Breakdown of Ne želim odgoditi šišanje, jer mi je kosa preduga.
Questions & Answers about Ne želim odgoditi šišanje, jer mi je kosa preduga.
In Croatian, ne is normally written as a separate word before the verb: ne + verb → Ne želim (I don’t want).
It only “merges” in a few fixed cases (historically/lexically), e.g. nemam (I don’t have), neću (I won’t), nisam (I’m not).
Želim is 1st person singular present of željeti (to want). Croatian verb endings often make the subject clear, so the pronoun ja (I) is usually omitted unless you want emphasis:
- (Ja) želim = I want
- (Ja) ne želim = I don’t want
After verbs like željeti (to want), Croatian commonly uses the infinitive to express what you want to do:
- Želim otići. = I want to leave.
So Ne želim odgoditi means I don’t want to postpone.
They’re an aspect pair:
- odgoditi = perfective (one completed act: postpone it once / postpone it successfully)
- odgađati = imperfective (process/repetition: keep postponing / be postponing)
In this sentence, odgoditi fits the idea of a single decision: not to postpone (this time).
šišanje is a verbal noun meaning haircut / hair cutting (the act/event). Croatian often uses this kind of noun where English might use a gerund or a phrase:
- odgoditi šišanje = postpone the haircut / postpone getting my hair cut
Related forms you might see: - šišati (se) = to cut (one’s hair) / to get a haircut
- šišanje kose = cutting hair (more explicit)
Both can mean because:
- jer is very common, neutral, and slightly more “everyday” in many contexts.
- zato što is also standard and often feels a bit more explicit/longer.
Here, jer mi je kosa preduga could be replaced by zato što mi je kosa preduga with little change in meaning.
mi is the dative clitic meaning to me / for me, and je is is (3rd person singular of biti, to be).
Croatian often expresses “I have X (in a certain state)” as “X is (to me)”:
- Kosa mi je preduga. = literally Hair to-me is too long.
The order mi je is typical clitic placement: short unstressed words (clitics) come early in the clause, usually after the first “chunk.”
Croatian often doesn’t need a possessive when it’s obvious whose body part it is, especially with dative like mi:
- Kosa mi je preduga. = My hair is too long.
You can add a possessive for emphasis/contrast:
- Moja kosa mi je preduga. = My hair is too long (specifically mine).
kosa is feminine singular, and adjectives agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.
So you get:
- predug (masc sg)
- preduga (fem sg)
- predugo (neut sg)
Here: kosa (fem sg) → preduga.
pre- is a common prefix meaning too / excessively.
- duga = long
- preduga = too long
Similarly:
- velik = big → prevelik = too big
- kasno = late → prekasno = too late
Yes. Croatian word order is flexible. Both are correct:
- Ne želim odgoditi šišanje, jer mi je kosa preduga. (main clause first)
- Jer mi je kosa preduga, ne želim odgoditi šišanje. (reason first; can feel slightly more “set-up”)
The comma with jer is standard when it introduces a subordinate clause after the main clause, as here.
Key sounds:
- ž (as in želim) ≈ the s in measure / vision (voiced “zh” sound)
- š (as in šišanje) ≈ sh in ship
- j (as in jer) ≈ English y in yes
- g (as in odgoditi) is hard g like go (not like giant)
Rough guide:
- Ne želim ≈ neh zhe-lim
- šišanje ≈ shee-sha-nye (Croatian nj would be ny, but note: šišanje is nje? actually it’s nje nowhere here—so it’s more like shee-sha-nye only if you’re hearing the final -nje; in šišanje it’s -nje? It’s -nje in spelling? It’s šišanje (no nj), so: shee-sha-nyeh is misleading—better: shee-sha-nye is not accurate. More accurately: ši-ša-nje with je = yeh sound.)