Ne mogu naći prekidač za svjetlo u hodniku.

Because in standard Croatian, ne is usually written separately from the verb:

• ne mogu = I cannot
• ne znam = I do not know
• ne vidim = I do not see

So ne mogu is the correct spelling.

A learner may notice a few forms that are written differently in Croatian, but with mogu, the negative is definitely ne mogu.

Mogu is the 1st person singular present tense of moći = to be able / can.

So:

• ja mogu = I can
• ti možeš = you can
• on/ona može = he/she can

In Ne mogu naći..., it literally means I am not able to find..., which is the normal Croatian way to say I can’t find...

Naći means to find.

In this sentence, it appears after mogu, because Croatian uses an infinitive after modal verbs, just like English uses can + find:

• mogu naći = can find
• ne mogu naći = cannot find

A useful extra point: naći is generally a perfective verb, meaning it points to successfully finding something as a completed result. In everyday speech, Ne mogu naći... is still a very normal and natural way to say I can’t find...

A close alternative is:

• Ne mogu pronaći...

which is slightly more formal or emphatic, but very similar in meaning.

Because Croatian has no articles like a/an/the.

So:

• prekidač can mean a switch or the switch
• hodnik can mean a hallway or the hallway

You understand whether it means a or the from context.

So prekidač za svjetlo literally looks like switch for light, but in natural English it becomes the light switch or a light switch, depending on context.

Literally, it is:

• prekidač = switch
• za = for
• svjetlo = light

So word-for-word it is switch for light.

In normal English, that is simply light switch.

This is a very common Croatian pattern:

• čaša za vodu = glass for water
• stol za blagovanje = dining table / literally table for dining
• prekidač za svjetlo = light switch

The preposition za often takes the accusative case, and here svjetlo is the accusative form.

The noun is:

• nominative: svjetlo
• accusative: svjetlo

Because svjetlo is a neuter noun, the nominative and accusative singular are the same, so the form does not change.

So:

• prekidač za svjetlo = switch for the light / light switch

A learner may expect a different ending, but in this case there is no visible change.

Because u hodniku expresses location: in the hallway.

With u, Croatian often uses:

• locative for being somewhere
• accusative for motion toward somewhere

So:

• u hodniku = in the hallway → location
• u hodnik = into the hallway → movement

In your sentence, the speaker is saying where the switch is supposed to be, not moving into the hallway, so u hodniku is correct.

The basic form is hodnik = hallway / corridor.

In the sentence, it becomes hodniku, which is the locative singular after u when talking about location:

• hodnik → basic dictionary form
• u hodniku = in the hallway

This is a very common masculine noun pattern:

• grad → u gradu = in the city
• park → u parku = in the park
• hodnik → u hodniku = in the hallway

Yes. Croatian word order is more flexible than English word order.

The neutral version is:

• Ne mogu naći prekidač za svjetlo u hodniku.

But you could also hear variations such as:

• Prekidač za svjetlo ne mogu naći u hodniku.
• U hodniku ne mogu naći prekidač za svjetlo.

These can sound slightly different in emphasis:

• sentence-initial U hodniku... emphasizes the location
• sentence-initial Prekidač za svjetlo... emphasizes the object

Still, the original version is natural and straightforward.

A few pronunciation points that often help learners:

• ć in naći is a soft sound, somewhat like a very soft ch/t sound
• naći is roughly NA-chee, but softer than English ch
• svj in svjetlo can feel tricky for English speakers
• svjetlo is roughly SVYE-tlo

Also note:

• lj is a single Croatian sound, but it does not appear in this sentence
• u hodniku has stress and rhythm that may be easier if practiced as a chunk: u-hod-ni-ku

If exact pronunciation matters for you, it is often best to learn the whole sentence as one unit: Ne mogu naći prekidač za svjetlo u hodniku.

Svjetlo primarily means light.

Depending on context, it can refer to:

• light as illumination
• a light source
• sometimes, in everyday speech, something like the light in a room

But in prekidač za svjetlo, it clearly means the electrical light controlled by the switch, so the whole phrase means light switch.

If you wanted to be more specific about a lamp, you would usually use another noun, such as:

• lampa = lamp

So:

• prekidač za svjetlo = light switch
• not specifically lamp switch, unless the context makes that clear.