Moja kći kaže da je zebra ljepša od svih životinja koje je danas vidjela.

Croatian has no articles, so there is no separate word for the or a/an.

So zebra can mean the zebra or a zebra, depending on context. In this sentence, the context makes it natural in English to say the zebra.

Because moja has to agree with kći in gender, number, and case.

• kći = daughter
• kći is feminine singular
• the subject here is in the nominative
• so moj becomes moja

This is a very common pattern in Croatian:

• moj sin = my son
• moja kći = my daughter
• moje dijete = my child

Yes, it is a somewhat irregular noun, and learners often notice that quickly.

The nominative singular is kći, but in other forms you often see a different-looking stem, such as kćer- or kćeri, depending on the form. So it does not behave like a simple regular noun ending in -a or a regular consonant-ending noun.

You do not need to memorize every form just from this sentence, but it is good to know that kći is one of those nouns that needs special attention.

After verbs like kaže = says, Croatian very often uses da to introduce the content of what someone says, thinks, knows, wants, and so on.

So:

• kaže da... = says that...
• misli da... = thinks that...
• zna da... = knows that...

Here:

• kaže = says
• da = that
• je zebra ljepša... = the zebra is more beautiful...

So kaže da je zebra ljepša... means says that the zebra is more beautiful...

No. Here je is not the past tense auxiliary. It is the present tense form of biti = to be.

So:

• zebra je ljepša = the zebra is more beautiful

In the subordinate clause after da, Croatian puts the clitic je very early:

• da je zebra ljepša...

So this je means is, not has or was.

Because ljepša is the comparative form, and it agrees with zebra, which is feminine singular.

The basic adjective is:

• lijep = beautiful

Comparative:

• ljepši = more beautiful, masculine
• ljepša = more beautiful, feminine
• ljepše = more beautiful, neuter

Since zebra is feminine, you need ljepša.

So:

• zebra je ljepša = the zebra is more beautiful

Croatian commonly expresses than after a comparative with od + genitive.

So:

• ljepša od... = more beautiful than...
• veći od... = bigger than...
• brži od... = faster than...

Here:

• od = than / from
• svih = all, in the genitive plural
• životinja = animals, here also in the genitive plural

So:

• od svih životinja = than all the animals

A learner might expect something like sve životinje, but after od, Croatian uses the genitive, so it becomes svih životinja.

Because koje refers back to životinja = animals, and in the relative clause it functions as the direct object of vidjela.

A useful rule is:

• the relative pronoun agrees with its antecedent in gender and number
• but its case depends on its role inside the relative clause

Here:

• antecedent: životinja = animals, feminine plural in meaning
• role inside the clause: object of vidjela = saw

So the correct form is koje.

That gives:

• životinja koje je danas vidjela = the animals that she saw today

Because vidjela agrees with the subject of the verb, not with the object.

In koje je danas vidjela, the object is koje = which / that, referring to animals. But the subject is omitted and understood from context: it is moja kći.

Since moja kći is feminine singular, the past participle is also feminine singular:

• vidjela = saw, with a feminine singular subject

Compare:

• moja kći je vidjela = my daughter saw
• moj sin je vidio = my son saw

So vidjela tells you something about who saw, not about what was seen.

Because Croatian usually forms the past tense as the perfect:

• auxiliary je
• past participle vidjela

So:

• je vidjela = saw / has seen

This is the normal everyday past tense in Croatian for completed events.

Also notice the word order: je is a clitic, so it usually appears very early in the clause:

• koje je danas vidjela

Not normally:

• koje danas je vidjela

Yes, Croatian word order is fairly flexible, but not completely free.

This sentence is natural and standard:

• Moja kći kaže da je zebra ljepša od svih životinja koje je danas vidjela.

You can move some elements for emphasis, especially adverbs like danas, but the clitic je still tends to stay near the beginning of its clause.

For example, in the relative clause:

• koje je danas vidjela = neutral
• koje je vidjela danas = possible, but with a different feel or emphasis

And in the da-clause, je also comes early:

• da je zebra ljepša...

So yes, word order can shift, but clitic placement is one of the main things learners have to watch.

A rough guide:

• kći ≈ kchyee or ktyee with a very soft sound
• kaže ≈ KAH-zhe
• ljepša ≈ LYEP-sha
• životinja ≈ zhee-vo-TEE-nya

A few key letter/sound points:

• ž sounds like the s in measure
• j sounds like English y
• lj is a soft ly sound
• ć is a very soft t/ch-like sound
• š sounds like English sh

Pronunciation is often easier once you hear it, but these approximations can help you get started.