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Danas se čini da je hrvatski lakši nego jučer.

Danas se čini da je hrvatski lakši nego jučer.
Today it seems that Croatian is easier than yesterday.

Breakdown of Danas se čini da je hrvatski lakši nego jučer.

biti
to be
hrvatski
Croatian
danas
today
jučer
yesterday
da
that
lakši
easier
nego
than
činiti se
to seem
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Questions & Answers about Danas se čini da je hrvatski lakši nego jučer.

What does se čini mean here, and why do we need se?

Čini se is best translated as “it seems / it appears”.

  • čini = “makes / does / seems”
  • se = a reflexive pronoun that often makes verbs impersonal

In this sentence se turns čini into an impersonal expression, similar to English “it seems”:

  • Danas se čini… = “Today it seems…”

Without se, čini usually needs a clear subject and object; it tends to mean “makes / is making” something happen, not “seems”. So:

  • Čini se da je hrvatski lakši… = natural: “It seems that Croatian is easier…”
  • Čini da je hrvatski lakši… = odd / wrong in this meaning
What is the role of da je in čini se da je hrvatski lakši…?

Da here is a conjunction meaning “that”, and je is “is” (3rd person singular of biti, “to be”).

So the structure is:

  • čini se = “it seems”
  • da je hrvatski lakši nego jučer = “that Croatian is easier than yesterday”

Croatian very often uses da + finite verb where English uses “that + clause”:

  • Mislim da je lakše. = “I think (that) it’s easier.”
  • Čini se da je hrvatski lakši. = “It seems (that) Croatian is easier.”
Why is the word order da je hrvatski lakši, and not da hrvatski je lakši?

In Croatian, short unstressed words like je, se, ga, ih, mi, ti are clitics. They have strict rules about where they can stand in the sentence.

Inside the da-clause:

  • da je hrvatski lakši is correct.
  • da hrvatski je lakši is wrong.

The usual pattern is:

  1. da (the conjunction)
  2. clitics (e.g. je, se, ga, mi)
  3. the rest of the sentence

So we say:

  • da je hrvatski lakši
  • da se hrvatski čini lakšim
  • da mi je danas teško
Why is hrvatski used alone, without jezik?

In Croatian, adjectives for nationalities and languages can stand alone and mean “the X language” in context.

  • hrvatski (jezik) = “Croatian (language)”
  • engleski (jezik) = “English”
  • njemački (jezik) = “German”

So hrvatski here is understood as “the Croatian language”. Adding jezik would be correct but not necessary:

  • Danas se čini da je hrvatski lakši nego jučer.
  • Danas se čini da je hrvatski jezik lakši nego jučer.

Both work; the shorter one is more common in everyday speech.

Why is it lakši and not something like više lako or lakšiji?

Lakši is the regular comparative form of the adjective lak (“easy, light”).

Pattern:

  • lak → lakši = “easier / lighter”
  • težak → teži = “heavier / harder”
  • brz → brži = “faster”

Comparatives are normally formed either:

  • with a suffix: lak → lakši, dobar → bolji, jeftin → jeftiniji
  • NOT with više + adjective when a normal comparative form exists

So:

  • lakši = correct: “easier”
  • više lako = ungrammatical in this sense
  • lakšiji = wrong; lakši is already the comparative
Why is it lakši (masculine) and not lakša or lakše?

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

Here, hrvatski (meaning “Croatian language”) is:

  • masculine
  • singular
  • nominative

So the adjective lak must also be masculine singular nominative:

  • hrvatski je lak (“Croatian is easy”) → hrvatski je lakši (“Croatian is easier”)
  • If we said hrvatska gramatika je lakša (“Croatian grammar is easier”),
    • gramatika is feminine singular, so lakša (feminine) is used.
  • If the subject were plural masculine:
    • zadaci su lakši (“the tasks are easier”)
Why is the comparison lakši nego jučer, and not lakši od jučer?

In comparisons:

  • nego is used after comparatives, especially with adverbs, pronouns, whole clauses:

    • bolje nego prije = better than before
    • više nego ikad = more than ever
    • lakši nego jučer = easier than yesterday

  • od

    • genitive is common with nouns:

    • lakši od engleskog = easier than English
    • bolji od njega = better than him

Here jučer is an adverb (“yesterday”), not a noun, so nego jučer is natural.
Od jučer is normally used with the meaning “since yesterday / from yesterday” (not as a direct comparison like this), so lakši od jučer sounds odd in this sense.

Why is there nothing after nego jučer? Shouldn’t we repeat something, like nego jučer je bio?

Croatian, like English, often omits repeated words in comparisons when they are clear from context.

Full idea would be:

  • Danas se čini da je hrvatski lakši nego što je (bio) jučer. = “Today it seems that Croatian is easier than it (was) yesterday.”

But native speakers usually shorten it:

  • lakši nego jučer = “easier than yesterday (was)”

The verbs je (bio) are understood and do not need to be repeated.

Could we say Danas je hrvatski lakši nego jučer without se čini da? Is the meaning different?

Yes, you can say:

  • Danas je hrvatski lakši nego jučer.

The difference in nuance:

  • Danas se čini da je hrvatski lakši nego jučer.

    • “Today it seems that Croatian is easier than yesterday.”
    • More subjective, softens the statement, shows it’s your impression.

  • Danas je hrvatski lakši nego jučer.

    • “Today Croatian is easier than yesterday.”
    • Sounds more like a direct statement of fact.

Both are grammatical; čini se makes it sound more like your feeling or perception.

Can we move danas or se to other positions? For example: Hrvatski se danas čini lakši nego jučer?

Yes, Croatian word order is flexible, but clitics like se must stay in specific positions.

All of these are grammatical, with slightly different emphasis:

  • Danas se čini da je hrvatski lakši nego jučer.

    • Neutral: focus on “today it seems that…”

  • Hrvatski se danas čini lakši nego jučer.

    • More focus on hrvatski (“Croatian (in particular) seems easier today…”)

  • Danas se hrvatski čini lakšim nego jučer.

    • Using instrumental (lakšim) is also possible in some structures.

But you cannot put se just anywhere. For example:

  • ✗ Danas čini se da je… (ungrammatical in standard Croatian)

    Clitics like se, je, ga, mi usually come in second position in their clause.

What tense is čini in, and how does that affect the meaning?

Čini is in the present tense, 3rd person singular of činiti.

  • čini se = “it seems (right now)”

So the sentence describes a present, current impression:

  • Danas se čini… = “Today it seems… (today, at this moment, my feeling is…)”

If you changed the tense, the nuance would change:

  • Jučer se činilo da je hrvatski lakši. = “Yesterday it seemed that Croatian was easier.”
  • Činilo se da će hrvatski biti lakši. = “It seemed that Croatian would be easier.”
What is the difference between čini se and izgleda in this kind of sentence?

Both can often be translated as “it seems”, but there is a nuance:

  • čini se:

    • very common, neutral
    • can be based on your general impression, not only on visual information
    • Danas se čini da je hrvatski lakši. = “Today it seems that Croatian is easier.”

  • izgleda (from izgledati = “to look, to appear”):

    • literally more visual: “it looks” / “it appears”
    • in many contexts it’s interchangeable with čini se, especially in spoken language
    • Danas izgleda da je hrvatski lakši. = also possible: “Today it looks like Croatian is easier.”

In this sentence, čini se is slightly more neutral and is probably the more typical choice.