U siječnju i veljači u našem gradu često pada kiša, pa vikendom radije ostajemo kod kuće.

Because after the preposition u meaning in (for time expressions like months), Croatian uses the locative case.

So:

• siječanj → u siječnju
• veljača → u veljači

This is the Croatian way to say in January and February.

A learner-friendly pattern is:

• u + locative for months, places, and some time expressions
• u siječnju = in January
• u veljači = in February

So U siječnju i veljači literally means In January and February.

Again, this is because u with a static location usually takes the locative case.

Here the words change like this:

• naš grad = our city
• u našem gradu = in our city

Both words show locative singular:

• naš → našem
• grad → gradu

So the structure is:

• u + locative = in/at a place

Examples:

• u školi = at school / in school
• u kuhinji = in the kitchen
• u našem gradu = in our city

Yes, literally it is rain falls, but that is the normal Croatian way to say it rains or rain is falling.

Croatian often uses a noun with a verb for weather:

• pada kiša = it’s raining / rain falls
• pada snijeg = it’s snowing / snow is falling

English uses the dummy subject it, but Croatian does not need that here. Instead, the actual noun appears:

• kiša = rain
• pada = falls / is falling

So često pada kiša means it often rains.

Često means often, and it usually goes near the verb or near the whole action it describes.

So:

• često pada kiša = it often rains

This word order is very natural in Croatian. Croatian word order is more flexible than English, but this version sounds neutral and normal.

You could also hear other word orders in context, but često pada kiša is the most straightforward one for a learner.

Here pa means something like:

• so
• and so
• therefore
• which is why

It connects the first idea with the result:

• It often rains ... so we prefer to stay home on weekends.

So in this sentence, pa introduces a consequence.

Compare:

• Kiša pada, pa ostajemo kod kuće. = It’s raining, so we stay home.
• Htio sam doći, ali nisam mogao. = I wanted to come, but I couldn’t.

So pa is not but; it shows continuation or result.

Vikendom is the instrumental singular of vikend, but here it is being used adverbially, meaning:

• on weekends
• during the weekend
• at weekends

This is a very common Croatian pattern with time expressions.

So:

• vikendom = on weekends / at weekends

It does not mean just one specific weekend here. Because the sentence is habitual (it often rains, we prefer to stay home), vikendom is understood as on weekends in general.

Similar examples:

• ljeti = in summer
• zimi = in winter
• ujutro = in the morning
• vikendom = on weekends

Radije means rather or preferably, and it is very commonly used to express preference.

So:

• radije ostajemo = we prefer to stay / we’d rather stay

It comes from rado:

• rado = gladly
• radije = rather / more gladly

This is a very natural Croatian way to say prefer when comparing one action to another, even if the second option is only implied.

For example:

• Radije pijem čaj. = I’d rather drink tea.
• Radije ostajemo kod kuće. = We prefer to stay at home.

You could also say više volimo ostati / ostajati, but radije is very idiomatic and often sounds more natural in sentences like this.

Because this sentence describes a habitual, repeated action, not a single completed one.

• ostajemo comes from ostajati = to stay, to remain, to keep staying
  This is imperfective, which is used for repeated or ongoing actions.
• ostanemo comes from ostati = to stay/remain, but as a perfective form it usually refers to a completed event or a single result.

Here the meaning is:

• when it often rains in January and February, we usually prefer to stay home on weekends

That repeated idea calls for the imperfective:

• ostajemo

Very roughly:

• ostajemo = we stay / we keep staying / we tend to stay
• ostanemo = we end up staying / we stay once, as a complete event

Because Croatian verbs usually already show the subject.

• ostajemo = we stay

The ending -mo tells you the subject is we.

So Croatian often leaves out subject pronouns unless they are needed for emphasis or contrast.

For example:

• Ostajemo kod kuće. = We stay at home.
• Mi ostajemo kod kuće. = We are the ones staying at home. / We stay at home.

So the pronoun mi is optional here and would usually be omitted in a neutral sentence.

This is an important difference.

• kod kuće = at home
• u kući = in the house

In this sentence, the meaning is the more general, idiomatic at home, so Croatian uses kod kuće.

This is a fixed and very common expression:

• Ostajem kod kuće. = I’m staying at home.
• Jesi li kod kuće? = Are you at home?

Grammatically, kod takes the genitive case, so:

• kuća → kuće

So:

• kod kuće = at home
• u kući = inside the house/building

It is the genitive singular.

The preposition kod requires the genitive.

So:

• kuća = house, home
• kod kuće = at home

Other examples of kod + genitive:

• kod prijatelja = at a friend’s place
• kod liječnika = at the doctor’s
• kod bake = at grandma’s place

In kod kuće, the phrase is idiomatic and means at home, not literally just by the house.

No. Croatian word order is flexible, but this version is natural and neutral.

This sentence puts the time expression first in the second clause:

• pa vikendom radije ostajemo kod kuće

That gives a smooth flow:

1. result connector: pa
2. time frame: vikendom
3. preference: radije
4. verb: ostajemo
5. location: kod kuće

Other orders may be possible depending on emphasis, for example:

• pa radije vikendom ostajemo kod kuće
• pa ostajemo radije kod kuće vikendom

But these may sound more marked or less natural in a neutral textbook-style sentence. The original order is a very good model to learn from.

It most naturally describes a general or habitual situation.

Several clues show that:

• često = often
• vikendom = on weekends
• present tense pada, ostajemo = used for regular habits

So the sentence means something like:

• In January and February, it often rains in our city, so on weekends we prefer to stay at home.

This is not about one single event. It is about what usually happens.

There is a comma before pa because pa connects two clauses:

1. U siječnju i veljači u našem gradu često pada kiša
2. vikendom radije ostajemo kod kuće

Croatian often uses a comma before conjunctions like pa when joining clauses, especially when the second clause expresses a result.

So the comma helps show the structure:

• first idea: it often rains
• consequence: so we prefer to stay home on weekends

This punctuation is standard and natural here.