Što se madraca tiče, ovaj je skuplji, ali mnogo udobniji.

Yes. Što se + genitive + tiče is a very common Croatian expression meaning:

• as for ...
• when it comes to ...
• as far as ... is concerned

So Što se madraca tiče means something like as for the mattress or when it comes to the mattress.

A very literal breakdown is:

• što = what
• se tiče = concerns / touches on
• madraca = of the mattress

But you should learn the whole phrase as a set expression rather than translating it word by word every time.

Examples:

• Što se cijene tiče... = As for the price...
• Što se kvalitete tiče... = As for the quality...
• Što se mene tiče... = As far as I’m concerned...

Because the expression što se ... tiče requires the genitive case.

The noun madrac is masculine singular, and its genitive singular form is madraca.

So:

• nominative: madrac
• genitive: madraca

This is one of the most important things to remember about the phrase:

• Što se + genitive + tiče

More examples:

• Što se automobila tiče...
• Što se kuće tiče...
• Što se djece tiče...

So madraca is there because the grammar of the expression demands it.

Se is a clitic, and it is part of the fixed expression ticati se / ticalo se, which relates to concerning or as for in this structure.

In modern usage, što se X tiče is best treated as one whole pattern. You do not usually need to analyze se separately in a practical way; just remember that it belongs there.

So learners should memorize:

• što se ... tiče

not:

• što ... tiče

because without se, it would not be the normal expression.

Because Croatian clitics like je usually go in the second position of the clause.

Here, the first element is ovaj, so the clitic je comes right after it:

• Ovaj je skuplji.

This is normal Croatian word order.

Compare:

• Ovaj je dobar.
• On je umoran.
• To je skupo.

English speakers often expect je to behave like English is, but Croatian clitics follow different placement rules.

Yes, the noun is omitted because it is understood from context.

Ovaj literally means this, but here it works like this one in English. Since madrac was already mentioned, Croatian does not need to repeat it.

So:

• ovaj je skuplji = this one is more expensive

If you wanted to say the noun explicitly, you could say:

• Ovaj madrac je skuplji, ali mnogo udobniji.

Croatian often leaves out a repeated noun when it is already clear.

They are comparative adjectives.

• skup = expensive

• skuplji = more expensive

• udoban = comfortable
• udobniji = more comfortable

Croatian comparatives are often formed with endings like:

• -ji
• -iji

but the stem may also change a little, as in:

• skup → skuplji

So you should learn the comparative form together with the basic adjective when possible.

A few examples:

• brz → brži = faster
• lijep → ljepši = more beautiful
• udoban → udobniji = more comfortable

Because Croatian often omits repeated elements when they are understood.

The full structure would be something like:

• Ovaj je skuplji, ali je mnogo udobniji.

But the second je is commonly left out:

• Ovaj je skuplji, ali mnogo udobniji.

This is completely natural. English does something similar sometimes, but Croatian does it very comfortably in this kind of parallel structure.

Here mnogo means much or a lot, so:

• mnogo udobniji = much more comfortable

Yes, puno is also very common in everyday speech, and many speakers would say:

• puno udobniji

Both are natural, though mnogo can sound a bit more neutral or standard in some contexts.

Other intensifiers are also possible, depending on style:

• znatno udobniji = significantly more comfortable
• daleko udobniji = far more comfortable

In standard Croatian, što is the normal form here.

You may hear šta in some regional speech or in neighboring standards, but in standard Croatian this expression is:

• Što se ... tiče

So for learners of standard Croatian, što is the form to use.

Yes. Even though madrac is not repeated in the second part of the sentence, those words still agree with it.

Madrac is:

• masculine
• singular

So the forms are also masculine singular:

• ovaj
• skuplji
• udobniji

If the noun were feminine, the forms would change. For example with stolica:

• Ova je skuplja, ali mnogo udobnija.

If it were plural:

• Ovi su skuplji, ali mnogo udobniji.

So the agreement is still there even when the noun is omitted.

Yes, absolutely.

That version is more explicit because it repeats the noun:

• Ovaj madrac je skuplji, ali mnogo udobniji.

The original sentence avoids repetition by first introducing the topic with Što se madraca tiče and then using ovaj on its own.

Both are natural, but they do slightly different things:

• Što se madraca tiče... sets up the topic more clearly.
• Ovaj madrac je... is more direct and straightforward.

It is generally neutral and very usable in both speech and writing.

It is not extremely formal, but it is also not slangy. You can use it in:

• conversation
• reviews
• comparisons
• emails
• more careful written language

There are other ways to express a similar idea:

• Kad je riječ o madracu... = when it comes to the mattress...
• Što se tiče madraca... = as for the mattress...

That last version is especially worth noting: many learners will also encounter Što se tiče + genitive, where the noun comes after tiče. Both patterns are used.