Ona se boji velikog konja, ali se ne boji male koze.

Se is a reflexive particle that belongs with the verb bojati se, which means to be afraid or to fear.

So the basic dictionary form is:

• bojati se = to be afraid

You usually learn this verb together with se, because bojati by itself is not the normal form you want here.

Examples:

• Bojim se psa. = I’m afraid of the dog.
• Ona se boji konja. = She is afraid of the horse.

In this sentence, se is not translated as herself. It is just part of the verb.

Boji is the 3rd person singular present tense form of bojati se.

The subject is ona = she, so you need the she form:

• ja se bojim = I am afraid
• ti se bojiš = you are afraid
• on / ona / ono se boji = he / she / it is afraid

So:

• Ona se boji = She is afraid

Bojati se is the infinitive, meaning to be afraid.

Because the verb bojati se takes the genitive case, not the nominative.

So after bojati se, the thing someone is afraid of goes into the genitive:

• konj → konja
• koza → koze

That is why the sentence says:

• se boji velikog konja
• se ne boji male koze

This is a very important pattern to remember:

• bojati se + genitive

Because adjectives must match the noun in case, gender, and number.

Since konja and koze are in the genitive singular, the adjectives must also be in the genitive singular:

• veliki konj → velikog konja
• mala koza → male koze

Here is the matching:

• konj is masculine singular, so veliki becomes velikog
• koza is feminine singular, so mala becomes male

So the whole noun phrases are:

• velikog konja = of the big horse / the big horse
• male koze = of the small goat / the small goat

Because Croatian often leaves out subject pronouns when they are already clear from the verb form or context.

The sentence says:

• Ona se boji velikog konja, ali se ne boji male koze.

In the second clause, se ne boji still clearly refers to she, so repeating ona is unnecessary.

You could say:

• Ona se boji velikog konja, ali ona se ne boji male koze.

But that sounds more emphatic. In normal speech, Croatian usually drops the repeated subject pronoun.

In Croatian, ne normally comes directly before the finite verb.

The finite verb here is boji, so:

• se ne boji = correct
• ne se boji = not correct

With reflexive verbs, the short particle se often comes before ne + verb in sentences like this:

• Ona se ne boji. = She is not afraid.

So the order in your sentence is normal Croatian word order.

Ali means but.

It connects the two contrasting ideas:

• She is afraid of the big horse
• but she is not afraid of the small goat

So:

• Ona se boji velikog konja, ali se ne boji male koze.

The contrast is between what she fears and what she does not fear.

Very commonly, yes: bojati se is normally taught with the genitive.

Examples:

• Bojim se psa. = I’m afraid of the dog.
• Bojiš se mraka. = You’re afraid of the dark.
• Boje se učitelja. = They’re afraid of the teacher.

So for learners, the safest rule is:

• bojati se + genitive

They are agreeing with different kinds of nouns.

Masculine singular genitive

• veliki konj → velikog konja

Feminine singular genitive

• mala koza → male koze

So the endings are different because:

1. konj is masculine
2. koza is feminine

This is part of adjective declension in Croatian. The adjective changes to match the noun it describes.

Yes, Croatian word order is fairly flexible, but not every version sounds equally natural.

The given sentence:

• Ona se boji velikog konja, ali se ne boji male koze.

is very natural.

You could also say:

• Velikog konja se boji, ali male koze se ne boji.

This puts more focus on the animals.

However, for learners, the original word order is a very good neutral pattern:

• subject
• se
• verb
• object in genitive

You change the verb form, but the rest stays the same.

With I

• Ja se bojim velikog konja, ali se ne bojim male koze.

With they

• Oni se boje velikog konja, ali se ne boje male koze.

Verb forms:

• bojim se = I am afraid
• boji se = she/he is afraid
• boje se = they are afraid

Notice that the nouns still stay in the genitive:

• velikog konja
• male koze