Mobitel je uključen.

to be

Breakdown of Mobitel je uključen.

• mobitel: mobile phone
• uključen: included

Questions & Answers about Mobitel je uključen.

What do the individual words mobitel, je, and uključen mean?

• mobitel – mobile phone / cell phone (informal but completely standard in Croatia)
• je – is (3rd person singular of the verb biti – to be)
• uključen – on, switched on, turned on; connected (to power)

So Mobitel je uključen literally means: Mobile-phone is on / switched-on.

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

Croatian has no articles (no the, a, an).
Whether you understand it as the phone is on or a phone is on depends on context, not on any special word in the sentence.

So:

• Mobitel je uključen.
  
  • can mean The phone is on. (if both speakers know which phone)
  • or A phone is on. (if it’s being introduced for the first time)

Is mobitel masculine, feminine, or neuter, and how can I tell?

Mobitel is masculine singular.

Clues:

• It ends in -el, which in Croatian is a common ending for masculine nouns.
• The adjective or participle uključen also shows masculine singular agreement (see next question).

Other forms of mobitel (just so you see the pattern):

• nominative singular: mobitel – (one) mobile phone
• nominative plural: mobiteli – (mobile) phones

Because mobitel is masculine singular, the describing word must also be masculine singular (uključen, not uključena or uključeno).

Why does uključen end in -en and not something like -na or -no?

Uključen is the masculine singular form of the past participle/adjective that goes with a masculine singular noun.

Basic forms (short adjectival forms):

• uključen – masculine singular (for mobitel, računalnik, televizor, etc.)
• uključena – feminine singular (for svjetiljka, baterija, etc.)
• uključeno – neuter singular (for svjetlo, računalo in some varieties)
• uključeni – masculine-personal plural (for ljudi, people) or mixed groups
• uključena – non‑masculine plural (for plural feminine/neuter things)

Examples:

• Mobitel je uključen. – The phone is on.
• Svjetiljka je uključena. – The lamp is on.
• Svjetlo je uključeno. – The light is on.

Is uključen an adjective or a verb form here?

It functions like an adjective, but it comes from a past participle of the verb uključiti – to switch on, to include, to connect.

So:

• Verb (perfective): uključiti (nešto) – to switch something on / connect something
• Past participle (masc. sg.): uključen – switched on / connected
• With je (is) it describes a state:
  
  • Mobitel je uključen. – The phone is in the state of being switched on.

Compare:

• Netko je uključio mobitel. – Someone turned the phone on. (completed action, past)
• Mobitel je uključen. – The phone is on. (current state)

Why is the word order Mobitel je uključen and not Je mobitel uključen?

The verb je is a clitic (an unstressed short word) and Croatian has a strong tendency to place clitics in second position in the clause.

• Neutral, most common: Mobitel je uključen.
  
  • mobitel (first stressed word)
  • je (clitic, comes second)
  • uključen (rest of the predicate)

Je mobitel uključen?

• This is not a natural statement. It could appear as a yes/no question, but even then it sounds marked or stylised.
• A more natural question would be:
  
  • Je li mobitel uključen? – Is the phone on?
    Here je li is the usual question form.

You can change word order for emphasis, but je still tends to stay in second position:

• Uključen je mobitel. – It is the phone that is on. (emphasis on uključen)
• Mobitel je uključen. – neutral emphasis.

How do I make this sentence negative: The phone is not on?

Use nije (the negative form of je):

• Mobitel nije uključen. – The phone is not on.

Pattern:

• je → nije
  
  • Mobitel je uključen. – The phone is on.
  • Mobitel nije uključen. – The phone is not on.

The rest of the sentence stays the same.

How do I say The phone is off in Croatian? Is it just the opposite word?

Two very common options:

1. Mobitel je isključen.

   • direct opposite of uključen (from isključiti – to switch off, disconnect)
   • literally: The phone is switched off / disconnected.

2. Mobitel je ugašen.

   • from ugasiti – to extinguish, to put out, to turn off (a device, a light)
   • very natural in everyday speech for devices, screens, lights.

All of these are idiomatic:

• Mobitel je uključen. – The phone is on.
• Mobitel je isključen. – The phone is off (switched off).
• Mobitel je ugašen. – The phone is off (turned off).

What is the difference between uključen and upaljen for devices?

Both can be used with devices like phones, lights, TVs, etc., but there are nuances and preferences.

• uključen

  • more neutral and technical: switched on, connected to power / active
  • emphasizes the connection / activation
  • e.g. Uređaj je uključen. – The device is on / activated.

• upaljen

  • from upaliti – to light, to ignite, to turn on
  • often used with things that light up or start running:
    
    • Svjetlo je upaljeno. – The light is on.
    • Računalo je upaljeno. – The computer is on.

For mobitel you can hear both:

• Mobitel je uključen. – more like The phone is switched on / active.
• Mobitel je upaljen. – more colloquial, The phone is on / running.

In many everyday contexts, they’ll be understood as the same; which one sounds more natural can depend a bit on the speaker and region.

How do I pronounce Mobitel je uključen?

Approximate IPA (Croatian has very regular pronunciation):

• Mobitel je uključen → /mɔbîtel je ukljûtʃen/

Syllables and stress:

• MO-bi-tel – stress usually on MO (MObitel)
• je – unstressed, like ye in yes
• u-klju-čen – stress on klju (uKLJUčen)

Sound tips:

• o – like o in more but shorter
• i – like ee in see
• e – like e in bet
• u – like oo in tool
• lj – a palatal l, similar to lli in million
• č – like ch in church

So you can think roughly: MObitel ye uKLYU-chen.

How would I say The phones are on (plural)?

You need to change both the noun and the adjective/participle to plural:

• singular: Mobitel je uključen. – The phone is on.
• plural: Mobiteli su uključeni. – The phones are on.

Changes:

• mobitel → mobiteli (nominative plural)
• je → su (3rd person plural of biti)
• uključen → uključeni (plural masculine form)

Similarly for negative:

• Mobiteli nisu uključeni. – The phones are not on.

Is this a present tense sentence, or does it describe a past action?

It describes a present state. Grammatically, it’s like The phone is on in English.

Structure:

• je – present tense of biti (to be)
• uključen – past participle/adjective meaning switched on

Together they give a resulting state:

• Mobitel je uključen. – The phone is (in the state of being) switched on.

Compare with a past action:

• Netko je uključio mobitel. – Someone turned the phone on.
  
  • Here je uključio is clearly a past perfective action (finished event).
• Otad je mobitel uključen. – Since then, the phone has been on. (state that started in the past and still holds)

Can I drop je and just say Mobitel uključen?

In normal, full sentences, no. You should say:

• Mobitel je uključen.

Mobitel uključen without je sounds like:

• a headline
• a label, note, or bullet point
  
  • e.g., on a checklist: Mobitel uključen – Phone on

Croatian often drops je in headlines and telegraphic style, but in regular speech and writing, keep je.

Is mobitel the only word for phone, or are there alternatives I should know?

In Croatia:

• mobitel – the usual everyday word for mobile phone / cell phone.
• telefon – can mean telephone in general (landline or mobile), but by itself often suggests a landline or the device more abstractly.

Examples:

• Gdje mi je mobitel? – Where is my phone (cell phone)?
• Zazvonio je telefon. – The phone rang. (could be landline; context decides)

In other ex‑Yugoslav countries you may hear:

• mobilni (telefon) – literally mobile (phone)

But for Croatian specifically, mobitel is perfectly standard and very common.