Ako želiš ući u ostavu, prvo otvori onaj mali ormarić pokraj hladnjaka.

Croatian often drops subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

• želiš = you want
• otvori = open! addressed to you (singular)

So ti is not necessary here. You could add ti for emphasis, but the neutral version usually leaves it out.

Želiš is the 2nd person singular form of željeti/htjeti in the sense of to want here.

• ja želim = I want
• ti želiš = you want
• on/ona želi = he/she wants

Since the sentence is speaking to one person, želiš is the correct form.

Ući means to enter / to go in. It is a perfective verb, so it refers to a single completed action: actually going into the pantry.

That is why it fits well after želiš:

• želiš ući = you want to go in / enter

A related imperfective verb is ulaziti, which would suggest repeated, ongoing, or habitual entering. In this sentence, the idea is a single act of entering, so ući is the natural choice.

Because u can take different cases depending on meaning:

• u + accusative = movement into somewhere
• u + locative = being in somewhere

So:

• u ostavu = into the pantry
• u ostavi = in the pantry

Here the sentence is about going into the pantry, so Croatian uses the accusative: ostavu.

The base form is ostava = pantry / storage room.

Here it appears as ostavu, which is the accusative singular form.

For feminine nouns ending in -a, this is very common:

• nominative: ostava
• accusative: ostavu
• locative: ostavi

So u ostavu is a very typical motion pattern.

Yes. Otvori is the imperative form of otvoriti and means open!

So:

• otvori = open! (to one person)

This is a direct instruction: If you want to go into the pantry, first open that small cabinet next to the fridge.

Croatian often uses the perfective imperative for a single completed action, and otvoriti is perfective, so otvori is exactly what you would expect here.

Prvo means first.

It tells you the order of actions:

1. open the small cabinet
2. then go into the pantry

Its position is flexible in Croatian, but here prvo naturally comes before the imperative verb:

• prvo otvori... = first open...

That word order sounds very normal and clear.

Onaj means that.

So:

• onaj mali ormarić = that small cabinet

Croatian distinguishes things like:

• ovaj = this
• taj = that
• onaj = that over there / that one

In everyday speech, the exact difference can be a bit flexible, but onaj usually points to something more distant or clearly identifiable.

Because all three words agree with each other in gender, number, and case.

The noun ormarić is:

• masculine
• singular
• here in the accusative inanimate

For masculine inanimate nouns, the accusative form is the same as the nominative, so you get:

• onaj mali ormarić

If it were a feminine noun, the forms would look different.

Ormarić is a diminutive form related to ormar.

• ormar = wardrobe / cabinet / cupboard
• ormarić = small cabinet / little cupboard

In many contexts, diminutives in Croatian do not always sound especially cute in English; they can simply name a smaller object naturally. Here ormarić fits well because the sentence also says mali = small.

So mali ormarić is very natural Croatian.

Because pokraj takes the genitive case.

The base form is:

• hladnjak = fridge / refrigerator

After pokraj (next to / beside), it becomes:

• pokraj hladnjaka = next to the fridge

This is a very common pattern:

• blizu kuće = near the house
• pokraj stola = next to the table
• pored auta = beside the car

Yes. Pokraj and pored can both mean next to / beside in many situations.

So these are both natural:

• pokraj hladnjaka
• pored hladnjaka

There can be slight stylistic or regional preferences, but for most learners, both are good and useful.

A rough pronunciation guide:

• Ako = AH-koh
• želiš = ZHEH-leesh
  
  • ž sounds like the s in measure
• ući = OO-chee
  
  • ć is a soft ch sound
• ostavu = OH-stah-voo
• otvori = OHT-voh-ree
• onaj = OH-nye
• ormarić = or-MAH-rich
  
  • final ć is softer than English ch
• pokraj = POH-kry
• hladnjaka = HLAHD-nyah-kah
  
  • nj sounds like the ny in canyon

The most important sounds for English speakers here are usually ž, ć, and nj.