Otkad radim od kuće, rjeđe viđam kolegice iz ureda.

Otkad means since or ever since, referring to the starting point of an action or situation.

It is essentially the shorter, fused form of od kada. In everyday language, otkad is very common and natural.

So:

• Otkad radim od kuće... = Since I’ve been working from home...
• Od kada radim od kuće... means the same, but sounds a bit more expanded.

In Croatian, the present tense is often used for an action that started in the past and is still continuing now.

So Otkad radim od kuće... literally looks like Since I work from home..., but in natural English it is usually translated as:

• Since I’ve been working from home...
• Ever since I started working from home...

The Croatian present tense here expresses an ongoing state or habit.

Raditi od kuće is the normal Croatian expression for to work from home.

Here:

• od
  • genitive = part of the fixed expression
• kuće is genitive singular of kuća

So:

• radim od kuće = I work from home

By contrast, iz kuće usually means out of the house / from inside the house as a point of origin, not the standard phrase for remote work.

So for remote work, learners should remember the whole phrase:

• raditi od kuće

Because the preposition od requires the genitive case.

The noun kuća changes like this:

• nominative: kuća
• genitive: kuće

So:

• od kuće = from home

This is a very common pattern in Croatian: prepositions often force a particular case.

Rjeđe means more rarely, less often, or simply rarely/less frequently in this kind of sentence.

It is the comparative adverb of rijetko:

• rijetko = rarely
• rjeđe = more rarely / less often

So:

• rjeđe viđam... = I see ... less often

English often uses less often, while Croatian uses this one-word comparative adverb.

This is a very important difference.

• vidjeti / vidim usually means to see in a single instance or as a completed act.
• viđati / viđam means to see repeatedly / to be seeing from time to time / to come across regularly

In this sentence, the speaker is talking about a repeated habit:

• before, they used to see these colleagues more often
• now, they see them less often

So viđam is the natural choice because it suggests repeated, habitual encounters.

Compare:

• Vidim Anu. = I see Ana. / I can see Ana.
• Viđam Anu na poslu. = I see Ana at work from time to time / regularly

Kolegice is the accusative plural form of kolegica, which means female colleague.

Because viđam takes a direct object, we need the accusative:

• nominative plural: kolegice
• accusative plural: kolegice

In this noun, nominative plural and accusative plural look the same.

So:

• viđam kolegice = I see female colleagues

This sentence specifically refers to female colleagues, not colleagues in general.

Usually no. If the speaker meant a mixed group or colleagues in general, Croatian would more often use kolege.

So:

• kolegice = female colleagues
• kolege = male colleagues, or mixed/general colleagues depending on context

That means this sentence specifically highlights that the colleagues being referred to are women.

The preposition iz means from / out of, and it requires the genitive case.

So:

• ured = office
• ureda = genitive singular
• iz ureda = from the office

Here it describes which colleagues:

• kolegice iz ureda = the colleagues from the office / my office colleagues

It is a noun phrase modifier, similar to English from the office.

No.

• iz ureda = from the office
• u uredu = in the office

So:

• kolegice iz ureda = colleagues from the office
• kolegice u uredu would mean colleagues in the office, focusing more on location

In this sentence, iz ureda identifies which colleagues the speaker means.

Because Otkad radim od kuće is a subordinate clause placed before the main clause.

Croatian normally separates that kind of introductory dependent clause with a comma:

• Otkad radim od kuće, rjeđe viđam kolegice iz ureda.

If the order were reversed, a comma would still usually be used:

• Rjeđe viđam kolegice iz ureda otkad radim od kuće.

The comma helps mark the boundary between the two parts of the sentence.

Yes. Croatian word order is relatively flexible, although some versions sound more neutral than others.

The original sentence is very natural:

• Otkad radim od kuće, rjeđe viđam kolegice iz ureda.

You could also say:

• Rjeđe viđam kolegice iz ureda otkad radim od kuće.

Both mean essentially the same thing. The original version puts emphasis first on the time frame since I’ve been working from home, while the second starts with the main statement I see my office colleagues less often.

In this sentence, it means since.

That is because otkad can be used in two related ways:

1. as since / ever since
2. in a question, as since when

Examples:

• Otkad radim od kuće, ... = Since I’ve been working from home, ...
• Otkad radiš od kuće? = Since when have you been working from home?

So the meaning depends on whether it is being used in a statement or a question.