Moja sestra želi raditi kao kuharica u malom hotelu.

A word-by-word breakdown:

• moja = my
• sestra = sister
• želi = wants
• raditi = to work
• kao = as
• kuharica = female cook, woman chef
• u = in
• malom = small (form used here because of the case)
• hotelu = hotel (form used here because of the case)

So the whole sentence means: My sister wants to work as a cook in a small hotel.

Moja is the possessive adjective my, and it agrees with sestra.

Because sestra is:

• feminine
• singular
• nominative (the subject of the sentence)

the correct form is moja.

You could also say just Sestra želi... if the context already makes it clear whose sister you mean, but moja sestra is the normal full phrase for my sister.

This is very common in Croatian.

• želi = wants
• raditi = to work

After verbs like željeti (to want), Croatian usually uses the infinitive of the second verb:

• Želim učiti. = I want to study.
• Želi spavati. = He/She wants to sleep.
• Moja sestra želi raditi. = My sister wants to work.

So raditi stays in the infinitive because it depends on želi.

Želi is the 3rd person singular present tense of željeti (to want).

It matches moja sestra, which is she.

A few forms of željeti:

• ja želim = I want
• ti želiš = you want
• on/ona želi = he/she wants
• mi želimo = we want
• vi želite = you want
• oni/one žele = they want

So sestra želi = the sister wants / my sister wants.

Raditi can mean both to work and to do, depending on context.

In this sentence, because of kao kuharica (as a cook), it clearly means to work:

• raditi kao kuharica = to work as a cook

Compare:

• Radim u školi. = I work in a school.
• Što radiš? = What are you doing?

So raditi is a flexible verb, and context tells you which meaning is intended.

Kao means as.

So:

• raditi kao kuharica = to work as a cook

It introduces a role, profession, or function.

More examples:

• Radi kao učitelj. = He works as a teacher.
• Koristim to kao primjer. = I use that as an example.

Because sestra is female, the profession is expressed in the feminine form:

• kuhar = male cook / chef
• kuharica = female cook / chef

Croatian often marks professions for gender, especially when talking about a specific person.

So:

• Moj brat želi raditi kao kuhar.
• Moja sestra želi raditi kao kuharica.

That said, usage can vary in real life, but for learners this is the standard and most expected match.

Yes, kuharica can also mean cookbook in Croatian.

So the word can mean:

• a female cook
• a cookbook

In this sentence, the meaning is obviously female cook because of raditi kao... (to work as...).

Context usually makes it clear.

Because u can be followed by different cases depending on meaning.

Here it means in a small hotel as a location, not movement toward a place. So Croatian uses the locative case:

• u malom hotelu = in a small hotel

If there were movement into a hotel, Croatian would use the accusative:

• Idem u mali hotel. = I am going into/to a small hotel.

So:

• location → u + locative
• movement toward/into → u + accusative

Because they are both in the locative singular.

• hotel is a masculine noun
• after u meaning location, it becomes hotelu
• the adjective mali must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case
• so mali becomes malom

Pattern:

• mali hotel = nominative
• u malom hotelu = locative

This is adjective-noun agreement, which is very important in Croatian.

Croatian has no articles, so there is no direct equivalent of a or the.

So u malom hotelu can mean:

• in a small hotel
• in the small hotel

The exact meaning depends on context.

Croatian speakers usually understand definiteness from:

• context
• word order
• stress/emphasis
• sometimes additional words such as taj (that) or ovaj (this)

For example:

• u tom malom hotelu = in that small hotel

The sentence as given is the most neutral, standard word order:

• Moja sestra želi raditi kao kuharica u malom hotelu.

But Croatian word order is fairly flexible, and changes can shift emphasis.

For example:

• U malom hotelu moja sestra želi raditi kao kuharica.
  This puts more focus on in a small hotel.

• Kao kuharica moja sestra želi raditi u malom hotelu.
  This highlights the role as a cook.

Even though the order can change, the original sentence is the best default version for learners.

Ž is pronounced like the s in measure or the g in genre.

So želi sounds roughly like:

• ZHEH-lee

A few pronunciation notes:

• j in Croatian sounds like English y
• e is usually a clear eh
• i is usually a clear ee

So želi is not like English jelly; it is closer to zheh-lee.

You would change the words to match masculine gender:

• Moj brat želi raditi kao kuhar u malom hotelu.

Changes:

• moja → moj
• sestra → brat
• kuharica → kuhar

This is a good example of how Croatian words change to match gender.

Yes, often you could.

• Sestra želi raditi kao kuharica u malom hotelu.

This means The sister / sister wants to work as a cook in a small hotel, and in context it may be understood as my sister.

But if you specifically want to say my sister, keeping moja is clearer and more natural, especially out of context.

Yes, it is a very natural and standard way to say it.

• raditi kao kuharica = to work as a cook

Other possible ways exist depending on style or meaning, but for a learner this is exactly the kind of phrase you should learn and reuse:

• raditi kao učiteljica = to work as a teacher
• raditi kao vozač = to work as a driver
• raditi kao konobarica = to work as a waitress

So this sentence is a very useful model.