Ako nešto znaš popravljati sama, ne moraš odmah zvati majstora, čak ni kad se stari radio kvari.

Croatian often leaves subject pronouns out because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

• znaš = you know
• moraš = you must / have to

So Ako nešto znaš... already means If you know... without needing ti.

You could add ti for emphasis, but it is not necessary:

• Ako ti nešto znaš... would sound marked or contrastive.

Sama agrees with the person being addressed and means by yourself / on your own.

In this sentence, the speaker is talking to a female person, so it is sama.

Compare:

• sam = masculine singular
• sama = feminine singular

So:

• Ako nešto znaš popravljati sama... = if you (female) know how to fix something yourself
• A male version would be Ako nešto znaš popravljati sam...

Znati + infinitive often means to know how to do something.

So:

• znaš popravljati = you know how to repair/fix

This is a very common Croatian structure:

• Znam kuhati. = I know how to cook.
• Zna plivati. = He/she knows how to swim.

It is not just you know repairing in a literal sense; it means you have the skill.

This is about aspect.

• popravljati = imperfective, ongoing/repeated/general activity
• popraviti = perfective, complete one repair

After znati when talking about a general skill, Croatian usually prefers the imperfective verb:

• znaš popravljati = you know how to fix/repair things

That sounds natural because it refers to the ability in general, not one completed act.

Nešto means something.

So Ako nešto znaš popravljati... literally means:

• If you know how to fix something...

It sounds a bit broader and more natural than making it specific. The idea is: if you are capable of fixing things yourself.

A learner may expect išta, but išta is more common in negative or question environments. Here the sentence is positive in the if clause, so nešto fits naturally.

Because majstora is in the accusative case, which is used for the direct object of zvati.

• majstor = nominative
• majstora = accusative singular for an animate masculine noun

Since majstor refers to a person, masculine animate accusative looks like the genitive:

• Vidim majstora.
• Zvati majstora.

This is a very common pattern in Croatian.

Not here. In everyday Croatian, majstor often means a repairman, handyman, or tradesman.

Depending on context, it could be:

• an appliance repairman
• a mechanic
• an electrician
• a general handyman

So in this sentence zvati majstora means call a repairman / call someone to fix it.

Odmah means right away / immediately.

So:

• ne moraš odmah zvati majstora = you don’t have to call a repairman immediately

It softens the idea a little. The sentence is not saying never call one; it says you do not need to do that as your first reaction.

Čak ni kad means not even when.

It strengthens the statement:

• ne moraš odmah zvati majstora, čak ni kad...
• you don’t have to call a repairman right away, not even when...

Parts:

• čak = even
• ni = not even / nor
• kad = when

Together they create emphasis.

Both mean when.

• kad = shorter, very common in everyday speech
• kada = slightly fuller, sometimes a bit more formal or careful

In most situations they are interchangeable:

• kad se radio kvari
• kada se radio kvari

Here kad sounds completely natural and conversational.

Kvariti se means to break down / to malfunction / to go bad.

The base verb kvariti is usually transitive:

• Kvarim radio. = I am breaking/spoiling the radio.

With se, it becomes intransitive or middle-like:

• Radio se kvari. = The radio is breaking down / malfunctioning.

So se is important here. It shows that the radio is not being actively broken by someone in the sentence; it is simply malfunctioning.

Stari means old, and it agrees with radio in gender, number, and case.

• radio is masculine singular
• so the adjective is stari

Here stari radio is the subject of the clause kad se stari radio kvari, so it is in the nominative case.

Not completely. Croatian word order is flexible, but different orders shift emphasis.

The given version is natural:

• Ako nešto znaš popravljati sama...

It puts sama near the end for emphasis on by yourself.

Other versions may be possible, for example:

• Ako sama znaš nešto popravljati...
• Ako znaš sama popravljati nešto...

But they do not all sound equally natural in every context. The original sentence has a smooth, everyday rhythm.

Yes. You would just change the feminine form sama to the masculine sam:

• Ako nešto znaš popravljati sam, ne moraš odmah zvati majstora, čak ni kad se stari radio kvari.

Everything else stays the same.