Ne znam kome poslati ovu poruku.

Kome is the dative singular form of tko (who).

In this sentence, the person is the recipient of the message — the person to whom something is sent. Croatian uses the dative case for that idea.

• tko = who
• koga = whom / of whom / who (in some other case functions, often accusative or genitive)
• kome = to whom

So:

• Ne znam kome poslati ovu poruku. = I don’t know to whom to send this message.

Since the sentence is about sending something to someone, kome is the correct form.

After znam / ne znam in this kind of structure, Croatian often uses the infinitive.

So the pattern is:

• ne znam + infinitive
• I don’t know how/where/when/whom to...

Examples:

• Ne znam što reći. = I don’t know what to say.
• Ne znam kamo ići. = I don’t know where to go.
• Ne znam kome poslati ovu poruku. = I don’t know whom to send this message to.

Poslati is the infinitive, meaning to send.

If you said pošaljem, that would be a finite verb form (I send / I should send / I may send, depending on context), and it would need a different sentence structure.

This is a very common question because it involves aspect, which is very important in Croatian.

• poslati = perfective verb
  It means to send as a completed action, often one single act.
• slati = imperfective verb
  It means to be sending, to send repeatedly, or to send in general.

In this sentence, poslati is natural because the speaker means one specific completed action: sending this one message.

• Ne znam kome poslati ovu poruku. = I don’t know whom to send this message to.

If you used slati, it would sound more like repeated or ongoing sending, which does not fit as well here.

Because ovu poruku is the direct object of poslati (to send), and direct objects usually take the accusative case.

The noun is:

• poruka = message

In the accusative singular, it becomes:

• poruku

The demonstrative adjective is:

• ova = this

To match poruka (which is feminine singular), in the accusative singular it becomes:

• ovu

So:

• ova poruka = this message (nominative)
• ovu poruku = this message (accusative, as object)

That is why the sentence says ovu poruku.

Because ovu is a demonstrative adjective meaning this, and in Croatian adjectives normally come before the noun they describe.

So:

• ovu poruku = this message

This is the usual word order, just like in English.

Other examples:

• ovaj čovjek = this man
• ova knjiga = this book
• ovo pitanje = this question

Yes, Croatian word order is more flexible than English, but not every version sounds equally natural.

The neutral, natural order here is:

• Ne znam kome poslati ovu poruku.

You could also hear variations for emphasis, such as:

• Ovu poruku ne znam kome poslati.

This puts more focus on ovu poruku.

However, for a learner, the original version is the best one to use first because it is clear and natural.

Because Croatian usually expresses that meaning through the case ending, not with a separate preposition.

In English:

• to whom

In Croatian:

• kome

The ending -e in kome shows the dative meaning, so a separate word like to is not needed.

This is one of the big differences between English and Croatian:

• English often uses prepositions
• Croatian often uses case endings instead

Yes, it is completely normal and complete.

The subject of poslati is understood to be the same as the subject of znam — in other words, I.

So the logic is:

• Ne znam = I don’t know
• kome poslati ovu poruku = whom to send this message to

Croatian does not need to repeat the subject here.

This kind of construction is very common:

• Ne znam što učiniti. = I don’t know what to do.
• Ne znam gdje parkirati. = I don’t know where to park.
• Ne znam kome poslati ovu poruku. = I don’t know whom to send this message to.

Yes. komu is also a correct dative form, but kome is much more common in everyday speech.

So:

• kome = common, standard, everyday
• komu = also correct, but less usual in ordinary conversation

For most learners, kome is the form to remember and use first.

Because znam is the 1st person singular form of znati (to know):

• ja znam = I know
• ti znaš = you know
• on/ona/ono zna = he/she/it knows
• mi znamo = we know
• vi znate = you know (plural/formal)
• oni/one/ona znaju = they know

So:

• Ne znam = I don’t know

You may have been thinking of znamo, which means we know.
Ne znamo would mean we don’t know.

Yes. In natural English, that is often the most normal translation.

Croatian uses kome, which literally corresponds to to whom, but everyday English usually prefers:

• I don’t know who to send this message to.

So even though the Croatian grammar uses the dative form kome, the most natural English translation does not need to sound formal.

Poruka is a general word meaning message. The exact meaning depends on context.

It could mean:

• a text message
• an online message
• an email message
• a message in a broader sense

If the context is mobile phones, people will often understand it as a text/message.
If the context is email or chat, it can mean that too.

So poruka is flexible, just like message in English.