Pčela zuji oko soka, a osa leti iznad stola.

Because the prepositions oko and iznad normally require the genitive case.

So:

• sok → soka
• stol → stola

In this sentence:

• oko soka = around the juice
• iznad stola = above the table

This is very common in Croatian: the preposition determines the case of the noun that follows it.

They are both genitive singular.

Their base forms are:

• sok = juice
• stol = table

Genitive singular forms:

• soka
• stola

For many masculine nouns, the genitive singular is formed by adding -a.

A often translates as and, but it has a slightly different feel from i.

In this sentence, a links two clauses while also giving a mild contrast or comparison:

• Pčela zuji oko soka, a osa leti iznad stola.
• The bee is buzzing around the juice, and/while the wasp is flying above the table.

So a can feel like:

• and
• while
• sometimes almost whereas

If you used i, it would sound more like simple addition. A is very natural here because the sentence compares what the bee is doing with what the wasp is doing.

Because Croatian normally separates two coordinated clauses with a comma when they are joined by a.

Here you have two full clauses:

• Pčela zuji oko soka
• osa leti iznad stola

So the comma is standard:

• Pčela zuji oko soka, a osa leti iznad stola.

This is more regular in Croatian than in English, where commas before and are often optional depending on style.

A rough guide:

• pčela ≈ pchEHla
• zuji ≈ ZOO-yee
• osa ≈ OH-sa

A few useful details:

• č sounds like ch in church
• ž sounds like the s in measure
• j sounds like English y

So:

• zuji is pronounced zoo-yee, not zoo-jye
• pč at the start of pčela can feel difficult at first; Croatian allows these consonant clusters more freely than English

Word by word:

• pčela = bee
• zuji = buzzes / is buzzing
• oko = around
• soka = of juice / juice in the genitive after oko
• a = and / while
• osa = wasp
• leti = flies / is flying
• iznad = above
• stola = of the table / table in the genitive after iznad

So the sentence is built very literally as:

• Bee buzzes around juice, and/while wasp flies above table.

Because Croatian has no articles.

English uses:

• a bee
• the bee
• a table
• the table

Croatian usually just says:

• pčela
• stol

The exact meaning depends on context. So pčela can mean:

• a bee
• the bee

and stola can mean:

• of a table
• of the table

In this sentence, the intended meaning comes from the overall context, not from articles.

Yes, both pčela and osa are feminine singular nouns.

In Croatian, many feminine nouns end in -a, especially in the nominative singular.

So:

• pčela = bee
• osa = wasp

That said, not every noun ending in -a is feminine, but it is a very common pattern.

In the present tense, Croatian verbs usually do not show gender.

So:

• Pčela zuji = The bee buzzes
• Osa leti = The wasp flies

The verbs zuji and leti are simply 3rd person singular present. They would be the same with many other singular subjects.

Gender becomes more visible in some other forms, especially the past tense, for example:

• Pčela je zujala
• Osa je letjela

There, the participle shows feminine gender.

They are present-tense forms of these verbs:

• zujati = to buzz
• letjeti = to fly

In the sentence:

• zuji = he/she/it buzzes or is buzzing
• leti = he/she/it flies or is flying

Croatian present tense often covers both the simple present and the present continuous from English, depending on context.

So zuji can mean either:

• buzzes
• is buzzing

and leti can mean:

• flies
• is flying

Not always. Oko can be different things depending on context.

Here, it is a preposition meaning around, and it takes the genitive:

• oko soka = around the juice

But oko can also be a noun meaning eye:

• oko = eye

And in some contexts it can also mean something like about/approximately.

So learners often need to identify its role from the sentence.

In your example, because it is followed by soka in the genitive, it is clearly the preposition around.

They describe different kinds of position:

• oko = around
• iznad = above

So:

• Pčela zuji oko soka = the bee is moving/buzzing around the juice
• osa leti iznad stola = the wasp is flying over the table, at a higher position

Both are prepositions, and both are followed here by the genitive case.

Yes. Croatian word order is more flexible than English, because the case endings help show the relationships between words.

The given sentence has a very neutral, natural order:

• Pčela zuji oko soka, a osa leti iznad stola.

But other orders are possible for emphasis, for example:

• Oko soka pčela zuji, a iznad stola osa leti.

That version is more marked and emphasizes the locations first. A learner should generally stick with the original order until they become more comfortable with Croatian style and emphasis.

Yes. Croatian present tense often corresponds to both English forms:

• flies
• is flying

So osa leti can mean either:

• the wasp flies
• the wasp is flying

The surrounding context tells you which English translation sounds better.

The same is true for zuji:

• buzzes
• is buzzing

It is understandable and grammatically fine, but it does sound a bit like a beginner or textbook sentence because of the simple vocabulary and the neat parallel structure.

That said, every part of it is natural Croatian:

• Pčela zuji
• oko soka
• a osa leti
• iznad stola

So it is a good learning sentence, even if it is a little unusually tidy in the way many teaching examples are.