Nisam se još navikla na ovaj kvart, ali mi se sviđa što je sve blizu.

Navikla shows that the speaker is female.

In Croatian past tense, the l-participle agrees with the subject in gender and number:

• navikao = masculine singular
• navikla = feminine singular
• naviklo = neuter singular
• navikli / navikle = plural

So:

• Nisam se još navikla... = said by a woman
• Nisam se još navikao... = said by a man

This is one of the first things English speakers notice, because English past tense does not show the speaker’s gender.

In Croatian, the negative forms of biti in the present tense are usually written as single words:

• nisam = I am not / I have not
• nisi
• nije
• nismo
• niste
• nisu

Since Croatian past tense is formed with biti + the l-participle, you get:

• nisam navikla
• literally something like I have not gotten used

So ne sam is not the normal form; nisam is the correct negative auxiliary.

Because naviknuti se is a reflexive verb meaning to get used to.

The basic pattern is:

• naviknuti se na + accusative

Examples:

• Navikla sam se na posao. = I got used to the job.
• Ne mogu se naviknuti na hladnoću. = I can’t get used to the cold.
• Nisam se još navikla na ovaj kvart. = I still haven’t gotten used to this neighborhood.

So the se belongs to the verb. You normally cannot just drop it.

Here još means still or yet, depending on how you translate the whole sentence.

In this sentence:

• Nisam se još navikla...

the natural English meaning is:

• I still haven’t gotten used to... or
• I haven’t gotten used to ... yet.

So još adds the idea that the process is not finished yet.

Compare:

• Nisam se navikla. = I haven’t gotten used to it.
• Nisam se još navikla. = I haven’t gotten used to it yet / still haven’t gotten used to it.

It is accusative, because naviknuti se takes na + accusative.

Pattern:

• naviknuti se na nešto

So:

• na ovaj kvart

Both words are masculine inanimate singular, and in this pattern the accusative looks the same as the nominative:

• nominative: ovaj kvart
• accusative: ovaj kvart

That can be confusing, because the form does not visibly change here, but the case is still accusative because the verb requires it.

More examples:

• naviknuti se na grad
• naviknuti se na buku
• naviknuti se na novu školu

Kvart is a very common everyday word meaning neighborhood, district, or part of town.

It is somewhat more colloquial and urban than some other words.

Depending on context, Croatian speakers might also use:

• susjedstvo = neighborhood, surroundings
• četvrt = district / quarter
• naselje = settlement / residential area

But in casual speech, especially in cities, kvart is extremely natural.

So ovaj kvart is basically this neighborhood.

Because sviđati se works differently from English to like.

Croatian structure:

• Something pleases to me
• Sviđa mi se X

So:

• mi = to me
• se sviđa = is pleasing / appeals

Examples:

• Sviđa mi se film. = I like the film.
• Sviđa mi se ova pjesma. = I like this song.
• Ne sviđa mi se vrijeme. = I don’t like the weather.

By contrast, voljeti usually means to love or to like very much, often more strongly:

• Volim te. = I love you.
• Volim kavu. = I like/love coffee.

In this sentence, sviđa mi se sounds natural because the speaker is expressing that something about the neighborhood is pleasing to them.

Because both are clitics, and Croatian clitics usually appear near the beginning of the clause.

In:

• ali mi se sviđa...

the clitic order is natural:

• mi = to me
• se = part of the verb sviđati se

So the clause is arranged as:

• ali = but
• mi se = clitic cluster
• sviđa = main verb

This word order is very typical in Croatian.

English speakers often want to map it word-for-word, but it is better to learn sviđa mi se as a chunk:

• sviđa mi se
• ne sviđa mi se

Here što introduces a clause meaning that:

• sviđa mi se što je sve blizu
• I like that everything is close

So što is not a question word here. It is a connector introducing the content of what is liked.

A useful way to understand it:

• Sviđa mi se [to] što je sve blizu.
• literally: I like [the fact] that everything is close.

This is very common in Croatian:

• Drago mi je što si došao. = I’m glad that you came.
• Žao mi je što kasnim. = I’m sorry that I’m late.
• Sviđa mi se što je mirno. = I like that it’s quiet.

Because sve here means everything, and grammatically it behaves as a singular neuter word.

So:

• sve je dobro = everything is good
• sve je spremno = everything is ready
• sve je blizu = everything is close

Even though in English everything may feel conceptually plural, Croatian uses singular agreement here.

So je is correct, not su.

Here blizu functions as an indeclinable predicate word meaning close / nearby.

That is why it does not change for gender or number in this sentence.

Compare:

• Škola je blizu. = The school is close.
• Trgovine su blizu. = The shops are close.
• Sve je blizu. = Everything is close.

Notice that blizu stays the same.

English speakers may expect an agreeing adjective, but blizu often behaves more like nearby or close by.

Yes, Croatian word order is flexible, but not completely free.

The original:

• Nisam se još navikla na ovaj kvart, ali mi se sviđa što je sve blizu.

is very natural and neutral.

Possible variations include:

• Još se nisam navikla na ovaj kvart, ali mi se sviđa što je sve blizu.
• Na ovaj se kvart još nisam navikla, ali mi se sviđa što je sve blizu.

These may shift emphasis slightly, but the original is a very standard way to say it.

What usually stays fixed or fairly fixed:

• se remains with the verb
• mi se stays together before sviđa
• što je sve blizu remains a natural subordinate clause

It is the perfect tense.

Croatian perfect is formed with:

• present tense of biti as an auxiliary
• plus the l-participle

So:

• nisam = auxiliary in the negative
• navikla = past participle-like form
• se = reflexive particle

Together:

• nisam se navikla = I have not gotten used to / I didn’t get used to

In this sentence, the most natural English translation is:

• I still haven’t gotten used to this neighborhood

because the idea connects the past with the present situation.

Because the speaker is talking about the result of a process up to now: they still have not become used to the neighborhood.

That is why the perfect works well:

• Nisam se još navikla...

A present tense version would not mean the same thing:

• Ne navikavam se... sounds more like I am not getting used to..., focusing on an ongoing process and is much less natural in everyday speech for this idea.

So Croatian often uses the perfect here just as English naturally uses:

• I still haven’t gotten used to...

You can, but it helps to know the structure is different from English.

Very literal breakdown:

• sviđa = pleases / is pleasing
• mi = to me
• se = reflexive part of the verb
• što je sve blizu = that everything is close

So literally:

• It is pleasing to me that everything is close.

Natural English:

• I like that everything is close.

This is a good example of why Croatian learners should focus on patterns, not only word-for-word translation. The key pattern is:

• sviđa mi se + clause/noun

For example:

• Sviđa mi se ovaj kvart. = I like this neighborhood.
• Sviđa mi se što je sve blizu. = I like that everything is close.