

Moja kćer can mean my daughter, not a my daughter or the my daughter.
u parku can mean in the park (or just in a park, depending on context).

Definiteness (the/this/that) is usually clear from context, or shown with other words (like taj = that, ovaj = this), but there is no separate word that functions like English the or a/an.

Why is it u parku and not u park?

The preposition u (in / into) can take different cases:

u + locative = in (location, where?)
u + accusative = into (direction, where to?)

In your sentence, it’s about where she likes to study Croatian (location), so you use locative:

u parku – in (the) park (locative singular of park)

Compare:

Moja kćer voli učiti hrvatski u parku.
– My daughter likes to learn Croatian in the park. (location)
Moja kćer ide u park.
– My daughter is going to the park. (direction, accusative: park)

What case is parku, and how does park change in cases?

Parku is locative singular of park (park is a masculine noun).

The most relevant forms here are:

Nominative (who/what?): park – Park je velik. (The park is big.)
Accusative (where to?): park – Idem u park. (I’m going to the park.)
Locative (where?): parku – Sam u parku. (I’m in the park.)

So u parku is in the park (locative).

Can I change the word order in this sentence?

Yes. Croatian word order is more flexible than English, though the neutral order here is:

Moja kćer voli učiti hrvatski u parku.

You could move parts around for emphasis, for example:

U parku moja kćer voli učiti hrvatski.
(Emphasis on in the park.)
Hrvatski moja kćer voli učiti u parku.
(Emphasis on Croatian as opposed to something else.)

However, some orders will sound strange or overly marked. As a learner, it’s safest to keep the neutral order you have, and only experiment with word order gradually as you get more input and feedback.

How would the sentence change if I talk about more than one daughter?

You need to change both the noun and the verb to plural:

moja kćer → moje kćeri (my daughters)
- moje – feminine plural form of my
- kćeri – plural of kćer
voli → vole (3rd person plural of voljeti)

Full sentence:

Moje kćeri vole učiti hrvatski u parku.
– My daughters like to learn Croatian in the park.

How do I say this sentence in the past tense?

To form the past tense (perfect) of voljeti, you use the auxiliary verb biti (to be) in the past + past participle.

For she (ona):

Ona je voljela. – She liked / loved.

So your sentence becomes:

Moja kćer je voljela učiti hrvatski u parku.
– My daughter liked to learn Croatian in the park. / My daughter used to like learning Croatian in the park.

Structure:

je – 3rd person singular of biti in the past
voljela – feminine singular past participle of voljeti

Is there a difference between učiti hrvatski and naučiti hrvatski?

Yes:

učiti hrvatski – to study / be learning Croatian; process, ongoing activity.
- Moja kćer voli učiti hrvatski.
  – My daughter likes studying/learning Croatian.
naučiti hrvatski – to learn Croatian completely, to have acquired it; a completed action.
- Moja kćer je naučila hrvatski.
  – My daughter (has) learned Croatian / now she knows it.

So učiti focuses on the process, naučiti on the result (having learned it).