Learn Hardcore Croatian: Osjećam se povezan s tobom kad zajedno učimo hrvatski, bez obzira na to što smo daleko. - I feel connected with you when we study Croatian together, regardless of the fact that we are far away.

osjećati = to feel something (an object): Osjećam bol. – I feel pain.
osjećati se = to feel (a certain way, an inner state): Osjećam se dobro. – I feel good.

In your sentence you are describing how you yourself feel (your inner state), so Croatian uses the reflexive verb osjećati se: Osjećam se povezan s tobom.

If you said Osjećam povezan s tobom, it would sound wrong/unfinished to a native speaker, because the verb would be missing its reflexive part se.

Why is it povezan and not povezana or povezano? Does it depend on who is speaking?

Yes, povezan agrees with the subject in gender and number.

If the speaker is a man: Osjećam se povezan s tobom.
If the speaker is a woman: Osjećam se povezana s tobom.
If several people are speaking:
- mixed group or all men: Osjećamo se povezani s tobom.
- all women: Osjećamo se povezane s tobom.

So you choose povezan / povezana / povezani / povezane depending on who the ja / mi actually are.

Povezano would usually sound like an adverb (in a connected way), not as “I am connected”, so it’s not the normal choice here.

Why is it s tobom and not sa tobom, and why tobom and not something like tebe?

The preposition s (or sa) + instrumental case means with someone.

The pronoun ti (you, singular) in the instrumental is tobom.
So s tobom literally means with you.

As for s vs sa:

Both s tobom and sa tobom are possible.
s tobom is more common and slightly shorter.
sa is used especially before words where s would be hard to pronounce (e.g. sa mnom, sa psom), but often both forms are heard.

tebe is a different case (genitive/accusative), so s tebe would mean something like off of you, not with you, and would be wrong in this sentence.

What is the difference between kad and kada? Could I say kada zajedno učimo hrvatski instead?

kad and kada here mean the same thing: when.

kad – shorter, very common in everyday speech and writing.
kada – a bit more formal or emphatic, but still very common.

In your sentence you can use either:

… kad zajedno učimo hrvatski …
… kada zajedno učimo hrvatski …

Both are correct and natural; the meaning doesn’t change.

Why is it učimo hrvatski without a word for “language”? Can I say učimo hrvatski jezik?

Croatian has no articles (a / the), and with verbs like učiti (to learn), govoriti (to speak), znati (to know), you can use just the adjective hrvatski to mean Croatian (language):

Učimo hrvatski. – We are learning Croatian (the language).
Znam hrvatski. – I know Croatian.

You can also say učimo hrvatski jezik (literally Croatian language). That is correct too, just a bit more explicit or formal. In everyday speech, učimo hrvatski is perfectly normal.

Grammatically, hrvatski here is masculine singular accusative, functioning as a noun meaning the Croatian language.

How does the expression bez obzira na to što work, and can it be shortened?

bez obzira na to što literally breaks down as:

bez obzira – without regard / regardless
na to – to that
što – that / the fact that (here it introduces a clause)

So bez obzira na to što smo daleko ≈ regardless of the fact that we are far away / even though we are far away.

You will also hear slightly shorter variants:

bez obzira što smo daleko
bez obzira na to koliko smo daleko (regardless of how far we are)

Your full form bez obzira na to što is very natural and common in both spoken and written Croatian.

Why is it što smo daleko with daleko, and not što smo daleki?

daleko is an adverb meaning far (away), and with biti (to be) it describes a spatial position:

Mi smo daleko. – We are far away (from each other).

daleki is an adjective meaning distant and tends to sound more like a description of a quality (often abstract/emotional):

Mi smo daleki. – We are distant (for example, emotionally or not close as people).

In this sentence you are talking about physical distance, so daleko is the natural choice: što smo daleko – that we are far away (in distance).

Why is the word order kad zajedno učimo hrvatski and not kad učimo zajedno hrvatski? Does changing the order change the meaning?

Croatian word order is relatively flexible, especially with adverbs like zajedno (together).

All of these are grammatically correct:

kad zajedno učimo hrvatski
kad učimo zajedno hrvatski
kad učimo hrvatski zajedno

The differences are about style and slight emphasis:

kad zajedno učimo hrvatski (most common) – neutral, smooth; focuses naturally on the idea of learning together.
kad učimo zajedno hrvatski – a bit more marked; puts učimo early, then adds zajedno as extra information.
kad učimo hrvatski zajedno – sounds fine, but a little less common in this exact context.

In everyday use, kad zajedno učimo hrvatski is the most idiomatic, but the meaning stays the same across these versions.

Why is there a comma before bez obzira, but not before kad?

In the sentence:

Osjećam se povezan s tobom kad zajedno učimo hrvatski, bez obzira na to što smo daleko.

The part kad zajedno učimo hrvatski is a time clause tightly connected to the main verb Osjećam se….
In such short, closely linked kad-clauses, Croatian often omits the comma when the main clause comes first.
Writing a comma there (… s tobom, kad zajedno učimo hrvatski …) is possible, but not required, and it slightly changes the rhythm/emphasis.
bez obzira na to što smo daleko is more like an additional, parenthetical comment (regardless of the fact that we are far away), so it is set off by a comma from the rest of the sentence.

So: no comma before kad here is fine; a comma before bez obzira is expected.

Could I replace bez obzira na to što smo daleko with iako smo daleko or premda smo daleko?

Yes, you can. For example:

Osjećam se povezan s tobom kad zajedno učimo hrvatski, iako smo daleko.
Osjećam se povezan s tobom kad zajedno učimo hrvatski, premda smo daleko.

iako and premda both mean although / even though and are very natural here.

The nuance:

bez obzira na to što = regardless of the fact that – a bit stronger, more like “it doesn’t matter that…”.
iako / premda = although / even though – simpler concessive meaning.

In everyday speech, all three options are acceptable; the difference is mostly in style and emphasis.