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Taksi je skuplji od vlaka.

Taksi je skuplji od vlaka.
A taxi is more expensive than the train.

Breakdown of Taksi je skuplji od vlaka.

biti
to be
od
than
vlak
train
taksi
taxi
skuplji
more expensive
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Questions & Answers about Taksi je skuplji od vlaka.

Why does it say skuplji and not skup?

Because skuplji is the comparative form of the adjective skup (expensive). Croatian often forms comparatives with -ji / -iji (with some sound changes), so:

  • skup → skuplji (more expensive)
Why is it skuplji (ending in -i)—what does it agree with?

Adjectives in Croatian agree with the noun they describe in gender, number, and case. Here the adjective describes taksi, which is treated as masculine singular nominative, so you use:

  • skuplji = masculine singular nominative

If the subject were feminine, you’d get:

  • Kava je skuplja od čaja. (Coffee is more expensive than tea.)
Why is it od vlaka and not od vlak?

Because the preposition od (from / than) requires the genitive case. So vlak (nominative) becomes vlaka (genitive):

  • vlak (N) → vlaka (G)

This is standard for comparisons: X je [comparative] od + genitive.

Does od literally mean than here? I thought it meant from.

Yes—od can mean from, but it’s also commonly used to mean than in comparisons:

  • skuplji od = more expensive than
  • brži od = faster than
  • veći od = bigger than

So it’s the same word, different (very common) use.

Can I also use nego instead of od?

Often yes, but the structure changes:

  • od + genitive: Taksi je skuplji od vlaka.
  • nego + nominative (very common in everyday speech): Taksi je skuplji nego vlak.

Both are widely used; od + genitive is especially common and very standard.

What case is taksi in, and does it decline?

Here taksi is in the nominative (it’s the subject: The taxi...). The word taksi is typically indeclinable in modern usage (it often stays taksi in all cases), though you may occasionally see declined forms in some contexts or older usage. For learners, treating it as not changing is usually safe.

What does je mean, and can it be omitted?

je is the present tense of biti (to be) for he/she/it = is. In the present tense, Croatian often omits forms of to be, especially in informal speech:

  • Taksi je skuplji od vlaka. (neutral/standard)
  • Taksi skuplji od vlaka. (more casual, shortened)

Including je is always correct and often clearer for learners.

Why is the word order Taksi je skuplji od vlaka—can it change?

Croatian word order is fairly flexible because meaning is largely shown by endings/cases. This sentence can be rearranged for emphasis, e.g.:

  • Taksi je skuplji od vlaka. (neutral)
  • Skuplji je taksi od vlaka. (emphasis on skuplji)
  • Od vlaka je taksi skuplji. (contrast/emphasis on vlak)

The neutral, most common phrasing is the one given.

How do I pronounce skuplji? That plj looks tricky.

plj is a single “soft” consonant sound (similar to the lli in some pronunciations of million, but Croatian is more consistent). Roughly:

  • skuplji ≈ SKOOP-lyee (very approximate)

It’s basically p followed immediately by lj (the Croatian soft L sound).

Is vlak always the word for train? I’ve also seen voz.

In standard Croatian, vlak is train. Voz is more typical in Serbian and some other regional varieties, though you may still encounter it. In Croatia, vlak is the default and most expected word.

How would I say The taxi is much more expensive than the train?

A common way is to add an intensifier:

  • Taksi je puno skuplji od vlaka. (much more expensive) You can also hear:
  • Taksi je znatno skuplji od vlaka. (significantly more expensive)
How do I make it The taxi is the most expensive?

You use the superlative (often with naj-):

  • Taksi je najskuplji. (The taxi is the most expensive.)

If you want of all / among them, you can add:

  • Taksi je najskuplji od svih. (the most expensive of all)