Learn Hardcore Croatian: Želim otkriti rješenje za ovaj zadatak. - I want to discover the solution for this task.

Želim – I want
- 1st person singular, present tense of željeti (to want, to wish).
otkriti – to discover / to find out / to uncover
- infinitive, perfective aspect (focus on the completed result).
rješenje – solution
- a neuter noun, here in the accusative singular (direct object).
za – for
- a preposition that usually takes the accusative case.
ovaj – this
- masculine, accusative singular form of the demonstrative pronoun (ovaj / ovaj / ovoga / ovim…).
zadatak – task, exercise, problem
- a masculine inanimate noun, here in accusative singular (same form as nominative for inanimate).

Natural English translation: “I want to find (discover) the solution for this task.”

Why is there no word like English “to” before the verb otkriti?

In Croatian, you simply put the infinitive after verbs like željeti (to want):

English: I want to find.
Croatian: Želim otkriti. (no extra word for to)

So:

Želim otkriti rješenje. = I want to discover/find the solution.

You don’t say “želim da otkriti”. That’s incorrect in Croatian. Either:

Želim otkriti rješenje. (infinitive – preferred in Croatian), or
Želim da otkrijem rješenje. (with da
- finite verb – more typical in Serbian than in standard Croatian).

Why is it otkriti and not otkrivati? What’s the difference?

Croatian has aspect:

otkriti – perfective: to discover (once, as a completed act)
otkrivati – imperfective: to be discovering, to keep discovering, to discover repeatedly

In this sentence, you want one concrete result: a specific solution. That’s why perfective is used:

Želim otkriti rješenje.
→ I want to (finally) discover / find the solution (and be done).

If you used the imperfective:

Želim otkrivati rješenja.
→ I want to be discovering solutions (as an ongoing activity / habit).

So with one specific solution, otkriti is the natural choice.

Could I use naći or pronaći instead of otkriti? Are they the same?

Yes, you can, but there is a nuance:

otkriti rješenje – to discover/uncover the solution
– slightly suggests figuring it out, maybe after thinking or searching.
naći rješenje – to find a solution
– quite neutral and common.
pronaći rješenje – to find, to track down a solution
– a bit more formal or “intentional”.

All are correct in this sentence:

Želim otkriti rješenje za ovaj zadatak.
Želim naći rješenje za ovaj zadatak.
Želim pronaći rješenje za ovaj zadatak.

In many everyday situations they’re interchangeable, especially otkriti vs pronaći/naći with “solution.”

Why is rješenje in this exact form? What case and gender is it?

rješenje is:

Neuter gender,
Noun meaning solution,
Here in accusative singular.

For most neuter nouns ending in -e or -o, nominative and accusative singular look the same:

Nominative: rješenje je teško. – The solution is difficult.
Accusative: Tražim rješenje. – I’m looking for a solution.

In Želim otkriti rješenje…, rješenje is the direct object of otkriti, so it must be in the accusative case.

Why is it za ovaj zadatak and not za ovoga zadatka or something else?

The preposition za normally takes the accusative:

za koga? – for whom?
za što? – for what?

Here:

zadatak is masculine singular,
So accusative singular is ovaj zadatak (same as nominative for masculine inanimate).

Hence:

za ovaj zadatak = for this task (accusative)

You might also see:

rješenje ovog zadatka – the solution of this task / to this task

That uses genitive (ovog zadatka), because rješenje governs genitive in that construction (solution of what?). Both are correct but slightly different:

rješenje za ovaj zadatak – solution for this task (focus on purpose)
rješenje ovog zadatka – solution of this task (focus on belonging / association)

In everyday speech they often feel almost the same.

Why is it ovaj zadatak and not ovo zadatak or ovog zadatka?

Because ovaj must agree with zadatak in gender, number, and case:

zadatak is masculine, singular.
In the phrase with za, we need accusative singular.

Masculine singular demonstrative “this” declines roughly like:

Nominative: ovaj zadatak – this task (as the subject)
Accusative (inanimate): ovaj zadatak – same form
Genitive: ovog zadatka
Dative/locative: ovom zadatku
Instrumental: ovim zadatkom

So za ovaj zadatak is correct: za + accusative.

ovo is the neuter form (this for neuter nouns or standalone: “What is this?” – Što je ovo?”), so it cannot modify zadatak.

What exactly does zadatak mean? Is it “task,” “exercise,” or “homework”?

zadatak is broadly:

task, assignment, exercise, problem

Common uses:

A math problem: matematički zadatak
An exercise in a textbook: zadatak 3 (Exercise 3)
A task you have to do: imam težak zadatak – I have a difficult task.

“Homework” is usually:

domaća zadaća or zadatak za domaću zadaću (depending on context)
But in school talk, a teacher might say:
Napišite ove zadatke za domaću zadaću. – Do these exercises as homework.

So in your sentence it’s most naturally:

“I want to find the solution for this problem/exercise/task.”

Is the word order fixed? Can I move parts around?

Word order in Croatian is more flexible than in English, but changes can affect emphasis. All of these are grammatically possible:

Želim otkriti rješenje za ovaj zadatak.
– neutral, most natural.
Želim rješenje otkriti za ovaj zadatak.
– emphasizes rješenje a bit.
Rješenje za ovaj zadatak želim otkriti.
– emphasizes “the solution for this task” (maybe contrasting with some other solution).
Za ovaj zadatak želim otkriti rješenje.
– emphasizes “for this task” (e.g. not some other task).

For a learner, pattern (1) is the best default: subject – modal/auxiliary – main verb – object – prepositional phrase.

How would I say “I would like to find the solution for this task” instead of “I want”?

Use the conditional of htjeti (to want):

Masculine speaker: Htio bih otkriti rješenje za ovaj zadatak.
Feminine speaker: Htjela bih otkriti rješenje za ovaj zadatak.

This sounds more polite/softer, similar to English “I would like to…”.

Compare:

Želim otkriti… – more direct: I want to…
Htio/Htjela bih otkriti… – more polite: I would like to…

What’s the difference between želim, hoću, and htio bih?

All involve wanting, but tone differs:

želim – I want, I wish
- Neutral, acceptable in most contexts.
- Želim otkriti rješenje.
hoću – I want / I’m going to / I will
- Can sound stronger, more insistent or even childish if overused (“I want!”).
- Also used as a future auxiliary in some dialects/colloquial speech.
htio bih / htjela bih – I would like
- Conditional, more polite / indirect.
- Often used in polite requests.

In careful, polite Croatian, htio bih / htjela bih is the safest if you want to sound less direct.

How do I pronounce Želim otkriti rješenje za ovaj zadatak?

Key points:

Ž – like “zh” in English “measure”.
- Želim ≈ ZHE-lim (stress usually on ŽE).
otkriti – o-tkri-ti
- All letters pronounced, no silent consonants.
- tk is a cluster: t
  - k quickly.
rješenje – rje-ŠE-nje
- rj = rolled/flapped r
  - j (like “rye-” then quickly move into e).
- š = “sh” sound.
- The -nje ending is like “nye” (similar to Spanish ñ + e).
za ovaj zadatak – za O-vaj za-DA-tak
- Stress often on O-vaj and DA in zadatak.

Croatian is fairly phonetic: you generally pronounce what you see.

Why doesn’t Croatian use something like “the” or “a” before rješenje and zadatak?

Croatian has no articles (“a,” “an,” “the”).
Specific or general meaning is understood from context, word order, and sometimes demonstratives (ovaj, taj, onaj):

Želim otkriti rješenje za ovaj zadatak.
→ context usually implies “the solution for this task” (a specific one).

If you wanted to stress that it’s this specific solution, you might say:

Želim otkriti upravo to rješenje za ovaj zadatak.
– I want to discover exactly that solution for this task.

Could I drop za ovaj zadatak and still have a correct sentence?

Yes:

Želim otkriti rješenje. – I want to find a/the solution.

This is grammatically fine; it just becomes more general.
za ovaj zadatak specifies what the solution is for.

You can also make it even more specific (with genitive):

Želim otkriti rješenje ovog zadatka. – I want to find the solution to this task/problem.