Što se voća tiče, danas kupujem samo kruške i breskve.

It is a very common Croatian expression meaning as for fruit, when it comes to fruit, or regarding fruit.

Literally, it is something like what concerns fruit, but in natural English you would usually translate it with a phrase like:

• As for fruit...
• When it comes to fruit...
• As far as fruit is concerned...

So the sentence structure is:

• Što se voća tiče = as for fruit
• danas kupujem samo kruške i breskve = today I’m buying only pears and peaches

Because the expression što se tiče requires the genitive case.

The base form is:

• voće = fruit

But after što se tiče, it becomes:

• voća = of fruit / concerning fruit

So:

• Što se voća tiče = as for fruit

This is something you mostly just learn as a pattern:

• što se + genitive + tiče

For example:

• Što se vremena tiče... = as for the weather...
• Što se posla tiče... = as for work...
• Što se mene tiče... = as far as I’m concerned...

Tiče is from the verb ticati se, which means to concern or to relate to.

In this expression:

• što se voća tiče

the verb is in the 3rd person singular present:

• (ono) se tiče = it concerns

But in practice, the whole phrase is best learned as a fixed expression:

• što se tiče = as for / regarding / when it comes to

So even though it can be analyzed grammatically, learners usually benefit from memorizing it as one unit.

Se is the reflexive particle that belongs to the verb ticati se.

Some Croatian verbs are naturally used with se, and ticati se is one of them. So you should learn the verb together with se:

• ticati se = to concern, to relate to

That means you say:

• Što se voća tiče...
• not Što voća tiče...

In other words, se is not optional here.

Because Što se voća tiče is an introductory topic phrase.

It sets the topic first:

• As for fruit, ...

Then the main statement follows:

• danas kupujem samo kruške i breskve

So the comma works much like it does in English after an introductory phrase.

In Croatian, the present tense is often used for actions happening now, around now, or today, just like in English.

So:

• danas kupujem = today I’m buying / today I buy

In natural English, I’m buying is often the best translation here.

The verb kupujem is the 1st person singular present of kupovati, an imperfective verb meaning to buy.

Because kupujem comes from kupovati (imperfective), while kupim comes from kupiti (perfective).

Very roughly:

• kupovati / kupujem = buying, in the process of buying, habitual buying
• kupiti / kupim = buy, complete the purchase

In a sentence like this, where someone is simply saying what they are buying today, kupujem sounds natural.

So:

• Danas kupujem samo kruške i breskve. = Today I’m buying only pears and peaches.

A perfective form would usually have a slightly different feel and is not the neutral choice here.

They are in the accusative plural, because they are the direct objects of kupujem:

• kupujem što? = I am buying what?
• kruške i breskve = pears and peaches

For these nouns, the accusative plural looks the same as the nominative plural.

Singular:

• kruška = pear
• breskva = peach

Plural:

• kruške = pears
• breskve = peaches

As objects after kupujem, these plural forms stay:

• kupujem kruške
• kupujem breskve

Because in Croatian, for inanimate nouns, the accusative plural is the same as the nominative plural.

Both kruške and breskve are inanimate nouns, so:

• nominative plural: kruške, breskve
• accusative plural: kruške, breskve

That is why the direct object form does not change here.

Samo means only.

Here it most naturally modifies the fruit being bought:

• danas kupujem samo kruške i breskve
• today I’m buying only pears and peaches

So the idea is: among fruit, the only things being bought are pears and peaches.

Word placement in Croatian can shift a bit for emphasis, but here samo clearly limits kruške i breskve.

Yes. Croatian word order is more flexible than English word order, although different orders can sound more or less natural depending on emphasis.

The given sentence is very natural:

• Što se voća tiče, danas kupujem samo kruške i breskve.

But you could also hear variations like:

• Danas, što se voća tiče, kupujem samo kruške i breskve.
• Samo kruške i breskve danas kupujem, što se voća tiče.

These alternatives change the focus or sound more marked. For a learner, the original sentence is the best neutral model.

Voće is grammatically singular, but it has a collective meaning: fruit in general.

So it works a bit like English fruit when we mean the category as a whole, not individual pieces.

• voće = fruit
• voća = genitive singular of voće

If you want to talk about specific kinds or pieces, Croatian often uses other structures, but here voće means fruit in general as a category.

That is why the sentence says:

• Što se voća tiče = as for fruit

not a plural form meaning fruits.

Što is the standard form in Croatian here.

You may hear šta in some regional or colloquial speech, but in standard Croatian:

• što = what

So the expression is standardly:

• Što se tiče...

That is the form learners should use.

Yes, that is a very good idea.

Even though it can be explained word by word, it functions as a very common set phrase. If you memorize:

• Što se + genitive + tiče

you will be able to use it easily in many situations:

• Što se škole tiče... = as for school...
• Što se novca tiče... = as for money...
• Što se mene tiče... = as far as I’m concerned...

This is more useful than trying to build it from scratch every time.

A careful pronunciation guide would be roughly:

• Što = shto
• se = seh
• voća = VO-cha
• tiče = TEE-cheh
• danas = DAH-nahs
• kupujem = KOO-poo-yehm
• samo = SAH-moh
• kruške = KROOSH-keh
• i = ee
• breskve = BRESK-veh

A few important sounds:

• š sounds like sh in shoe
• č sounds like ch in church
• j sounds like y in yes

Croatian spelling is quite regular, so once you know the sound values, pronunciation becomes much easier.

Yes. It is the same structure.

• Što se mene tiče = as far as I’m concerned
• literally: as for me / concerning me

Here mene is the genitive form of ja after što se tiče.

So the pattern is very productive:

• Što se voća tiče = as for fruit
• Što se mene tiče = as far as I’m concerned
• Što se toga tiče = as for that / regarding that

Yes, three very useful things:

1. Learn što se tiče as a fixed expression meaning as for / regarding.
2. Remember that it takes the genitive:
   • voće → voća
3. Notice that direct objects like kruške i breskve are in the accusative plural, which here looks the same as the nominative plural.

So this one sentence gives you a very useful conversational pattern plus a nice case example.