Kad je vjetar hladan, nosim kapu i šal.

Kad means when. In this sentence it introduces a time clause: Kad je vjetar hladan = When the wind is cold.

Yes, kad and kada are very close in meaning. Kada is a bit fuller and can sound slightly more formal or careful, while kad is very common in everyday speech.

So you could also say:

Kada je vjetar hladan, nosim kapu i šal.

Both are correct.

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

So the structure is:

• vjetar = wind
• je = is
• hladan = cold

Together: vjetar je hladan = the wind is cold

Because Croatian often allows flexible word order, the clause appears as Kad je vjetar hladan, but the key point is that je is the verb is.

Hladan is the adjective cold, and it agrees with vjetar.

Since vjetar is:

• masculine
• singular
• in the nominative

the adjective also takes the masculine singular nominative form:

• hladan = masculine singular
• compare with hladna for feminine
• and hladno for neuter

So:

• hladan vjetar = cold wind
• hladna kapa = cold hat
• hladno more = cold sea

Vjetar is in the nominative singular.

That is because it is the subject of the clause:

vjetar je hladan = the wind is cold

In Croatian, the subject of a sentence is normally in the nominative case.

A useful thing to notice is that vjetar is a masculine noun whose nominative form ends in -ar.

Croatian does not have articles like English a/an and the.

So:

• vjetar can mean wind, a wind, or the wind
• kapu can mean a hat or the hat
• šal can mean a scarf or the scarf

The exact meaning depends on context.

In this sentence, English often translates it generically: When the wind is cold, I wear a hat and scarf.

Croatian does not need separate article words to express that.

The comma separates the introductory subordinate clause from the main clause.

Structure:

• Kad je vjetar hladan, = subordinate clause
• nosim kapu i šal. = main clause

This is normal Croatian punctuation. In English, you would also usually use a comma when the when clause comes first:

When the wind is cold, I wear a hat and scarf.

Nosim is the 1st person singular present tense of nositi.

Here it means I wear.

So:

• nosim = I wear / I carry, depending on context

In this sentence, because the objects are clothes, it clearly means I wear:

nosim kapu i šal = I wear a hat and a scarf

Because kapu is in the accusative singular.

The verb nositi takes a direct object, and direct objects are often in the accusative.

So:

• nominative: kapa = hat
• accusative: kapu = hat as the object of the verb

Examples:

• Kapa je nova. = The hat is new. → subject, so nominative
• Nosim kapu. = I wear a hat. → object, so accusative

Since kapa is a feminine noun ending in -a, its accusative singular usually changes to -u.

Šal is also the direct object, so it is in the accusative singular. But šal is a masculine inanimate noun, and for masculine inanimate nouns, the accusative singular is usually the same as the nominative singular.

So:

• nominative: šal
• accusative: šal

That is why you get:

nosim kapu i šal

Compare:

• Vidiš stol. = You see a table.
• Imam kapu. = I have a hat.

Masculine inanimate nouns often stay unchanged in the accusative singular, while many feminine nouns change form.

Not necessarily. In this sentence, the present tense expresses a habitual or general action.

So nosim kapu i šal here means something like:

I wear a hat and scarf whenever that situation happens.

It is not limited to right now. Croatian present tense, like English present tense, is often used for general truths, habits, and repeated actions.

Yes, absolutely. That is very natural.

There is a small difference in focus:

• Kad je vjetar hladan = When the wind is cold
  This specifically mentions the wind.

• Kad je hladno = When it is cold
  This talks about the weather/temperature in general.

In everyday Croatian, Kad je hladno, nosim kapu i šal may sound more common if you simply mean cold weather. The original sentence is still correct; it just focuses more specifically on the wind.

A rough pronunciation guide:

• Kad ≈ kahd
• je ≈ yeh
• vjetar ≈ vyetar
• hladan ≈ HLAH-dan
• nosim ≈ NO-sim
• kapu ≈ KAH-poo
• šal ≈ shahl

A few useful points:

• j in Croatian is pronounced like English y in yes
• š is pronounced like English sh
• stress is not usually marked in normal writing, so learners often just imitate native pronunciation from audio

Croatian word order is more flexible than English word order.

The sentence as given is perfectly natural:

Kad je vjetar hladan, nosim kapu i šal.

But Croatian can sometimes move parts around for emphasis, style, or rhythm. For example:

Nosim kapu i šal kad je vjetar hladan.

This still means the same thing: I wear a hat and scarf when the wind is cold.

The version with kad first is very common because it sets up the condition or time frame before the main statement.