Learn Hardcore Croatian: Moja uporna prijateljica kaže da se moramo ponašati hrabro kad pričamo s nepoznatim ljudima. - My persistent female friend says that we have to behave bravely when we talk with strangers.

moja uporna prijateljica = my persistent friend
- moja – possessive adjective “my” (feminine, singular, nominative)
- uporna – descriptive adjective “persistent” (feminine, singular, nominative)
- prijateljica – noun “(female) friend” (feminine, singular, nominative)

You can put the adjective or possessive after the noun, but that usually sounds poetic, emotional, or marked:

prijateljica moja – “my friend” (poetic/affectionate)
prijateljica uporna – emphasizing that she is the persistent one

For neutral, everyday speech, keep them before the noun: moja uporna prijateljica.

Why does uporna end in -a and not -i or something else?

Adjectives in Croatian agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.

prijateljica is:
- feminine
- singular
- nominative (it’s the subject of the sentence)

So uporna must also be:

feminine, singular, nominative

The base form is uporan (masculine: persistent):

masculine: uporan prijatelj – persistent (male) friend
feminine: uporna prijateljica – persistent (female) friend

That’s why it’s uporna, not uporni (masc. plural) or uporno (neuter / adverb).

What exactly does uporna mean? Is it positive like “determined” or negative like “stubborn”?

Uporna can be both positive and negative, depending on context and tone.

Typical translations:

positive: persistent, determined, tenacious
neutral: insistent
negative: stubborn, obstinate

In this sentence, it likely means something like:

My persistent / insistent friend says…
She keeps repeating this advice or really believes in it. Whether that’s admirable or slightly annoying depends on how the speaker feels about her.

What is the difference between prijatelj and prijateljica?

They are gendered forms of “friend”:

prijatelj – male friend (masculine)
prijateljica – female friend (feminine)

So:

moj prijatelj – my (male) friend
moja prijateljica – my (female) friend

In mixed-gender groups you normally use the masculine plural:

moji prijatelji – my friends (at least one male in the group)

What does kaže da… mean, and why do we need da here?

Kaže da… = “(she) says that…”

kaže – “(she) says” (3rd person singular present of kazati/reći)
da – a conjunction meaning that introducing indirect speech or a subordinate clause

Structure:

Moja uporna prijateljica kaže da…
My persistent friend says that…

English also uses that in reported speech:

She says *that we must behave bravely…*

In Croatian, you must have da (or use direct quotes) – you can’t just say:

✗ Moja uporna prijateljica kaže moramo se ponašati hrabro… (wrong/very odd)
✓ Moja uporna prijateljica kaže da se moramo ponašati hrabro…
✓ Moja uporna prijateljica kaže: “Moramo se ponašati hrabro…” (direct speech)

What is the role of se in da se moramo ponašati? Can I move it or omit it?

Se is a reflexive clitic that forms the reflexive verb ponašati se = to behave.

You cannot omit it
- ponašati se = to behave
- ponašati (without se) is rarely used and has a different, more technical meaning (to conduct, to behave like a substance etc.), not “to behave (oneself)” in everyday speech.
Word order (clitic position)
Croatian clitics (like se) normally go in second position in the clause.
In da se moramo ponašati:
- da – first element (conjunction)
- se – clitic, comes immediately after da
- moramo – main verb (we must)
- ponašati – infinitive (behave)

So:

✓ da se moramo ponašati – correct, natural
✗ da moramo se ponašati – ungrammatical in standard Croatian

Why is it ponašati se and not just ponašati?

In Croatian, many verbs that are “reflexive” in meaning are formed with se.
Ponašati se is one of them:

ponašati se – to behave (oneself)
e.g. Moramo se dobro ponašati. – We must behave well.

If you drop se, you do not get the everyday verb “to behave”; you get a different, more technical or specialized meaning (e.g. how substances or systems behave, “to act, to conduct oneself in a certain way” in scientific or formal language).

So for normal “behave” in everyday speech, always use ponašati se.

Why is it hrabro and not hrabar or hrabra?

Because here we need an adverb (“bravely”), not an adjective (“brave”).

hrabar – brave (masculine adjective)
- hrabar čovjek – a brave man
hrabra – brave (feminine adjective)
- hrabra žena – a brave woman
hrabro – bravely (adverb)
- ponašati se hrabro – to behave bravely

Adjectives describe nouns; adverbs describe verbs:

hrabra prijateljica – a brave friend (adjective + noun)
ponašati se hrabro – to behave bravely (verb + adverb)

What is the difference between kad and kada? Why is kad used here?

Kad and kada are basically the same word: “when”.

kad – shorter, more colloquial, very common in speech and informal writing
kada – longer, a bit more formal or emphatic, common in careful speech and writing

In this sentence, you could use either:

…kad pričamo s nepoznatim ljudima.
…kada pričamo s nepoznatim ljudima.

Both are correct; kad simply sounds a bit more casual.

(There are some subtle stylistic and rhythmic reasons to prefer one or the other in longer sentences, but grammatically they’re interchangeable here.)

Why is it pričamo and not govorimo or razgovaramo?

All three verbs are related to “speaking” but have different nuances:

pričati – to talk / to chat / to tell (stories)
- pričati s nekim – to talk with someone
govoriti – to speak (a language, in general, or more formally)
- govoriti istinu – to speak the truth
- govoriti engleski – to speak English
razgovarati – to converse, to have a conversation
- razgovarati s nekim – to have a conversation with someone

In this context:

kad pričamo s nepoznatim ljudima – when we talk with strangers / unknown people

You could also say:

kad razgovaramo s nepoznatim ljudima – when we have a conversation with unknown people

Govoriti would sound a bit more like making a speech or stating something to them, rather than just chatting.

Why do we use s and not sa in s nepoznatim ljudima?

The preposition s means “with” (among other things) and takes the instrumental case.

pričati s nekim – to talk with someone

There are two forms: s and sa:

s – basic form
sa – used mostly:
- before words starting with s, z, š, ž or some consonant clusters
- when s would be hard to pronounce

Examples:

s tobom / sa tobom – with you (both possible; sa tobom often sounds smoother)
sa studentima – with (the) students
s nepoznatim ljudima – with unknown people (this combination is easy to pronounce, so s is standard)

So s nepoznatim ljudima is the normal, most natural choice.

What case is nepoznatim ljudima, and why do the words end in -im and -ima?

Nepoznatim ljudima is in the instrumental plural.

The preposition s (“with”) requires the instrumental:

s kim? – with whom?
s čime? – with what?

Declension here:

ljudi – people (nominative plural)
- instrumental plural: ljudima (stem ljud-
  - -ima)
nepoznat – unknown (adjective)
- masculine plural instrumental: nepoznatim (stem nepoznat-
  - -im)

So:

s nepoznatim ljudima = with unknown people (both word forms in instrumental plural, agreeing in gender, number, and case)

Why is it moramo and not trebamo? What’s the difference between morati and trebati?

Both verbs can express necessity, but they’re not identical:

morati – must / have to, strong obligation, often from rules, circumstances, or someone’s insistence
- Moramo se ponašati hrabro. – We must behave bravely.
trebati – “need to”, “should” / “to need”
- Trebamo se ponašati hrabro. – We should / ought to behave bravely.

In this sentence:

da se moramo ponašati hrabro – your friend is saying this is something you really have to do, almost like a rule or principle.

Using trebamo would soften it a bit, making it feel more like advice than a strict obligation.