Nigdje ne mogu naći svoj punjač.

Yes, but in Croatian this is normal and required.

Croatian uses negative concord, which means that when you use a negative word like nigdje (nowhere), the verb also has to be negative:

• Nigdje ne mogu naći svoj punjač.

A native English speaker may expect something like I can nowhere find..., with only one negative idea, but Croatian does not work that way.

Other examples:

• Nikoga ne vidim. = I don’t see anyone.
• Ništa ne znam. = I don’t know anything.
• Nikad ne kasnim. = I never arrive late.

So nigdje + ne mogu is the correct Croatian pattern.

Nigdje means nowhere.

In this sentence, it expresses that the speaker cannot find the charger in any place.

Compare:

• Negdje = somewhere
• Svugdje / svuda = everywhere
• Nigdje = nowhere

Examples:

• Punjač je negdje u torbi. = The charger is somewhere in the bag.
• Tražio sam ga svugdje. = I looked for it everywhere.
• Nigdje ga nema. = It’s nowhere to be found.

Because moći (can / to be able to) is a modal verb, and modal verbs in Croatian are followed by an infinitive.

So:

• mogu = I can
• naći = find

Together:

• mogu naći = can find

This is just like English:

• I can find
• I must go
• I want to sleep

More Croatian examples:

• Mogu doći. = I can come.
• Moram učiti. = I must study.
• Želim jesti. = I want to eat.

Because after mogu, Croatian uses the infinitive, not a finite present-tense form.

So:

• naći = infinitive = to find
• nađem = present-tense form = I find

Correct:

• Ne mogu naći punjač. = I can’t find the charger.

Not correct here:

• Ne mogu nađem punjač.

That would be ungrammatical because mogu already carries the personal meaning (I can), so the next verb stays in the infinitive.

This is a very common learner question.

Svoj is the reflexive possessive pronoun, and it usually means one’s own. Croatian often uses svoj when the possessor is the same as the subject of the sentence.

Here:

• implied subject of mogu = I
• owner of the charger = also I

So Croatian naturally says:

• Nigdje ne mogu naći svoj punjač. literally: I can’t find my own charger anywhere.

You can sometimes hear moj punjač, but svoj punjač is usually the more standard and natural choice when the subject owns the object.

Compare:

• Tražim svoj kaput. = I’m looking for my coat.
• Ana traži svoj kaput. = Ana is looking for her own coat.
• Ana traži njezin kaput. = Ana is looking for her coat (someone else’s, another woman’s coat)

So svoj helps avoid ambiguity.

It is in the accusative case, because it is the direct object of naći (to find).

You are finding what?

• punjač

So the object should be accusative.

However, punjač is a masculine inanimate noun, and for masculine inanimate nouns, the accusative singular is often the same as the nominative singular.

So:

• nominative: punjač
• accusative: punjač

That is why the form does not change.

Compare with a masculine animate noun:

• nominative: pas = dog
• accusative: psa

So:

• Vidim punjač. = I see the charger.
• Vidim psa. = I see the dog.

Punjač means charger.

It comes from the verb puniti = to charge, fill.

In everyday use, punjač usually means a charger for:

• a phone
• a laptop
• headphones
• other electronic devices

Examples:

• Gdje je moj punjač za mobitel? = Where is my phone charger?
• Trebam novi punjač. = I need a new charger.

Yes. Croatian word order is relatively flexible, though some orders sound more natural in certain contexts.

The original sentence:

• Nigdje ne mogu naći svoj punjač.

A very common alternative is:

• Ne mogu nigdje naći svoj punjač.

Both mean the same thing: I can’t find my charger anywhere.

The difference is mostly about emphasis and style:

• Nigdje ne mogu... puts nowhere first for stronger emphasis.
• Ne mogu nigdje... may sound slightly more neutral in everyday speech.

Croatian often moves elements around for focus, but the negative structure must still stay correct.

They are very close in meaning, and in many situations they can both mean to find.

• naći = to find
• pronaći = to find, discover, locate

In many everyday contexts, naći is simpler and very common:

• Ne mogu naći ključeve. = I can’t find the keys.

Pronaći can sometimes sound a bit more formal, deliberate, or complete:

• Policija je pronašla auto. = The police found the car.

In this sentence, naći is perfectly natural.

Because tražiti and naći are not the same.

• tražiti = to look for
• naći = to find

So:

• Tražim svoj punjač. = I’m looking for my charger.
• Ne mogu naći svoj punjač. = I can’t find my charger.

The first focuses on the search. The second focuses on the result: the speaker has not succeeded in finding it.

English sometimes blurs this difference, but Croatian usually keeps it clear.

Naći is a perfective verb. It focuses on the result: successfully finding something.

In a sentence like this, that makes good sense, because the speaker means:

• I am unable to find it
• in other words, the result is not achieved

Croatian often uses a perfective infinitive after moći in this kind of context.

A related imperfective verb is:

• nalaziti = to be finding / to find repeatedly / to locate habitually

But that would not fit as naturally here.

So:

• Ne mogu naći punjač. = natural
• Ne mogu nalaziti punjač. = unnatural in this meaning

Yes, the subject ja (I) is omitted, because Croatian usually does not need subject pronouns when the verb form already shows the person.

• mogu = I can

So the sentence already tells us the subject is I.

If you say:

• Ja nigdje ne mogu naći svoj punjač.

that is still correct, but ja adds emphasis, for example:

• I can’t find my charger anywhere (maybe others can help, but I can’t)

In neutral speech, leaving out ja is more natural.

A rough pronunciation is NAH-chee, but the final sound is not exactly English ch.

• ć is a soft Croatian consonant
• it is softer than č

For learners, a practical approximation is:

• naći ≈ nah-chee

Also:

• nigdje is roughly NEEG-dyeh or NEEG-gjeh, depending on accent and how carefully it is pronounced
• punjač is roughly POON-yach

These are only approximations, but they are useful starting points.

Yes. Because it uses svoj, the sentence can simply mean my charger, but it can also carry the nuance my own charger, especially if ownership matters in the conversation.

For example, if there are many chargers around:

• Mogu naći tvoj punjač, ali svoj ne mogu. = I can find your charger, but I can’t find my own.

So in many cases svoj is just the normal Croatian way to say my, your, his/her, etc. when it refers back to the subject. But in some contexts it can also sound contrastive: one’s own.