Pokušavam odgovarati što točnije, čak i kad nisam sigurna.

Croatian often omits subject pronouns when they are already clear from the verb form.

In Pokušavam odgovarati..., the verb pokušavam means I am trying / I try, so the subject ja (I) is already understood.

So:

• (Ja) pokušavam = I am trying
• (Ti) pokušavaš = you are trying
• (On/ona) pokušava = he/she is trying

Including ja is possible, but it usually adds emphasis, such as I am trying (as opposed to someone else).

Pokušavam comes from pokušavati / pokušati, meaning to try.

Here, pokušavam is:

• 1st person singular = I
• present tense
• from the imperfective verb pokušavati

In English, depending on context, it can mean:

• I try
• I am trying

In this sentence, I am trying is usually the most natural translation.

The imperfective verb is a good fit because it describes an ongoing effort, not just one single completed attempt.

This is a very common Croatian aspect question.

Both verbs mean to answer, but they differ in aspect:

• odgovarati = imperfective
• odgovoriti = perfective

In this sentence, odgovarati is used because the speaker is talking about a general/ongoing manner of answering, not one single completed answer.

So:

• Pokušavam odgovarati što točnije.
  = I try to answer as accurately as possible.
  This describes a habit, approach, or repeated action.

If you used odgovoriti, it would sound more like trying to give one completed answer.

A useful way to think about it:

• odgovarati = answering, answering in general, answering repeatedly
• odgovoriti = answer once, give a completed answer

In this sentence, što točnije means:

• as accurately as possible
• literally something like the more accurately, the better

Here, što does not mean what.
It is part of a very common Croatian pattern:

• što + comparative

This pattern means as ... as possible or as ... as one can.

Examples:

• što brže = as quickly as possible
• što jasnije = as clearly as possible
• što prije = as soon as possible
• što točnije = as accurately as possible

So što here is an intensifying word used with the comparative.

Because the sentence is using a comparative adverb.

• točno = accurately / exactly
• točnije = more accurately

Since the pattern is što + comparative, Croatian uses the comparative form:

• što točnije = as accurately as possible

This is not an adjective here; it is functioning like an adverb, describing how the speaker answers.

Compare:

• odgovaram točno = I answer accurately / exactly
• odgovaram točnije = I answer more accurately
• odgovaram što točnije = I answer as accurately as possible

čak i kad means even when.

Breakdown:

• čak = even
• i = also / and, but here it helps form the expression čak i = even
• kad = when

So:

• čak i kad nisam sigurna = even when I am not sure

This expression introduces a situation that might make accurate answering difficult, but the speaker still tries.

You will also see:

• čak i kada = same meaning, a slightly fuller form
• čak i ako = even if, which is a bit different

Important distinction:

• kad / kada = when
• ako = if

So here kad is correct because the meaning is even when I’m not sure, not even if I’m not sure.

Because the speaker is female.

In Croatian, adjectives agree with the person they describe in:

• gender
• number
• case (when relevant)

Here, sigurna matches an implied feminine I:

• nisam sigurna = I am not sure (said by a woman)

If a man said it, it would be:

• nisam siguran

So the sentence tells you something about the speaker even though the pronoun ja is not written.

Nisam sigurna literally means I am not sure.

Breakdown:

• nisam = I am not
• sigurna = sure (feminine singular)

More specifically:

• sam = I am
• nisam = negative form of sam

This is a very common Croatian structure:

• biti (to be) + adjective

Examples:

• umorna sam = I am tired (female speaker)
• nisam umorna = I am not tired
• sigurna sam = I am sure
• nisam sigurna = I am not sure

The comma separates the main clause from the subordinate clause.

Main clause:

• Pokušavam odgovarati što točnije
  = I try to answer as accurately as possible

Subordinate clause:

• čak i kad nisam sigurna
  = even when I am not sure

Croatian commonly uses a comma before subordinate clauses like this, especially when they are introduced by words such as:

• kad = when
• ako = if
• jer = because
• da = that / so that

So the comma here is normal and expected.

Yes. Kad and kada both mean when.

So both are possible:

• čak i kad nisam sigurna
• čak i kada nisam sigurna

The difference is mostly one of style and rhythm:

• kad is shorter and often feels a bit more natural in everyday speech
• kada can sound slightly more formal or more explicit

In this sentence, kad is perfectly natural.

Yes. Odgovarati can mean different things depending on context, including:

• to answer
• to suit
• to correspond

But in this sentence, because it follows pokušavam and is modified by što točnije, the meaning is clearly to answer.

Compare:

• Pokušavam odgovarati što točnije.
  = I try to answer as accurately as possible.

Versus:

• Ta boja mi odgovara.
  = That color suits me.

So this is a good reminder that Croatian verbs can be context-dependent.