Usprkos kiši, djeca su ipak izašla van samo na pet minuta da skoče preko lokve.

Usprkos means despite or in spite of.

It requires the dative case, so kiša becomes kiši:

• kiša = rain
• kiši = dative singular of kiša

So Usprkos kiši literally means despite the rain.

A very common synonym is unatoč, and it works the same way:

• unatoč kiši = despite the rain

The comma separates the introductory concessive phrase from the main clause.

So the sentence is structured like this:

• Usprkos kiši, = despite the rain
• djeca su ipak izašla van... = the children still went outside...

In English, we often do the same with an opening phrase:

• Despite the rain, the children still went outside...

In Croatian, this comma is very natural in standard writing, especially when the opening phrase sets the scene for the rest of the sentence.

Ipak means still, nevertheless, or all the same.

It adds a sense of contrast:

• it was raining,
• but despite that, they went out anyway.

So Usprkos kiši already gives the idea of despite, and ipak strengthens it:

• Usprkos kiši, djeca su ipak izašla...
• Despite the rain, the children still / nevertheless went out...

Using both is very normal in Croatian and makes the contrast clearer.

Djeca means children, so it refers to more than one person, but its grammar is a little unusual.

The singular is:

• dijete = child

The plural is:

• djeca = children

With djeca, Croatian uses plural agreement, but the form behaves as neuter plural. That is why the past participle is izašla:

• dijete je izašlo = the child went out
• djeca su izašla = the children went out

So even though izašla may look familiar from the feminine singular, here it is actually the neuter plural form.

Because su is a clitic. Croatian clitics usually go in the second position in the clause.

In this sentence:

• djeca is the first main element
• su comes right after it

So:

• Djeca su ipak izašla = natural
• Djeca ipak su izašla = not standard word order

If you move ipak to the front, the clitic still wants second position:

• Ipak su djeca izašla van.

This second-position rule is one of the most important word-order patterns in Croatian.

Yes, in a very literal sense izaći already means to go out, so van can seem redundant.

But in everyday Croatian, izaći van is very common and natural. It simply reinforces the idea of going outside.

So:

• izašla = went out
• izašla van = went outside

In many contexts, you could omit van:

• Djeca su ipak izašla samo na pet minuta...

But van sounds very normal in speech and informal writing.

Here na means for, in the sense of for a period of time.

So:

• na pet minuta = for five minutes

This is a very common way to express a limited duration, especially with movement or temporary actions:

• otići na sat vremena = to go away for an hour
• svratiti na deset minuta = to drop by for ten minutes

In this sentence, it suggests they only went out briefly.

Because after the numbers 5 and higher, Croatian normally uses the genitive plural of the noun.

So:

• jedna minuta
• dvije minute
• tri minute
• četiri minute
• pet minuta
• šest minuta

That is why minuta is correct after pet.

So in na pet minuta, the duration phrase means for five minutes, and minuta is there because of the numeral pet.

Here da skoče expresses purpose:

• they went out so that they could jump over the puddle
• more naturally in English: to jump over the puddle

Croatian very often uses da + present tense for purpose, especially in everyday language.

So:

• da skoče preko lokve = to jump over the puddle

An infinitive is possible in some Croatian structures, but da + present is extremely common and natural here.

Because skoče comes from the perfective verb skočiti, while skaču comes from the imperfective verb skakati.

The difference is about how the action is viewed:

• skočiti / skoče = to make a jump, to jump once, to complete the action
• skakati / skaču = to be jumping, to jump repeatedly or continuously

In this sentence, the idea is that they went out briefly in order to make that jump across the puddle, so the perfective skoče fits better.

If you used skakati, it would sound more like general or repeated jumping.

Preko means over or across, and it takes the genitive case.

So:

• lokva = puddle
• lokve = genitive singular of lokva

That is why the phrase is:

• preko lokve = over/across the puddle

This is a useful pattern to remember:

• preko ceste = across the road
• preko mosta = across the bridge
• preko rijeke = across the river

Because the sentence describes a single completed action: the children went out.

Croatian often uses the perfective verb for one whole event:

• izaći = to go out, to step out, as a completed action

The imperfective izlaziti would suggest something habitual, repeated, or ongoing:

• Djeca su izlazila van svaki dan. = The children used to go outside every day.

But here it happened once, briefly, and for a clear purpose, so izašla is the natural choice.