Nećak ide u vrtić, a nećakinja još ostaje kod kuće s bakom.

They mean nephew and niece. Croatian usually marks gender in nouns more clearly than English does.

• nećak = nephew
• nećakinja = niece

A learner will often notice that many masculine and feminine family words are related in form, but not always in a perfectly predictable way, so it is best to learn them as a pair.

Literally, ide u vrtić means goes into kindergarten or more naturally goes to kindergarten.

The important grammar point is the preposition u:

• u + accusative = movement into/to somewhere
• u + locative = location in somewhere

So:

• ide u vrtić = he is going to kindergarten
• je u vrtiću = he is in kindergarten

Because this sentence describes movement, Croatian uses the accusative: vrtić.

A here links two clauses and shows a contrast or a change of topic. In this sentence it works like:

• and, but with contrast
• sometimes closer to while
• sometimes close to whereas

So:

• Nećak ide u vrtić, a nećakinja još ostaje kod kuće...
• The nephew goes to kindergarten, while the niece still stays at home...

It is very common in Croatian to use a where English might use and, but, or while, depending on context.

Još means still here. Its position before the verb is very natural in Croatian.

• još ostaje = still stays / is still staying

Croatian word order is more flexible than English word order, but some positions sound more natural than others. Putting još before the verb is a common and neutral choice.

You may also hear different word orders in other contexts, but nećakinja još ostaje is standard and natural.

Here ostaje means stays or remains.

The basic verb is ostati / ostajati. In this sentence, ostaje gives the idea that the niece is remaining at home for now, instead of going somewhere else.

So depending on context, English could translate it as:

• still stays at home
• is still staying at home
• still remains at home

In everyday English, stays at home is the most natural.

This is a very common question.

• kod kuće means at home
• u kući means in the house

Croatian uses kod kuće as the normal expression for being at home in a general sense. It functions almost like a fixed phrase.

Examples:

• Ona je kod kuće. = She is at home.
• Ona je u kući. = She is in the house.

The second one focuses more on physical location inside the building. In your sentence, the intended meaning is the ordinary everyday idea of at home, so kod kuće is the right choice.

Bakom is in the instrumental case.

The preposition s means with, and when it means with, it normally takes the instrumental:

• s bakom = with grandma
• s mamom = with mom
• s prijateljem = with a friend

The base noun is baka. In the instrumental singular:

• baka → bakom

So kod kuće s bakom means at home with grandma.

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

So:

• nećak can mean a nephew or the nephew
• nećakinja can mean a niece or the niece
• baka can mean a grandmother or the grandmother

The exact meaning depends on context. In this sentence, English probably uses the nephew, the niece, and grandma/grandmother, but Croatian does not need separate words for that.

Not always perfectly, because school systems differ from country to country.

In Croatian, vrtić usually refers to preschool/daycare for young children. In English, depending on the country, the closest translation may be:

• kindergarten
• preschool
• daycare

If the meaning has already been given to the learner, the main grammar point is that vrtić is a masculine noun and here appears in the accusative after u expressing movement.

Ć is a special Croatian sound. English speakers often hear it as something like a very soft ch.

Approximate pronunciations:

• nećak
• vrtić
• kuće

Important point: Croatian distinguishes č and ć, although in some regions the difference is smaller in everyday speech. As a learner, it is good to notice that they are spelled differently and are considered different sounds.

A rough guide:

• č sounds harder, more like English ch
• ć sounds softer

You do not need a perfect accent immediately, but it is worth paying attention to this difference early.

Both are 3rd person singular present tense.

• ide = he/she goes
• ostaje = he/she stays/remains

In the sentence:

• Nećak ide = The nephew goes
• nećakinja još ostaje = the niece still stays

Croatian verbs often do not need a subject pronoun like on or ona, because the verb form already shows the person and number. Here the nouns nećak and nećakinja explicitly serve as the subjects.

Yes, very naturally.

Because of a, the sentence can often be rendered as:

• The nephew goes to kindergarten, and the niece still stays at home with grandma.
• The nephew goes to kindergarten, while the niece still stays at home with grandma.

The second version often sounds better in English because it captures the contrast between the two children’s situations.