Kakav je ovaj film?

What is this movie like?

Breakdown of Kakav je ovaj film?

• biti: to be
• film: movie
• ovaj: this
• kakav: what kind of

Questions & Answers about Kakav je ovaj film?

What does kakav mean here, exactly?

Kakav is an interrogative adjective meaning “what kind of” / “what … like”.

So Kakav je ovaj film? is literally:

• Kakav – what kind of
• je – is
• ovaj film – this film

Literal sense: “What kind of film is this?” → natural English: “What is this film like?” / “How is this film?” (quality)

It’s not just “what” in the sense of što (“what thing”), but “what kind / what sort / what quality”.

Why do we use kakav and not što for “what” here?

Što is a pronoun meaning “what (thing)”, used when there is no noun after it:

• Što radiš? – What are you doing?
• Što gledaš? – What are you watching?

Kakav is an adjective, and it is used with a noun to ask about the type or quality of that noun:

• Kakav film gledaš? – What kind of film are you watching? / What is the film like?

In Kakav je ovaj film?, we’re asking about the quality / nature of this film, so kakav is the correct interrogative word.

Why is it kakav and not kakva or kakvo?

Because kakav must agree with the gender, number, and case of the noun it refers to.

• film is masculine singular in Croatian.
• The demonstrative ovaj is also masculine singular.
• So the question word also must be masculine singular nominative: kakav.

Other forms in the nominative singular would be:

• kakva – feminine (e.g. Kakva je ova knjiga? – What is this book like?)
• kakvo – neuter (e.g. Kakvo je ovo selo? – What is this village like?)

And in the plural:

• kakvi – masculine plural
• kakve – feminine plural
• kakva – neuter plural

So you always match kakav/kakva/kakvo… to the noun.

What’s the difference between kakav and kako? Why not Kako je ovaj film?

• kakav is an adjective: “what kind (of), what … like” – it goes with nouns.
• kako is an adverb: “how” – it goes with verbs, adjectives, or whole situations.

So:

• Kakav je ovaj film? – What kind of film is this? (What is its quality?)
• Kako je? – How is it? (How is it going? How is he/she/it?)

A sentence like Kako je ovaj film? is not wrong in all colloquial speech, but it sounds less standard and less precise. Learners are much better off learning and using:

• Kakav je ovaj film? when asking about the quality of a movie.

What is the function of je here, and why is it in the middle?

Je is the 3rd person singular of the verb biti – “to be”. It is used as a linking verb (“is”) between kakav and ovaj film:

• Kakav — predicate adjective (describing quality)
• je — “is”
• ovaj film — subject (“this film”)

In Croatian, je is a clitic (an unstressed short word) that normally goes in second position in the sentence or clause. Here:

1. First word: Kakav
2. Second position (for clitics): je
3. The rest: ovaj film

That’s why you cannot say:

• ✗ Kakav ovaj film je? – ungrammatical in standard Croatian.

You can change word order for emphasis, but je still tends to stay in early “second position”, e.g.:

• Ovaj je film kakav? – more like an echo/clarification question, unusual in normal conversation.

Can we drop ovaj and just say Kakav je film? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can say Kakav je film?, and it is correct.

Difference in meaning:

• Kakav je film? – “What is the film like?”

  • We assume both speakers already know which film is meant from context.
  • No need to point to it.

• Kakav je ovaj film? – “What is this film like?”

  • You are pointing to this specific film (e.g. the one that’s on TV now, or the one you’re holding the DVD of).
  • ovaj (“this”) makes it explicit that you mean this one here.

What’s the difference between ovaj, taj, and onaj in similar sentences?

These are all demonstratives (this/that), but they show distance (physical or mental):

• ovaj – this (near the speaker)

  • Kakav je ovaj film? – What is this film like? (the one here with me)

• taj – that (near the listener, or mentioned in the conversation)

  • Kakav je taj film? – What is that film like? (the one you saw / the one you mentioned)

• onaj – that (over there / more distant, or mentally distant)

  • Kakav je onaj film? – What is that film like? (the one over there / far away / we’re both thinking of)

So changing ovaj/taj/onaj slightly changes which film you’re referring to.

Why is it ovaj film and not ovo film? I see ovo used for “this” as well.

Ovaj/ova/ovo belong to the same demonstrative paradigm, but:

• ovaj is the masculine singular form, used before masculine nouns:

  • ovaj film – this film
  • ovaj čovjek – this man

• ovo is the neuter form, and often used as an independent pronoun:

  • Ovo je film. – This is a film.
  • Što je ovo? – What is this?

In Kakav je ovaj film?, film is masculine, so you need the masculine form ovaj as an adjective in front of it.

You would use ovo if “this” stood alone as a pronoun:

• Kakav je ovo film? – literally “What kind of film is this (thing here)?”, often with a surprised or disapproving tone.

What grammatical case is ovaj film in here?

Ovaj film is in the nominative singular masculine:

• film – nominative singular (subject)
• ovaj – nominative singular masculine (adjective agreeing with film)

In Kakav je ovaj film?:

• ovaj film is the subject (“this film”)
• kakav is a predicate adjective describing the subject, also in nominative masculine singular.
• je links them.

If you changed the function, you’d change the case:

• Kakvog filma se sjećaš? – What kind of film do you remember? (kakvog and filma are in the genitive)
• Kakav film gledaš? – What kind of film are you watching? (film in accusative, but identical in form to nominative for masculine inanimate nouns).

How would you typically answer Kakav je ovaj film?

Common answers use adjectives, optionally with je:

• Dobar je. – It’s good.
• Jako je dobar. – It’s very good.
• Dosadan je. – It’s boring.
• Super je. – It’s great.
• Ovaj je film odličan. – This film is excellent.

You can also answer with just the adjective in speech:

• Dobar. – (It’s) good.

Notice that the adjective in the answer usually agrees with film (masculine singular): dobar, loš, dosadan, zanimljiv, etc.

Is Kakav je ovaj film? always a neutral question, or can it be emotional/rhetorical?

In this exact form, with a question mark and neutral intonation, it’s usually a genuine information question:

• Kakav je ovaj film? – What is this film like? (Have you seen it? Is it good?)

But very similar structures can be exclamations:

• Kakav je ovo film?! – What kind of film is this?! (usually surprised, negative or mocking)
• Kakav film! – What a film! (can be positive or negative, depending on context)

So:

• Kakav je ovaj film? → normally neutral question.
• Kakav je ovo film?! → often exasperated or emotional comment, not really asking for information.

Can I omit je and just say Kakav ovaj film?

In standard Croatian, you should not omit je here. The proper full sentence is:

• Kakav je ovaj film?

Without je, Kakav ovaj film? sounds like an elliptical fragment, something you might see in very casual speech or writing, but it is not a complete standard sentence.

You can have exclamatory fragments like:

• Kakav film! – What a film!

But for a normal, full question, keep je:

• Kakav je ovaj film? ✔️

How is Kakav je ovaj film? different from Koji je ovo film?

They ask two different things:

• Kakav je ovaj film? – What is this film like?

  • Asking about quality, type, impression (good, bad, scary, funny, etc.).

• Koji je ovo film? – Which film is this? / What film is this?

  • Asking for identity (the title or name):
    
    • Koji je ovo film? – Jurassic Park.

So:

• kakav – asks about quality / nature.
• koji – asks about which one / which title / which specific movie.