Learn Hardcore Croatian: Čini mi se da je hrvatski lakši danas. - It seems to me that Croatian is easier today.

čini = (it) does / makes / seems – 3rd person singular of činiti
mi = to me (dative of ja)
se = reflexive pronoun that helps form the impersonal “it seems” type of expression

So the structure is:

Čini se = it seems (impersonal)
Čini mi se = it seems to me / it feels to me

In this sentence, it introduces your personal impression about the statement da je hrvatski lakši danas (that Croatian is easier today).

Why is mi used, and what case is it in?

mi here is the dative form of ja (I).

Croatian uses the dative case to express “to someone” as the experiencer of a feeling, opinion, or impression. So:

ja (I) → mi (to me)
čini mi se → it seems to me

This is similar to other Croatian verbs and expressions that take a dative experiencer:

Meni je hladno. = I am cold. (literally: To me is cold.)
Njemu se sviđa film. = He likes the movie. (literally: The movie pleases itself to him.)

So mi is not a subject; it is an indirect object: the person to whom something seems.

What is se doing in čini mi se? Is it necessary?

se is a reflexive pronoun used to form impersonal or reflexive constructions.

In čini se, se helps create an impersonal “it seems / it appears” meaning. Without se, činiti is usually “to do, to make” in a more concrete sense:

On čini dobro. = He does good.
Čini se. = It seems.

When you add mi:

Čini mi se. = It seems to me.

Yes, se is necessary in this idiomatic expression. If you dropped se, Čini mi would sound incomplete or like you’re missing a direct object (e.g. He does something for me), not “It seems to me.”

Who is the grammatical subject in Čini mi se da je hrvatski lakši danas?

Grammatically, the sentence is impersonal in the main clause:

There is no explicit subject like “it” in Croatian.
čini se functions a bit like English “it seems” but without a real subject word.

You can think of it as:

[Impersonal] čini mi se = It seems to me
da je hrvatski lakši danas = that Croatian is easier today

The actual content of what “seems” is carried by the da-clause, not by a separate subject noun in the main clause.

Why do we say da je hrvatski lakši danas and not just hrvatski je lakši danas after čini mi se?

After verbs of perception, thinking, or saying (like čini mi se, mislim, znam, kažem), Croatian very often uses a da-clause:

Čini mi se da je hrvatski lakši danas.
Mislim da je to istina.
Znam da je on doma.

This da works like “that” introducing a subordinate clause:

da je hrvatski lakši danas = that Croatian is easier today

You can say:

Hrvatski je lakši danas.

but that would be a separate sentence, just a statement on its own, not directly embedded under čini mi se.

Saying:

Čini mi se, hrvatski je lakši danas.

is possible in speech (with a pause), but grammatically that’s “It seems to me – Croatian is easier today.” (two units), whereas:

Čini mi se da je hrvatski lakši danas.

is one integrated sentence.

Can I change the word order to Čini se mi or Čini se da hrvatski je lakši danas?

Čini se mi – sounds wrong.
Croatian has strict rules about the placement of short pronouns (clitics) like se, mi, je, ga, ih.
In a simple clause, they tend to stand right after the first stressed word, in a fixed order.
In Čini mi se:
- Čini (stressed)
- mi se (clitics)
Changing it to Čini se mi breaks the natural clitic order and sounds ungrammatical in standard Croatian.
Čini se da hrvatski je lakši danas – also not natural in standard Croatian.
Inside the da-clause, the verb je (is) is also a clitic and usually does not come right after the subject in this kind of sentence. The natural order here is:
- da je hrvatski lakši danas

So the good variants are:

Čini mi se da je hrvatski lakši danas.
Danas mi se čini da je hrvatski lakši. (different emphasis, but grammatical)

Why is there no word for “the” in hrvatski? Shouldn’t it be “the Croatian”?

Croatian does not have articles like “a” or “the”. The noun hrvatski (here: Croatian [language]) stands on its own.

Context usually tells you whether English should use “the”, “a”, or no article at all. So:

hrvatski can mean “Croatian”, “the Croatian language”, or “Croatian (as a language)”, depending on context.

In this sentence, hrvatski is understood as “(the) Croatian (language)”.

Why is lakši used and not lakše or something like više lako?

lakši is the comparative form of the adjective lak (easy):

lak = easy
lakši = easier

Croatian usually forms the comparative of adjectives by changing the ending, not by adding something like više (more) the way English says “more easy” (which is already unusual in English).

Also:

lakši (adjective) agrees with hrvatski (masculine singular noun).
lakše can be:
- the neuter singular form of the same adjective, or
- an adverb (“more easily”).

Here you’re describing the language as easier (an adjective), not how someone does something (an adverb), so lakši is correct:

hrvatski je lakši = Croatian is easier (as a language)
Govori hrvatski lakše. = He speaks Croatian more easily. (adverb)

Why does lakši look masculine? What would change for feminine or plural?

Adjectives in Croatian agree in gender, number, and case with the noun they describe.

hrvatski (language) is grammatically masculine singular, so:
- lak (easy, masc. sg.)
- lakši (easier, masc. sg.)

If you change the subject, the adjective changes:

Gramatika je lakša danas.
The grammar is easier today. (feminine singular)
Pravila su lakša danas.
The rules are easier today. (neuter plural: pravila)
Lekcije su lakše danas.
The lessons are easier today. (feminine plural: lekcije, so lakše)

In the original sentence, lakši matches hrvatski (masculine singular).

Why is danas at the end? Can it go somewhere else?

Yes, danas (today) can move, and word order mainly affects emphasis, not grammar.

All of these are grammatically fine, with slightly different focus:

Čini mi se da je hrvatski lakši danas.
Neutral, slight emphasis on “today” as the time when it feels easier.
Danas mi se čini da je hrvatski lakši.
Stronger emphasis on “today” (Today, it seems to me that Croatian is easier.)
Čini mi se danas da je hrvatski lakši.
Also possible; danas is tied more closely to čini mi se (It seems to me today that...).

In everyday speech, putting danas at the end, as in the original sentence, is very natural and common.

What’s the difference between Čini mi se da je hrvatski lakši danas and Čini se da je hrvatski lakši danas?

Čini mi se da je hrvatski lakši danas.
= It seems to me that Croatian is easier today.
You explicitly mark that this is your personal impression (mi).
Čini se da je hrvatski lakši danas.
= It seems that Croatian is easier today.
This sounds more impersonal or general, as if based on general observation, not clearly tied to one person.

Both are correct; adding mi makes it explicitly subjective.