Ako ne razumiješ značenje riječi, pitaj učiteljicu koji padež trebaš upotrijebiti.

Ako means if, so Ako ne razumiješ... means If you don’t understand...

That fits this sentence because it gives a condition:

• If you don’t understand the meaning of a word, ask the teacher...

A few useful contrasts:

• ako = if
• kad / kada = when
• li is not used here, because this is not a yes/no question.

So:

• Ako ne razumiješ... = If you don’t understand...
• Kad ne razumiješ... would sound more like When(ever) you don’t understand..., which is possible in some contexts, but ako is the most straightforward choice here.

Razumiješ is the 2nd person singular present tense of razumjeti / razumijeti = to understand.

It matches an implied you:

• (ti) razumiješ = you understand
• (ti) ne razumiješ = you do not understand

Croatian usually drops subject pronouns when they are clear from the verb ending, so there is no need to say ti.

A quick present-tense pattern:

• ja razumijem = I understand
• ti razumiješ = you understand
• on/ona razumije = he/she understands

Značenje riječi means the meaning of the word.

Here:

• značenje = meaning
• riječi = of the word

So riječi is in the genitive singular because Croatian often uses the genitive to express possession or the idea of of.

Compare:

• riječ = word
• značenje riječi = the meaning of the word

This is very common in Croatian:

• boja auta = the color of the car
• ime grada = the name of the city

So English often uses of, while Croatian often uses the genitive case.

Yes, that is a very common confusion.

Here, riječi is genitive singular of riječ:

• nominative singular: riječ = word
• genitive singular: riječi = of the word

But riječi can also be:

• nominative plural = words
• accusative plural = words

So the form riječi can mean different things depending on context.

In this sentence, it must be genitive singular, because it depends on značenje:

• značenje riječi = the meaning of the word

If it were plural, the meaning would be different:

• značenje riječi can sometimes also mean the meaning of words, depending on context

But here, because the English meaning is already known and the sentence is generic, learners usually understand it as the meaning of a word.

Pitaj is the imperative form of pitati = to ask.

So:

• pitaš = you ask / you are asking (present tense)
• pitaj! = ask! (command)

In this sentence, the speaker is giving an instruction:

• Ako ne razumiješ..., pitaj...
• If you don’t understand..., ask...

That is why Croatian uses the imperative.

Because učiteljicu is the accusative singular form of učiteljica.

• učiteljica = teacher (female), dictionary form / nominative
• pitaj učiteljicu = ask the teacher

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

So:

• učiteljica = the teacher
• pitaj učiteljicu = ask the teacher

This is the same pattern as:

• vidim učiteljicu = I see the teacher
• poznajem učiteljicu = I know the teacher

Yes. Učiteljica is specifically a female teacher.

Croatian distinguishes masculine and feminine nouns very regularly:

• učitelj = male teacher
• učiteljica = female teacher

So:

• pitaj učitelja = ask the male teacher
• pitaj učiteljicu = ask the female teacher

The sentence uses učiteljicu, so it is clearly referring to a woman.

Koji padež means which case.

• koji = which
• padež = grammatical case

Croatian has cases, so this phrase is something learners hear a lot in grammar explanations.

For example:

• Koji padež je ovo? = Which case is this?
• Ne znam koji padež trebam. = I don’t know which case I need.

In your sentence:

• pitaj učiteljicu koji padež trebaš upotrijebiti
• ask the teacher which case you should use

The structure here is a normal Croatian embedded question:

• koji padež = which case
• trebaš upotrijebiti = you need / should use

So together:

• koji padež trebaš upotrijebiti = which case you should use

Croatian often forms this kind of clause directly, without needing a word like English to before use.

About da:

• Croatian often uses trebati + infinitive: trebaš upotrijebiti
• It can also sometimes use treba da + present, but that is not the standard neutral choice here, especially in Croatian usage.

So trebaš upotrijebiti is the natural form in this sentence.

Upotrijebiti means to use.

It is an infinitive, because it follows trebaš:

• trebaš upotrijebiti = you should / need to use

It is also a perfective verb. Croatian often has verb pairs:

• upotrebljavati = to be using / to use habitually (imperfective)
• upotrijebiti = to use, as a completed single action (perfective)

Here, the sentence is about choosing the correct case for a particular situation, so the perfective verb makes sense:

• which case you should use

Learners will also often hear:

• koristiti = to use

So a more everyday alternative could be:

• koji padež trebaš koristiti

But upotrijebiti is completely correct and a bit more formal/bookish.

Good question. Trebati can cover meanings like:

• need to
• have to
• should

The exact English translation depends on context.

In this sentence:

• koji padež trebaš upotrijebiti

In a grammar-learning context, English often naturally says:

• which case you should use

rather than

• which case you need to use

Both are possible, but should sounds smoother in many English translations.

So Croatian trebaš is a little broader than any one single English word.

Yes, Croatian word order is fairly flexible, but the given order is natural and clear.

The sentence goes:

• pitaj učiteljicu = ask the teacher
• koji padež trebaš upotrijebiti = which case you should use

So the second part explains what you should ask the teacher.

This order is very normal:

• Pitaj učiteljicu koji padež trebaš upotrijebiti.

You could also hear slightly different versions, depending on emphasis, for example:

• Pitaj učiteljicu koji trebaš upotrijebiti padež.

But that sounds less natural to most learners and is not the best neutral pattern to copy.

So the sentence as given is a good standard model.

Yes. The comma separates the if-clause from the main clause.

• Ako ne razumiješ značenje riječi, = If you don’t understand the meaning of a word,
• pitaj učiteljicu... = ask the teacher...

Croatian normally uses a comma after an introductory subordinate clause like this.

So the comma is not optional decoration here; it is standard punctuation.

Yes, and that is a very useful comparison.

These are similar in meaning:

• Ako ne razumiješ značenje riječi...
• Ako ne razumiješ što riječ znači...

The first is more noun-based:

• the meaning of the word

The second is more clause-based:

• what the word means

Both are natural. The version in your sentence is slightly more compact and a bit more formal in style.

It is addressed to one person.

You can tell from the verb forms:

• razumiješ = you singular
• pitaj = imperative singular
• trebaš = you singular

If it were addressed to more than one person, the forms would change:

• Ako ne razumijete značenje riječi, pitajte učiteljicu koji padež trebate upotrijebiti.

So the original sentence is singular: it is talking to one learner.

Padež is in the accusative singular, but it looks the same as the nominative because it is an inanimate masculine noun.

• nominative singular: padež
• accusative singular: padež

Why accusative? Because it is the direct object of upotrijebiti:

• upotrijebiti padež = to use a case

And koji agrees with it:

• koji padež = which case

This is a nice example of how Croatian case can be present even when the form does not visibly change.

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

So riječ can mean:

• a word
• the word

The exact meaning comes from context.

That is why značenje riječi can be understood as:

• the meaning of the word
• the meaning of a word

In English you must choose an article, but in Croatian you usually do not mark that difference explicitly.