Golub koji sjedi na ogradi izgleda mokar poslije kiše.

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

So:

• golub can mean a pigeon or the pigeon
• the exact meaning depends on context

In this sentence, the listener already knows which pigeon is being talked about because it is identified by the relative clause koji sjedi na ogradi.

Koji means who/which/that and introduces a relative clause.

So:

• golub = pigeon
• koji sjedi na ogradi = that is sitting on the fence

It agrees with golub in gender and number:

• golub is masculine singular
• so we use koji

You can think of it as the Croatian equivalent of English that or which in this sentence.

Sjedi is the 3rd person singular present tense of sjediti = to sit.

So:

• ja sjedim = I sit / I am sitting
• ti sjediš = you sit / are sitting
• on/ona/ono sjedi = he/she/it sits / is sitting

Here it matches golub, which is singular:

• Golub ... sjedi = The pigeon ... is sitting

Croatian present tense often covers both English simple present and present continuous, so sjedi can mean sits or is sitting, depending on context.

Because the preposition na can require different cases depending on meaning.

Here, na means on in the sense of location, so it takes the locative case.

• dictionary form: ograda = fence
• locative singular: ogradi = on the fence

So:

• na ogradi = on the fence

If there were movement onto the fence, Croatian would normally use a different case.

The verb tells you.

• sjedi describes a state/location
• the pigeon is already there, sitting there

So na + locative = on the fence

Compare the idea:

• sjedi na ogradi = is sitting on the fence
• if it were moving onto the fence, Croatian would usually use na
  • accusative

This location vs. destination contrast is very common with Croatian prepositions.

Because mokar is a predicate adjective describing golub.

• golub is masculine singular
• so the adjective must also be masculine singular
• therefore: mokar

Forms of mokar:

• mokar = masculine singular
• mokra = feminine singular
• mokro = neuter singular

So:

• Golub izgleda mokar = The pigeon looks wet

Also, after izgledati in this sense, Croatian usually uses the adjective directly:

• izgleda mokar = looks wet

You do not need kao here.

Because after izgledati meaning to look/seem, Croatian normally uses the adjective in the nominative, agreeing with the subject.

So:

• golub = nominative masculine singular
• mokar = nominative masculine singular

This is similar to English predicate adjectives after be, seem, look:

• The pigeon is wet
• The pigeon looks wet

Croatian works the same way here.

Izgleda is the 3rd person singular present tense of izgledati.

In this sentence it means:

• looks
• appears
• seems

So izgleda mokar means:

• looks wet
• seems wet

It does not mean that the pigeon is definitely wet, only that this is how it appears.

Because poslije is followed by the genitive case.

• dictionary form: kiša = rain
• genitive singular: kiše

So:

• poslije kiše = after the rain / after rain

This is a very common pattern:

• poslije škole = after school
• poslije ručka = after lunch
• poslije kiše = after the rain

Yes. Nakon kiše is also correct and means the same thing: after the rain.

Both poslije and nakon take the genitive.

Very roughly:

• poslije is often a bit more common in everyday speech
• nakon can sound slightly more formal or neutral

But in this sentence, both are natural.

Yes, Croatian word order is more flexible than English word order.

The neutral order here is:

• Golub koji sjedi na ogradi izgleda mokar poslije kiše.

But you could move some parts for emphasis, for example:

• Poslije kiše golub koji sjedi na ogradi izgleda mokar.
• Mokar izgleda golub koji sjedi na ogradi poslije kiše.
  This is much more marked and stylistic.

Even though word order can change, the original version sounds natural and neutral.

In this sentence, it works as identifying information: it tells you which pigeon is meant.

So the structure is:

• Golub = pigeon
• koji sjedi na ogradi = that is sitting on the fence

Together: the pigeon that is sitting on the fence

Croatian does not use commas here because this is a restrictive relative clause—it identifies the noun, rather than adding optional extra information.

Because Croatian usually does not need subject pronouns when the verb form already shows the person and number.

Here:

• sjedi already tells us it is 3rd person singular
• izgleda also tells us it is 3rd person singular

And the noun golub is already stated, so adding on would be unnecessary.

This is very normal in Croatian.

Not necessarily. In Croatian, every noun has a grammatical gender.

Golub is grammatically masculine, so words agreeing with it must be masculine too:

• koji
• mokar

That does not automatically mean the bird is biologically male. In many sentences, grammatical gender is simply part of the noun’s grammar.

Not in the same way. English can sometimes say:

• The pigeon sitting on the fence...

Croatian usually expresses that idea with a full relative clause:

• Golub koji sjedi na ogradi...

There are other ways to compress information in Croatian, but for normal everyday language, the version with koji is the most natural here.

In normal interpretation, it describes the whole situation, especially why it looks wet.

So the natural reading is:

• The pigeon sitting on the fence looks wet after the rain

In other words, the rain happened, and afterward the pigeon appears wet.

It is not usually understood as the pigeon is sitting on the fence after the rain unless the context pushes that interpretation.