Danas je sastanak kraći nego jučer.

Je is the 3rd person singular present form of biti (to be).

The sentence has the structure:

Danas je sastanak kraći nego jučer.
= Today the meeting is shorter than yesterday.

Here, sastanak is the subject and kraći is the predicate adjective, so Croatian uses je just like English uses is.

• sastanak je kraći = the meeting is shorter

In standard Croatian, you normally need je here.

Because sastanak is the subject of the sentence, and subjects are usually in the nominative case.

So:

• sastanak = nominative singular
• it answers the question what is shorter?
• sastanak je kraći = the meeting is shorter

If sastanak had another role in the sentence, it might appear in a different case, but here it is simply the thing being described.

Because kraći is the comparative form of kratak.

• kratak = short
• kraći = shorter

The sentence is making a comparison:

• kraći nego jučer = shorter than yesterday

So you need the comparative form, not the basic adjective.

This is one of those adjective changes that learners usually just memorize.

• base form: kratak
• comparative: kraći

The form is not made by simply adding one ending to the whole word. The stem changes:

• kratak → krać-
  • ending

This kind of change is common in Croatian comparatives. So the best approach is to learn:

• dug → duži
• kratak → kraći
• visok → viši

In other words, kraći is a normal comparative form, even though it does not look fully predictable from kratak at first.

Because the adjective must agree with sastanak, which is:

• masculine
• singular
• nominative

So the comparative adjective also appears in masculine singular nominative:

• sastanak je kraći

If the noun were different, the adjective would change too:

• knjiga je kraća = the book is shorter
• pismo je kraće = the letter is shorter

So -i here matches the masculine noun sastanak.

Nego is used to introduce the second part of a comparison, especially in the sense of than.

So:

• kraći nego jučer = shorter than yesterday

In Croatian comparisons, you will often see:

• veći od mene = bigger than me
• bolje nego prije = better than before
• kraći nego jučer = shorter than yesterday

A useful rule of thumb is:

• od is often used before a noun or pronoun
• nego is often used before adverbs, time expressions, or an implied clause

Here jučer is a time adverb, so nego is natural.

Because Croatian often leaves out words that are understood from context.

Literally, kraći nego jučer feels like:

• shorter than yesterday
• but the full idea is something like shorter than it was yesterday or shorter than yesterday’s meeting

Croatian allows this kind of ellipsis very naturally.

So the sentence is short, but the meaning is complete to a native speaker.

Because jučer is an adverb, not a noun.

Adverbs do not decline for case, so jučer stays jučer.

Compare:

• danas = today
• jučer = yesterday
• sutra = tomorrow

These are time adverbs, so they usually keep the same form.

Croatian word order is fairly flexible, and putting danas first gives it emphasis as the time frame.

So:

• Danas je sastanak kraći nego jučer. = emphasis on today
• Sastanak je danas kraći nego jučer. = also correct
• Kraći je danas sastanak nego jučer. = possible, but less neutral

The version with danas first sounds very natural if you want to set the scene with today.

Yes. That is also correct.

Both of these are natural:

• Danas je sastanak kraći nego jučer.
• Sastanak je danas kraći nego jučer.

The difference is mostly emphasis:

• Danas... highlights today
• Sastanak... starts with the topic the meeting

Croatian often changes word order for emphasis, rhythm, or topic-focus reasons.

Because Croatian has no articles like English a or the.

So sastanak can mean:

• a meeting
• the meeting

Context tells you which one is meant.

In this sentence, English would normally say the meeting, but Croatian simply uses sastanak.

It is pronounced roughly like KRAH-chee, but with a soft Croatian ć sound.

Important points:

• kr is pronounced clearly
• a is like a in father
• ć is softer than English ch
• i is like ee

So: kra-ći

Learners often confuse ć and č. In modern speech they may sound similar in some regions, but standard Croatian still treats them as different letters, and you should learn the spelling carefully.

Yes. The main statement is in the present tense:

• Danas je sastanak kraći... = Today the meeting is shorter...

The word jučer just provides the comparison point:

• than yesterday
• more fully: than it was yesterday

So the sentence is present tense overall, with yesterday serving as a past reference for comparison.