Otkud sada taj problem?

In this sentence, otkud is not just a literal from where?. It often means something like:

• where did this come from?
• how did this appear?
• how come this is suddenly an issue?

So it often carries a feeling of surprise, confusion, or mild annoyance.

It is a very natural word in Croatian when reacting to an unexpected situation.

They are very close, and in many situations they can replace each other.

• odakle = more basic/neutral from where
• otkud = also from where, but very often with a stronger sense of how did that happen? or where did that suddenly come from?

So in this sentence, otkud feels especially natural because the speaker is reacting to an unexpected problem.

You could also hear:

• Odakle sada taj problem?

But Otkud sada taj problem? often sounds a bit more immediate or expressive.

Sada means now, but here it is not only about time in a literal sense. It adds the idea of:

• now all of a sudden
• at this point
• why is this an issue now?

So sada helps express that the speaker thinks the problem has appeared unexpectedly or at an inconvenient moment.

Without sada, the sentence would be less specific emotionally:

• Otkud taj problem? = where did that problem come from?
• Otkud sada taj problem? = where did that problem come from now / why is this suddenly a problem now?

Taj means that, but in Croatian demonstratives are often used more naturally than in English.

Here taj problem suggests that:

• the problem is already known, mentioned, or visible in the situation
• the speaker is pointing to that particular problem
• there may be a tone of Why this problem, specifically?

It can also add a slight emotional coloring, especially if the speaker is irritated or surprised.

So taj is not always as strong as English that. Sometimes it simply helps identify something already understood in context.

Because Croatian often allows short, elliptical questions when the meaning is obvious.

Literally, the sentence does not contain an explicit verb like:

• dolazi = comes
• nastaje = arises
• se pojavio = appeared

But one of those ideas is understood from context. Croatian does this quite naturally, especially in speech.

So Otkud sada taj problem? is a normal, complete sentence in actual usage, even though English would usually need more structure.

Problem is in the nominative singular.

Why?

Because in this kind of elliptical question, taj problem functions like the thing being identified or reacted to — basically the noun at the center of the question.

You can see agreement here:

• taj = masculine singular nominative
• problem = masculine singular nominative

So the phrase is:

• taj problem = nominative singular masculine

It is a normal Croatian word, and yes, it is an international/borrowed-type word, similar to English problem.

Its forms follow Croatian grammar:

• problem = nominative
• problema = genitive
• problemu = dative/locative
• problemom = instrumental

So even though it looks familiar to an English speaker, it behaves like a regular Croatian masculine noun.

Croatian word order is flexible, but this order is very natural.

The structure is:

• Otkud = question word first
• sada = time emphasis
• taj problem = the thing being questioned

Putting otkud first is expected, because it introduces the question. Then sada immediately adds the sense of why now / all of a sudden.

A different order could shift the emphasis, but this version sounds very idiomatic and conversational.

It sounds natural and conversational.

Not slang, but definitely more like everyday speech than very formal written language. Two things help create that feeling:

• otkud is expressive and common in speech
• the sentence is elliptical because the verb is omitted

In more formal language, someone might choose a fuller or more neutral version, but this sentence is completely standard and normal.

It usually expresses some emotion.

Depending on tone of voice, it can suggest:

• surprise
• disbelief
• irritation
• impatience
• confusion

So it often means more than a plain request for information. The speaker is usually reacting to the fact that this problem has appeared at all, especially now.

That emotional coloring comes mainly from:

• otkud
• sada
• the short, verb-less structure

Yes. In everyday Croatian, sad is a very common shorter form of sada.

So you will often hear:

• Otkud sad taj problem?

This is extremely natural in speech.

The difference is mostly stylistic:

• sada = a bit fuller, slightly more careful
• sad = very common spoken form

Both are correct.