Learn Hardcore Croatian: Ovaj stan je manji od kuće. - This apartment is smaller than the house.

stan (apartment / flat) is masculine singular in the nominative.
The correct masculine singular nominative form of “this” is ovaj.
ovo is neuter, used on its own (like “this (thing)”) or with neuter nouns, e.g. ovo dijete (“this child”).

So you must say ovaj stan, not ovo stan.

What gender are stan and kuća, and how can I tell?

stan is masculine.
- Many masculine nouns end in a consonant: stan, stol, grad, čovjek.
kuća is feminine.
- Many feminine nouns end in -a in the nominative: kuća, soba, žena, knjiga.

So in this sentence:

ovaj and manji agree with masculine stan.
kuće is a declined form (genitive) of feminine kuća.

Why is it manji and not mali?

mali means small.
manji is its comparative form, meaning smaller.

The pattern is:

mali – small
manji – smaller
najmanji – smallest (superlative)

You use the comparative manji when comparing two things:

Ovaj stan je mali. – This apartment is small.
Ovaj stan je manji od kuće. – This apartment is smaller than the house.

Does manji change form depending on the noun, like mali does?

Yes. Comparative adjectives still agree in gender, number, and case.

From mali → manji:

Masculine: manji stan – smaller apartment
Feminine: manja kuća – smaller house
Neuter: manje selo – smaller village

In the sentence Ovaj stan je manji od kuće, manji is masculine singular nominative, matching stan.

What does od kuće literally mean, and why is kuće in that form?

od is a preposition; it normally takes the genitive case.

kuća is the basic (nominative) form.
kuće is the genitive singular: “of (the) house”.

In comparisons, Croatian often uses:

komparativ + od + genitive.

So manji od kuće literally is “smaller from/of the house”, but it means “smaller than the house”.

That’s why you see kuće (genitive), not kuća (nominative).

Can I say Ovaj stan je manji nego kuća instead of od kuće?

You can hear nego used in comparisons, but there are nuances:

od + genitive is the default:
- Ovaj stan je manji od kuće.
nego is more common after:
- drugi/više/manje/bolje/gore/veći/manji when you compare whole clauses or use negation:
  - On je viši nego što sam mislio. – He is taller than I thought.
  - Ovaj stan nije manji nego kuća. – This flat is not smaller than the house.

For just comparing two nouns, manji od kuće is the most natural and standard.
manji nego kuća can sound less natural or stylistically off here.

Which case is kuće, and how is it formed from kuća?

kuće is genitive singular of kuća.

Rough rule for many feminine nouns in -a:

Nominative singular: kuća
Genitive singular: kuće (replace -a with -e)

Other examples:

soba → sobe (room → of the room)
žena → žene (woman → of the woman)

We need the genitive after od, so od kuće.

Why do we need je in the sentence, and where does it usually go?

je is the 3rd person singular present of biti (to be). It means is.

Basic structure:

Ovaj stan je manji od kuće.
- Subject: Ovaj stan
- Verb: je
- Predicate: manji od kuće

Normally, je appears in second position in the clause (it’s a clitic), so other possible orders include:

Ovaj je stan manji od kuće.
Stan je manji od kuće. (if “this” is understood from context)

All of these are grammatical, but Ovaj stan je manji od kuće is the most neutral and clear for learners.

Is the word order fixed, or can I change it to something like Ovaj je stan manji od kuće?

You can change it, within limits.

These are all grammatical, with slightly different emphasis:

Ovaj stan je manji od kuće. – neutral, very natural.
Ovaj je stan manji od kuće. – small emphasis on ovaj (this one).
Stan je manji od kuće. – just “The apartment is smaller than the house”; “this” is dropped.

Something like Stan ovaj je manji od kuće sounds unnatural or poetic at best. For everyday speech, stick to:

Ovaj stan je manji od kuće.
Ovaj je stan manji od kuće.

How would I say “This house is smaller than the apartment”?

You just swap the nouns and adjust agreement:

Ova kuća je manja od stana.

Details:

ova – feminine singular demonstrative for kuća.
kuća – feminine noun in nominative.
manja – feminine form of manji, agreeing with kuća.
od stana – stan in genitive singular (stana) after od.

How can I say “This apartment is much smaller than the house”?

Add an adverb of degree before manji:

Ovaj stan je mnogo manji od kuće.
Ovaj stan je puno manji od kuće.
Ovaj stan je znatno manji od kuće. (more formal: “significantly smaller”)

All three are common; mnogo and puno are very frequent in speech.

How would I say “This apartment is not smaller than the house”?

You negate je:

Ovaj stan nije manji od kuće.

Breakdown:

nije = ne
- je → “is not”. Everything else stays the same.

What is the difference between stan and apartman?

Both can translate as “apartment / flat”, but usage differs:

stan – the standard word for a flat/apartment where people live, especially in a residential building.
apartman – often used for:
- tourist accommodation (“holiday apartments”),
- sometimes fancier apartments, or in marketing.

In everyday talk about your home in a building, stan is the default word.

Could od kuće mean “from home” in other contexts?

Yes, od kuće can also mean “from (the) home” / “from home”, depending on context:

Radim od kuće. – I work from home.
Dolaziš li od kuće? – Are you coming from home?

In Ovaj stan je manji od kuće, the structure komparativ + od + genitive clearly signals a comparison, so it’s understood as “than the house”, not as “from home”.

How do I pronounce manji and kuće correctly?

Key points:

manji
- nj = single sound /ɲ/, like ñ in Spanish señor.
- Roughly: MA-nyi.
kuće
- ć = soft /tɕ/, somewhat like “t” + soft “ch”.
- Roughly: KOO-che (but with a softer “ch” than in English “church”).

Syllables:

O-vaj stan je man-ji od ku-će.