Breakdown of Nemoj tako glasno pričati u knjižnici.
Questions & Answers about Nemoj tako glasno pričati u knjižnici.
Why does the sentence start with nemoj? Does it just mean don’t?
Yes. Nemoj is the usual way to say don’t when giving a command to one person in Croatian.
In this sentence:
- Nemoj ... pričati = Don’t talk ...
Croatian commonly forms a negative command like this:
- nemoj + infinitive = don’t + verb
Examples:
- Nemoj kasniti. = Don’t be late.
- Nemoj vikati. = Don’t shout.
For plural or formal you, Croatian uses nemojte:
- Nemojte tako glasno pričati u knjižnici.
Why is it pričati, not a form like pričaš or pričaj?
Because after nemoj, Croatian normally uses the infinitive.
So:
- nemoj pričati = don’t talk
not:
- nemoj pričaš ❌
You may also hear another negative command pattern:
- Ne pričaj! = Don’t talk!
So both are possible in Croatian:
- Nemoj pričati!
- Ne pričaj!
But in your sentence, the structure is:
- nemoj + infinitive
- nemoj tako glasno pričati
What exactly does pričati mean here? Is it the same as govoriti?
Here pričati means to talk or to speak in a general conversational sense.
It overlaps a lot with govoriti, and in many situations either can work. But there is often a slight difference:
- pričati = to talk, chat, tell, speak in a more conversational way
- govoriti = to speak, say, talk; often a bit broader or more neutral
So:
- Nemoj tako glasno pričati sounds very natural for Don’t talk so loudly
- Nemoj tako glasno govoriti is also possible and means nearly the same thing
What does tako glasno mean, and why is glasno not glasan?
Tako glasno means so loudly or that loudly.
- tako = so, that way
- glasno = loudly
The reason it is glasno and not glasan is that here Croatian needs an adverb, because it is describing how someone is talking.
Compare:
- glasan = loud (adjective, describes a noun)
- glasno = loudly (adverb, describes a verb)
Examples:
- glasan čovjek = a loud man
- glasno pričati = to talk loudly
So in your sentence, glasno modifies pričati.
Is tako always translated as so?
Not always. Tako can mean several related things depending on context:
- so
- like that
- that way
In this sentence, tako glasno most naturally means:
- so loudly
- that loudly
So the full sense is:
- Don’t talk so loudly in the library. or
- Don’t talk that loudly in the library.
Why is it u knjižnici? What case is knjižnici?
Knjižnici is in the locative case.
The preposition u can take different cases depending on meaning:
- u + locative = in/at a place, when there is no movement
- u + accusative = into a place, when there is movement toward it
Here the meaning is location, not movement:
- u knjižnici = in the library
Base form:
- knjižnica = library
Locative singular:
- u knjižnici
Compare:
- Ja sam u knjižnici. = I am in the library.
- Idem u knjižnicu. = I am going into/to the library.
Why does knjižnica become knjižnici?
Because knjižnica is a feminine noun ending in -a, and in the locative singular that ending usually changes to -i.
So:
- nominative: knjižnica
- locative: u knjižnici
This is a very common pattern for feminine nouns:
- škola → u školi
- soba → u sobi
- ulica → u ulici
So knjižnica → knjižnici follows a regular pattern.
Is this sentence addressed to one person or more than one person?
It is addressed to one person, informally.
That is because of nemoj, which is the singular informal form.
If you were speaking to:
- more than one person, or
- one person formally
you would usually say:
- Nemojte tako glasno pričati u knjižnici.
So:
- nemoj = don’t ... (one person, informal)
- nemojte = don’t ... (plural or formal)
Could I also say Ne pričaj tako glasno u knjižnici?
Yes, absolutely. That is also natural Croatian.
Compare:
- Nemoj tako glasno pričati u knjižnici.
- Ne pričaj tako glasno u knjižnici.
Both mean essentially the same thing:
- Don’t talk so loudly in the library.
The first uses:
- nemoj + infinitive
The second uses:
- ne + imperative
Both are common. Learners often meet nemoj + infinitive early because it is very straightforward and widely used.
Is the word order fixed? Could the sentence be arranged differently?
Croatian word order is fairly flexible, though some orders sound more natural than others.
The neutral version is:
- Nemoj tako glasno pričati u knjižnici.
You could also hear:
- Nemoj pričati tako glasno u knjižnici.
- U knjižnici nemoj tako glasno pričati.
These alternatives change the emphasis slightly:
Nemoj tako glasno pričati u knjižnici.
neutral, naturalU knjižnici nemoj tako glasno pričati.
emphasizes in the library
So the exact order can shift, but the original sentence is a very natural standard version.
How do you pronounce pričati and knjižnici?
A rough pronunciation guide:
- pričati ≈ pree-cha-tee
- knjižnici ≈ knee-zhnee-tsee or knyee-zhnee-tsee
A few useful sound notes:
- č sounds like ch in church
- ž sounds like the s in measure
- nj is like ny in canyon
So:
- pričati → pri-ča-ti
- knjižnici → knji-žni-ci
You do not need perfect pitch accent to be understood; getting the consonants roughly right is much more important at first.
Can I say biblioteka instead of knjižnica?
Sometimes yes, but knjižnica is the standard Croatian word for library.
- knjižnica = standard Croatian
- biblioteka = understood, but less standard in Croatian everyday usage
So in standard Croatian, this sentence is best as:
- Nemoj tako glasno pričati u knjižnici.
Is glasno pričati a common expression?
Yes, very common.
Croatian often uses:
- glasno = loudly
- tiho = quietly
with verbs like:
- pričati = talk
- govoriti = speak
- pjevati = sing
Examples:
- Priča glasno. = He/She talks loudly.
- Govorite tiho. = Speak quietly.
- Nemoj tako glasno pričati. = Don’t talk so loudly.
So this sentence sounds very natural and idiomatic.
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