Na slici u knjizi lisica nosi crveni šal.

This is a very common point of confusion.

In Croatian, na slici is the normal way to say in the picture when you mean something shown as part of the image.

• na
  • locative often literally means on
• but with words like slika (picture), Croatian uses na slici idiomatically for what English expresses as in the picture

So:

• Na slici je pas. = There is a dog in the picture.
• not necessarily on top of the physical picture

If you wanted to talk about something physically lying on a picture, context would make that clear.

Because u means in, and here the picture is located in the book.

• u knjizi = in the book
• na slici = in the picture

So the structure is:

• Na slici = in the picture
• u knjizi = in the book

Together: In the picture in the book...

Both na slici and u knjizi are location phrases.

Because after na and u when they express location, Croatian uses the locative case.

Here is the pattern:

• slika → na slici
• knjiga → u knjizi

These are singular feminine nouns in the locative.

So:

• na + locative for location
• u + locative for location

That is why you do not see the basic dictionary forms slika and knjiga here.

Grammatically, lisica is a feminine noun. That does not always mean the real-life fox must be female.

In many contexts, lisica simply means fox as an animal name. Croatian animal nouns often have a fixed grammatical gender.

So here:

• lisica = fox
• grammatical gender: feminine

That affects agreement in the sentence, but it does not automatically mean the animal is biologically female unless the context says so.

Lisica is in the nominative singular because it is the subject of the sentence.

The basic structure is:

• lisica = the fox
• nosi = carries / wears
• crveni šal = a red scarf

So lisica is the one doing the action.

Nosi comes from the verb nositi.

It can mean several related things in English, depending on context:

• to carry
• to wear
• sometimes more generally to have on

In this sentence, because the object is šal (scarf), the natural meaning is:

• is wearing a red scarf

If the object were something like torbu (a bag), it could mean is carrying a bag.

In standard Croatian, when an adjective comes before a noun like this, the usual form is the long adjective form, so:

• crveni šal = a/the red scarf

That is the normal attributive pattern.

Also, the adjective has to agree with šal in:

• gender: masculine
• number: singular
• case: accusative here

Because šal is a masculine inanimate noun, its accusative singular looks like the nominative singular, so you get:

• crveni šal

Šal is the direct object of nosi, so it must be in the accusative case.

However, šal is a masculine inanimate noun. In Croatian, masculine inanimate nouns often have:

• nominative singular = accusative singular

So:

• nominative: šal
• accusative: šal

That is why the noun itself does not visibly change.

The adjective agrees with it:

• crveni šal

Croatian has no articles like English a and the.

So lisica can mean:

• a fox
• the fox

and crveni šal can mean:

• a red scarf
• the red scarf

Which one is intended depends on context.

In this sentence, English might naturally translate it as:

• In the picture in the book, the fox is wearing a red scarf.

But Croatian does not mark that distinction with articles.

Croatian word order is more flexible than English word order because case endings help show the grammatical roles.

Starting with Na slici u knjizi puts the setting first:

• In the picture in the book...

Then comes the main information:

• the fox is wearing a red scarf

This sounds natural because it sets the scene before introducing the action.

You could also say:

• Lisica na slici u knjizi nosi crveni šal.

That is also understandable, but it places the fox more in focus.

Yes. It works as a location phrase with a nested location inside it.

You can think of it like this:

• na slici = in the picture
• u knjizi = in the book

Together:

• the picture that is in the book

So the fox is not directly in the book physically in the real-world sense; it is in the picture, and that picture is in the book.

A simple approximate pronunciation is:

• Na sli-tsi oo knjizi lee-si-tsa no-see tsr-veh-nee shahl

A few useful sound notes:

• c = ts
• č = a harder ch
• ć = a softer ch
• š = sh
• j = English y sound

So:

• slici sounds roughly like slee-tsi
• knjizi has nj, similar to the ny sound in canyon
• šal sounds like shahl

By itself, it mainly describes what is visible in the image.

Because Croatian has no articles, the sentence does not explicitly tell you whether it means:

• a fox
• the fox

or

• a red scarf
• the red scarf

Usually, with a sentence like this, the listener simply understands it as a description of the scene:

• there is a fox in the picture, and it is wearing a red scarf

The exact definiteness comes from context, not from a special word.