Brava je stara, ali zvono i dalje radi bolje nego interfon.

Brava means lock, usually a door lock.

In this sentence, brava je stara means the lock is old.

A few useful related words:

• brava = lock
• ključ = key
• vrata = door
• kvaka = door handle

Also note that brava is a feminine noun in Croatian.

Because stara has to agree with brava.

In Croatian, adjectives change form to match the noun’s:

• gender
• number
• case

Since brava is:

• feminine
• singular
• nominative

the adjective must also be feminine singular nominative: stara.

Compare:

• star = masculine singular
• stara = feminine singular
• staro = neuter singular

So:

• brava je stara = the lock is old
• interfon je star = the intercom is old
• zvono je staro = the bell is old

Croatian often puts short unstressed words, called clitics, in the second position of the clause.

Je is the 3rd person singular form of biti (to be) used here as a clitic.

So:

• Brava je stara not usually
• Brava stara je

This second-position rule is very common in Croatian.

You will also see it with other clitics, for example:

• On je ovdje. = He is here.
• To sam vidio. = I saw that.
• Nisam ga zvao. = I didn’t call him.

Yes, i usually means and, but in the fixed expression i dalje, it means still or continues to.

So:

• i dalje radi = still works / continues to work

In this sentence, i dalje acts like one expression.

Examples:

• On i dalje živi u Zagrebu. = He still lives in Zagreb.
• Kiša i dalje pada. = It is still raining.

So here, ali zvono i dalje radi... means:

• but the bell/doorbell still works...

Literally, zvono means bell, but in this context it most naturally means doorbell.

Because the sentence also mentions:

• brava = lock
• interfon = intercom

the whole sentence is clearly about an entrance or door system. So zvono here is best understood as the doorbell.

Yes. The verb raditi can mean:

• to work in the sense of functioning
• to work in the sense of doing labor or having a job

Here it means to function.

So:

• Zvono radi. = The bell works / is functioning.
• Interfon ne radi. = The intercom doesn’t work.

This is a very common use in Croatian for machines, devices, systems, phones, cars, and so on.

Examples:

• Moj mobitel ne radi. = My phone doesn’t work.
• Lift radi. = The elevator works.
• Računalo još radi. = The computer still works.

Because bolje here is an adverb, not an adjective.

It modifies the verb radi:

• radi bolje = works better

In English, this is the same pattern:

• good → adjective
• well / better → adverb

In Croatian:

• dobar = good
• dobro = well
• bolje = better

So:

• Dobar interfon = a good intercom
• Interfon radi dobro = the intercom works well
• Zvono radi bolje nego interfon = the bell works better than the intercom

Nego is used for comparisons after a comparative form like bolje (better), veće (bigger), brže (faster), etc.

So:

• bolje nego interfon = better than the intercom

Examples:

• On trči brže nego ja. = He runs faster than I do.
• Ova knjiga je bolja nego ona. = This book is better than that one.

This is the normal Croatian word for than in comparisons like this.

Because Croatian often leaves out repeated words when they are understood from context.

So:

• zvono i dalje radi bolje nego interfon literally corresponds to:
• the bell still works better than the intercom

The full version could be expanded as:

• Zvono i dalje radi bolje nego što radi interfon.

But that sounds heavier and less natural in everyday speech if the meaning is already clear.

So Croatian, like English, often omits repeated material:

• This one works better than that one. You do not need to repeat works the second time.

Here, interfon is in the nominative singular form.

After nego in this kind of simple comparison, Croatian often uses the basic dictionary form of the noun:

• bolje nego interfon
• veće nego selo
• brže nego vlak

However, in more expanded structures you may see other patterns, especially when a full clause is implied.

For a learner, the safest takeaway is:

• in a sentence like this, nego + noun is very common and natural

Also note:

• interfon is a masculine singular noun

The sentence is contrasting two parts of a door-entry system.

Structure:

• Brava je stara = The lock is old
• ali = but
• zvono i dalje radi bolje nego interfon = the doorbell still works better than the intercom

So the idea is something like:

• the lock is old,
• but the bell is still more reliable or functions better than the intercom

It is not saying that the lock and the bell are being directly compared in the same way. Instead, the speaker is describing several parts of the entrance setup.

Ali means but.

It introduces a contrast:

• Brava je stara = The lock is old
• ali... = but...
• zvono i dalje radi bolje nego interfon = the doorbell still works better than the intercom

So the speaker is saying that one thing is negative or problematic, but another point is surprisingly more positive.

Examples:

• Auto je star, ali dobro vozi. = The car is old, but it drives well.
• Skupo je, ali kvalitetno. = It’s expensive, but high-quality.

Yes, Croatian word order is fairly flexible, but not every version sounds equally natural.

The original:

• Brava je stara, ali zvono i dalje radi bolje nego interfon.

This is natural and neutral.

You might also hear variations like:

• Brava je stara, ali i dalje zvono radi bolje nego interfon.
• Brava je stara, ali zvono radi i dalje bolje nego interfon.

But these may sound slightly different in emphasis. The original version is probably the best choice for a learner.

A useful point:

• Croatian word order often changes to shift focus or emphasis
• but clitics like je still follow their special placement rules

No. Croatian does not have articles like English a and the.

So:

• brava can mean a lock or the lock
• zvono can mean a bell / a doorbell or the bell / the doorbell
• interfon can mean an intercom or the intercom

The exact meaning depends on context.

In this sentence, English would usually translate them with the:

• The lock is old, but the doorbell still works better than the intercom.

A very literal breakdown would be:

• Brava = lock
• je = is
• stara = old
• ali = but
• zvono = bell / doorbell
• i dalje = still
• radi = works
• bolje = better
• nego = than
• interfon = intercom

So a close literal version is:

• The lock is old, but the bell still works better than the intercom.

A more natural English translation might be:

• The lock is old, but the doorbell still works better than the intercom.