Iza sela je malo brdo.

Iza means behind or beyond, depending on context. In this sentence, it means behind.

Here it is followed by the genitive case, so selo becomes sela:

• selo = village
• iza sela = behind the village

This is a very common pattern in Croatian:

• ispred kuće = in front of the house
• iza škole = behind the school

Because iza requires the genitive case in this meaning.

The noun selo is a neuter noun. Its singular forms include:

• nominative: selo
• genitive: sela

So:

• selo = a village / the village
• iza sela = behind the village

A learner often first sees the basic dictionary form selo, but after prepositions, nouns often change form.

Because the adjective must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.

Brdo is a neuter singular noun, so the adjective must also be neuter singular:

• masculine: mali
• feminine: mala
• neuter: malo

So:

• mali grad = small town
• mala kuća = small house
• malo brdo = small hill

Brdo is neuter.

A very common clue is that many Croatian neuter nouns end in -o or -e in the nominative singular:

• selo = village
• brdo = hill
• more = sea

Because brdo is neuter, the adjective is malo, not mali or mala.

Je is the 3rd person singular of biti (to be) and is a clitic. Croatian clitics usually take a very early position in the sentence, often after the first word or first phrase.

So:

• Iza sela je malo brdo.

This sounds natural in Croatian.

English learners may expect something closer to Iza sela malo brdo je, but that is not normal Croatian word order.

Yes, that is also grammatical.

Both sentences mean basically the same thing:

• Iza sela je malo brdo.
• Malo brdo je iza sela.

The difference is mainly focus or what comes first in the sentence:

• Iza sela je malo brdo puts the location first.
• Malo brdo je iza sela puts the hill first.

Croatian word order is more flexible than English word order, but not completely free.

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

So brdo can mean:

• a hill
• the hill

The exact meaning depends on context.

Likewise:

• selo can mean a village or the village
• iza sela can mean behind a village or behind the village, though in a sentence like this it often feels like the village

Here malo is an adjective, because it describes the noun brdo.

It agrees with brdo:

• malo brdo = a small hill

But malo can also be an adverb in other sentences:

• Malo spavam. = I sleep a little.
• Pričaj malo sporije. = Speak a little more slowly.

So the same form can have different functions depending on the sentence.

Croatian often begins a sentence with the location or other contextual information, especially when introducing something that exists somewhere.

So Iza sela je malo brdo is a very natural way to say:

• Behind the village, there is a small hill or simply
• There is a small hill behind the village

This structure is common when describing places, scenes, or positions.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

Ee-zah SEH-lah yeh MAH-loh BER-doh

A few notes:

• i is usually like ee in see
• e is like e in bed (but clearer and shorter)
• j is pronounced like English y in yes
• r in brdo is rolled or tapped

The word brdo can feel tricky because of the consonant cluster brd-, which is normal in Croatian.

Yes, that is a good literal translation.

Word by word:

• iza = behind
• sela = of the village / the village in genitive after iza
• je = is
• malo = small
• brdo = hill

So the structure is very close to:

• Behind the village is a small hill.

In more natural English, you might also say:

• There is a small hill behind the village.