Ovaj stan je premalen za našu obitelj.

Ovaj means this. It is a demonstrative adjective, so it points to a specific noun, just like English this apartment.

In ovaj stan, ovaj agrees with stan in:

• gender
• number
• case

So here it means this apartment / this flat.

Because stan is a masculine singular noun in the nominative case.

The forms of this change by gender:

• ovaj = masculine
• ova = feminine
• ovo = neuter

Since stan is masculine, you need ovaj:

• ovaj stan = this apartment

For comparison:

• ova kuća = this house
• ovo selo = this village

Stan usually means apartment or flat. It refers to a place to live in a building.

Depending on context, English might translate it as:

• apartment
• flat
• sometimes place

So ovaj stan is most naturally this apartment or this flat.

Je is the 3rd person singular present form of biti, which means to be.

So:

• stan je premalen = the apartment is too small

In English, you also need is here:

• This apartment is too small

Croatian often drops subject pronouns such as on, ona, ono, but the verb je is still needed in a normal sentence like this.

Premalen means too small.

It is built from:

• pre- = too, excessively
• malen = small

So:

• malen = small
• premalen = too small

This pre- prefix is very common in Croatian:

• prevelik = too big
• predug = too long
• preskup = too expensive

Because in Croatian, the idea of too + adjective is often expressed by adding the prefix pre- directly to the adjective.

So instead of two separate words, Croatian commonly uses one combined form:

• premalen = too small
• prevelik = too big
• premlad = too young

This is very normal and very common.

Because the adjective has to agree with stan.

Since stan is:

• masculine
• singular
• nominative

the adjective must also be:

• masculine
• singular
• nominative

So:

• stan je premalen

Compare:

• soba je premala = the room is too small
• mjesto je premalo = the place is too small

Yes. Premali is also correct and very common.

Croatian has both:

• mali = small
• malen = small

So you can say:

• Ovaj stan je premalen za našu obitelj.
• Ovaj stan je premali za našu obitelj.

Both are natural. The difference is small, and in many contexts they are basically interchangeable.

Here za means for, in the sense of suitable for or enough for.

So:

• premalen za našu obitelj = too small for our family

This use of za is very common when talking about whether something is appropriate, sufficient, or intended for someone or something:

• dobar za djecu = good for children
• pretežak za mene = too heavy for me
• premalen za četiri osobe = too small for four people

Because the preposition za normally takes the accusative case in this kind of sentence.

The basic form is:

• naša obitelj = our family

After za, it becomes:

• za našu obitelj = for our family

Notice what changes:

• naša → našu

The noun obitelj looks the same here, but it is still in the accusative. That is normal for some feminine nouns in Croatian.

Because obitelj is one of those feminine nouns whose accusative singular looks the same as the nominative singular.

So you get:

• nominative: obitelj
• accusative: obitelj

The case is shown more clearly by the adjective:

• naša obitelj
• našu obitelj

This can feel strange to English speakers at first, because English does not show case this way on adjectives.

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

So stan can mean:

• apartment
• an apartment
• the apartment

The exact meaning depends on context.

Here, ovaj already makes it specific, so ovaj stan clearly means this apartment.

The given word order is the most neutral and natural one:

Ovaj stan je premalen za našu obitelj.

Croatian word order is more flexible than English, so other orders are possible for emphasis, but they may sound more marked:

• Premalen je ovaj stan za našu obitelj.
• Za našu obitelj ovaj stan je premalen.

A learner should usually stick with the original order unless there is a reason to emphasize something.

A learner often notices lj here.

In obitelj, lj is pronounced as a single sound, similar to the lli in some pronunciations of million, though not exactly the same in every accent.

A rough guide:

• o-bi-telj

The last part -telj is important to practice slowly. Croatian spelling is generally very phonetic, so once you learn sounds like lj, pronunciation becomes much easier.

Yes, in practical meaning it often can.

Literally, it says:

• This apartment is too small for our family

But in real use, that often implies:

• it is too small for us
• it does not fit our household
• it is not big enough for the people who live together

Using našu obitelj sounds a bit fuller and more explicit than just saying za nas.