Kad je vjetar jak, oblačim debeli kaput i kapu.

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

Here, oblačim means I put on / I wear, and the ending -m tells you it is first person singular: I.

So Ja oblačim debeli kaput i kapu is possible, but ja is usually omitted unless you want emphasis or contrast.

Both kad and kada mean when.

• kad is shorter and very common in everyday speech
• kada is a little fuller and can sound slightly more formal or careful

So in this sentence, Kad je vjetar jak is perfectly natural and conversational.

Because Kad je vjetar jak is a subordinate clause: When the wind is strong.

In Croatian, when a subordinate clause comes before the main clause, it is normally separated by a comma:

Kad je vjetar jak, oblačim debeli kaput i kapu.

That comma is standard and expected.

Because jak here is not directly describing the noun inside a noun phrase. It is part of the predicate with je.

• jak vjetar = a strong wind
• vjetar je jak = the wind is strong

In your sentence, the structure is literally:

• vjetar = the wind
• je = is
• jak = strong

So Kad je vjetar jak means When the wind is strong.

Oblačim comes from oblačiti.

In sentences like this, it means I put on or, in a habitual sense, I wear / I dress in.

A useful contrast is:

• oblačim kaput = I am putting on a coat / I put on a coat
• nosim kaput = I am wearing a coat / I wear a coat

So here the idea is a repeated habit: when it is windy, I put on a thick coat and a hat.

Because both kaput and kapa are direct objects of oblačim, so they are in the accusative case.

But Croatian endings depend on gender and noun type.

• kaput is masculine inanimate

  • nominative: kaput
  • accusative: kaput
  • so it looks unchanged

• kapa is feminine

  • nominative: kapa
  • accusative: kapu

The adjective also has to match the noun it describes:

• debeli kaput = masculine accusative singular, which looks like the nominative here
• if you had an adjective with kapu, it would need a feminine accusative form, for example toplu kapu

No. Debeli only describes kaput.

That is clear because the adjective is in the masculine form debeli, matching kaput. It does not match kapa, which is feminine.

So the sentence means:

• a thick coat
• and a hat

If you wanted the adjective to describe both nouns, you would normally repeat it in the right form:

oblačim debeli kaput i debelu kapu

But semantically, thick hat is not the most natural idea; Croatian speakers would more likely say something like toplu kapu for a warm hat.

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

So kaput can mean:

• a coat
• the coat

and kapu can mean:

• a hat
• the hat

The exact meaning depends on context. Croatian speakers understand definiteness from the situation, word order, and the wider conversation.

Because Croatian uses the present tense for habitual or repeated actions, just like English often does.

So:

Kad je vjetar jak, oblačim debeli kaput i kapu.

means something like:

When the wind is strong, I put on / wear a thick coat and a hat.

It is not about only one specific moment. It describes what the speaker generally does in that situation.

Yes, Croatian word order is more flexible than English word order, although some versions sound more natural than others.

The given sentence is very natural:

Kad je vjetar jak, oblačim debeli kaput i kapu.

You may also hear:

Kad je jak vjetar, oblačim debeli kaput i kapu.

This shifts the focus slightly toward there being a strong wind, but the overall idea is very similar.

What usually stays the same is the basic grammar:

• kad introduces the time clause
• oblačim is the main verb
• debeli kaput i kapu are the objects

Not in the same way.

• oblačim se means I get dressed / I am getting dressed
• oblačim kaput means I put on a coat

So oblačim se is more general, while oblačim debeli kaput i kapu specifically names the clothes.

You could combine them in a larger sentence, but they are not identical:

• Kad je vjetar jak, toplo se oblačim. = When the wind is strong, I dress warmly.
• Kad je vjetar jak, oblačim debeli kaput i kapu. = When the wind is strong, I put on a thick coat and a hat.