Kad moja kćer uči hrvatski, moram utišavati televizor.

Kad introduces a time clause. Here it means when or whenever.

In this sentence, the most natural reading is habitual:

• every time my daughter studies Croatian, I have to quiet the TV

You could also hear dok in a similar sentence:

• Dok moja kćer uči hrvatski, moram utišavati televizor.

That would emphasize while more strongly.

A simple way to remember the difference:

• kad = when / whenever
• dok = while

So kad is completely natural here.

Because the sentence begins with a subordinate time clause:

• Kad moja kćer uči hrvatski = time clause
• moram utišavati televizor = main clause

Croatian normally separates that kind of clause with a comma, especially when the subordinate clause comes first.

Because moja kćer is the subject of the sentence: my daughter is the one doing the learning.

The possessive adjective moja agrees with kćer in gender, number, and case:

• moja = feminine singular nominative
• kćer = daughter

This noun is a bit irregular, and learners will also see kći. In modern Croatian, both kći and kćer can be encountered for daughter in the singular.

Croatian often leaves out jezik when talking about languages.

So:

• uči hrvatski jezik = learns the Croatian language
• uči hrvatski = learns Croatian

In everyday speech, uči hrvatski is very normal and natural.

Grammatically, hrvatski is really standing in for hrvatski jezik, so it behaves like the direct object of učiti.

It is in the accusative, because it is the direct object of uči.

The full idea is:

• uči hrvatski jezik

Since jezik is masculine singular and inanimate, its accusative looks like its nominative. The adjective agrees with it, so you get:

• nominative: hrvatski jezik
• accusative: hrvatski jezik

If jezik is omitted, the adjective stays in the same form:

• uči hrvatski

It can mean either, depending on context.

The verb učiti covers both ideas:

• to learn
• to study

So moja kćer uči hrvatski could mean:

• my daughter is learning Croatian
• my daughter studies Croatian

English makes a sharper distinction than Croatian does here.

Moram is the first person singular present tense of morati:

• morati = to have to / must
• moram = I have to / I must

So moram utišavati televizor means:

• I have to quiet the TV
• I must turn the TV down

In everyday usage, morati is the standard verb for obligation or necessity.

This is about aspect, which is very important in Croatian.

• utišati = perfective
• utišavati = imperfective

Very roughly:

• perfective focuses on a completed action
• imperfective focuses on an ongoing, repeated, or habitual action

In this sentence, utišavati fits well because the meaning is probably repeated or habitual:

• whenever my daughter studies Croatian, I have to keep lowering / quieting the TV

If you said moram utišati televizor, it would sound more like a single completed action:

• I have to mute / quiet the TV

So utišavati gives a stronger sense of repeated or ongoing necessity.

Literally, it means to make the television quieter.

Depending on context, good English translations could be:

• turn down the TV
• lower the volume on the TV
• quiet the TV
• sometimes even mute the TV

It does not have to mean a full mute every time. It often just means reducing the sound.

Televizor is the direct object, so it is in the accusative.

But televizor is a masculine inanimate noun, and in Croatian those often have:

• nominative singular = accusative singular

So:

• nominative: televizor
• accusative: televizor

That is why the form does not change.

Most naturally, it sounds habitual.

Why?

• kad can mean whenever
• uči is in the present tense
• utišavati is imperfective, which often suggests repeated or ongoing action

So the sentence most likely means something like:

• whenever my daughter studies Croatian, I have to turn the TV down

Croatian present tense often covers habitual actions very naturally.

Yes. Croatian word order is fairly flexible.

The given sentence is neutral and natural:

• Kad moja kćer uči hrvatski, moram utišavati televizor.

But other orders are possible, depending on emphasis, for example:

• Moram utišavati televizor kad moja kćer uči hrvatski.

That version puts the main statement first.

Even when word order changes, the meaning usually stays very similar, but the emphasis can shift.

They are different sounds, and English speakers often mix them up.

A useful rough guide:

• č is a harder sound, somewhat like ch in church
• ć is softer and more palatal

So in this sentence:

• uči has č
• kćer has ć

The cluster kć in kćer can feel awkward at first. It helps to pronounce it slowly:

• k + ćer

Do not worry if the distinction feels difficult at the beginning. It is one of the very common pronunciation challenges for learners of Croatian.