Kad dođem kući, želim se malo odmoriti.

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Breakdown of Kad dođem kući, želim se malo odmoriti.

• kad: when
• željeti: to want
• doći: to come

Questions & Answers about Kad dođem kući, želim se malo odmoriti.

Why does the sentence start with kad? Is that the same as kada?

Yes. Kad and kada both mean when.

• kad is the shorter, very common everyday form
• kada is a bit more formal or more emphatic

So Kad dođem kući... and Kada dođem kući... both work here.

Why is dođem in the present tense if the meaning is future?

In Croatian, after time words like kad meaning when, you often use the present tense to talk about a future event.

So:

• Kad dođem kući = When I get home

This is actually similar to English, which also says when I get home, not when I will get home.

Why is it dođem and not dolazim?

This is about aspect.

• doći / dođem is perfective: it focuses on a single completed arrival
• dolaziti / dolazim is imperfective: it focuses on repeated, ongoing, or habitual coming

Here the speaker means one future moment of arrival: first I get home, then I rest. That is why dođem is the natural choice.