Ne volim kad mi netko dodiruje lice.

Ne volim means I do not like / I don’t like.

• volim = I like / I love
• ne = the negation particle not

So:

• volim = I like
• ne volim = I don’t like

This is the 1st person singular present tense of voljeti (to like / to love).

Kad means when.

In this sentence, it introduces a whole clause:

• kad mi netko dodiruje lice = when someone touches my face

So the structure is:

• Ne volim + kad-clause
• I don’t like + when-clause

This is a very common Croatian pattern for saying that you dislike a situation or event:

• Ne volim kad ljudi kasne. = I don’t like when people are late.
• Ne volim kad pada kiša. = I don’t like when it rains.

You can also see kada, which is a slightly fuller form of kad. Both are correct here.

Here mi means to me.

It is the dative form of ja (I), and in this sentence it shows whose face is being touched:

• mi netko dodiruje lice = someone is touching my face
• literally: someone touches the face to me

This is very natural in Croatian. Croatian often uses a dative pronoun instead of a possessive adjective when talking about body parts, clothes, or personal belongings.

Compare:

• Dodiruje mi lice. = He/she is touching my face.
• Pere mi kosu. = He/she is washing my hair.
• Slomio mi je ruku. = He broke my arm.

So Croatian often says something closer to touches me the face rather than touches my face.

It could be moje lice, but it is usually unnecessary here.

Croatian often prefers:

• mi lice rather than moje lice

because the dative pronoun already makes it clear whose face it is.

So:

• Ne volim kad mi netko dodiruje lice. = the most natural everyday phrasing
• Ne volim kad netko dodiruje moje lice. = also correct, but more explicit and a little heavier

Using moje may add emphasis, as if you really want to stress my face.

Netko means someone.

It refers to an unspecified person:

• netko = someone
• neki čovjek = some man / a certain man
• ljudi = people

In this sentence, netko is the subject of dodiruje:

• netko dodiruje lice = someone touches the face

A learner might wonder why it is not nitko. That is because:

• netko = someone
• nitko = nobody / no one

Here the speaker means: I don’t like it when someone touches my face, not I don’t like it when nobody touches my face.

Dodiruje is the imperfective form, and it fits well because the sentence expresses a general/habitual situation.

• dodirivati / dodiruje = to be touching, to touch in a general/repeated sense
• dodirnuti / dodirne = to touch once, to make contact

So:

• Ne volim kad mi netko dodiruje lice. = I don’t like when someone touches my face / when people are touching my face in general
• Ne volim kad mi netko dodirne lice. = I don’t like it when someone touches my face even once / on a particular occasion

Both can be possible, but dodiruje sounds very natural for a general dislike.

Lice is in the accusative singular, because it is the direct object of dodiruje:

• netko dodiruje lice = someone touches the face

The noun lice is a neuter noun, and for many neuter nouns, the nominative and accusative singular look the same.

So:

• nominative: lice = face
• accusative: lice = face

That is why there is no visible change here.

This is because mi is a clitic.

Croatian clitics are short unstressed words that usually appear in the second position of their clause.

So in the clause:

• kad mi netko dodiruje lice

the first element is kad, and the clitic mi comes right after it.

That is why mi comes before netko.

A very literal breakdown is:

• kad = when
• mi = to me
• netko = someone
• dodiruje = touches
• lice = face

This clitic placement is one of the big differences between Croatian and English.

Yes, mostly.

• kad = when
• kada = when

In most everyday situations, they mean the same thing. Kad is shorter and very common in speech. Kada can sound a little more formal or a little more careful, depending on context.

So both are fine:

• Ne volim kad mi netko dodiruje lice.
• Ne volim kada mi netko dodiruje lice.

The first one is especially natural in conversation.

Yes, in many contexts it can feel close to if in English.

Croatian kad often covers situations where English might use:

• when
• whenever
• sometimes even if in a practical sense

Here the meaning is general:

• whenever this happens, I don’t like it

So a natural English understanding could be:

• I don’t like it when someone touches my face.
• I don’t like people touching my face.

Not exactly just right now. It is a general present.

Croatian present tense is often used for:

• habits
• repeated actions
• general truths
• typical situations

So dodiruje here does not mean only is touching right now. It means something more like:

• when someone touches my face
• when people touch my face
• whenever that happens

That is why the Croatian present tense matches English habitual meaning very well here.

In standard Croatian, Ne volim kad... is the more natural choice here.

Using da after ne volim is much less natural for this meaning in Croatian. The kad clause is the normal way to express I don’t like it when...

So for a learner, the best model is:

• Ne volim kad mi netko dodiruje lice.

Yes. A few alternatives are possible, depending on style and nuance:

• Ne volim kad mi netko dira lice.
• Ne volim da mi itko dira lice. — less typical in standard Croatian for this exact structure, but possible in some usage
• Ne volim kad me netko dira po licu.
• Ne volim da me ljudi diraju po licu.

Some notes:

• dirati is a very common everyday verb for touch
• dodirivati / dodiruje can sound a little more neutral or precise
• po licu means on the face / around the face

But the original sentence is completely natural and correct.