Moj brat ne voli svinje, ali moja sestra misli da su smiješne.

Because moj / moja / moje must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.

• brat = masculine singular, so moj brat
• sestra = feminine singular, so moja sestra

This is the same possessive adjective my, but it changes form in Croatian.

Here svinje is plural: pigs.

The verb voljeti (to like / to love) takes a direct object, so svinje is in the accusative plural. For this noun, the accusative plural looks the same as the nominative plural:

• singular: svinja = pig
• plural: svinje = pigs

So ne voli svinje means doesn’t like pigs.

It can mean either, depending on context. The verb voljeti covers both to love and to like.

In this sentence, ne voli svinje is naturally understood as he doesn’t like pigs, not he doesn’t love pigs.

Because da introduces a clause meaning that.

• misli da... = thinks that...

So:

• moja sestra misli da su smiješne
• my sister thinks that they are funny

In English, that is often optional, but in Croatian da is normally used here.

su is the 3rd person plural present of biti (to be).

So:

• su = are

The phrase da su smiješne literally means that [they] are funny.

It is understood and left out.

Croatian often drops subject pronouns when the verb already makes the subject clear. Since su means they are, you do not need to say one (they) explicitly.

So Croatian says:

• da su smiješne

instead of:

• da one su smiješne ❌

If you wanted to include the pronoun for emphasis, it would normally be:

• da su one smiješne

Because the adjective must agree with the noun it describes.

The implied subject is svinje (pigs), which is feminine plural, so the adjective is also feminine plural:

• singular feminine: smiješna
• plural feminine: smiješne

So smiješne means funny when referring to svinje.

Because su is a clitic—a short unstressed word that usually goes near the beginning of the clause.

In da su smiješne, the normal order is:

• da
  • su
    • rest of clause

So this is standard Croatian word order.

Because Croatian has no articles.

English uses:

• the brother
• a sister
• the pigs

Croatian does not have separate words for a/an/the. Meaning is understood from context.

So:

• Moj brat = my brother
• moja sestra = my sister
• svinje = pigs / the pigs, depending on context

Yes, Croatian word order is more flexible than English, but the original sentence is the most neutral and natural.

Standard version:

• Moj brat ne voli svinje, ali moja sestra misli da su smiješne.

You can change word order for emphasis, but not every change sounds equally natural. For example, moving svinje earlier might emphasize pigs specifically.

For learners, it is best to keep the original order until you get used to Croatian sentence rhythm.

Yes, in this sentence ali means but and connects two contrasting ideas:

• Moj brat ne voli svinje
• ali moja sestra misli da su smiješne

So the contrast is:

• my brother doesn’t like pigs
• but my sister thinks they are funny

The dictionary form is misliti, meaning to think.

Here it appears as:

• misli = he/she thinks

Since the subject is moja sestra, it means:

• moja sestra misli = my sister thinks

A rough guide is: SMYEH-shneh.

A few helpful points:

• smi here sounds like smye
• je is pronounced, so smije- is not just smee-
• š sounds like English sh
• ne is like neh

So: smiješne ≈ SMYEH-shneh

The exact pronunciation becomes easier once you hear native audio, but that approximation is a good start.