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Learn Hardcore Croatian: Idite naprijed. - Go forward.

Hardcore Croatian
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/Idite naprijed.

Idite naprijed.

Idite naprijed.

Breakdown of Idite naprijed.

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Questions & Answers about Idite naprijed.

What form is idite?

Idite is the imperative form of the verb ići (to go).

It is used for:

you all go ... (addressing more than one person)
please go ... (formal singular, when speaking politely to one person)

So Idite naprijed. is a command or instruction.

Why does idite end in -te?

In Croatian, -te is the usual ending for the plural imperative and also for the formal singular imperative.

Compare:

Idi naprijed. = go ahead / go forward (to one person, informal)
Idite naprijed. = go ahead / go forward (to several people, or to one person politely)

For an English speaker, this is similar to the difference between Go! said to a friend and Please go said politely or to a group, except Croatian marks that difference in the verb form itself.

Does Idite naprijed mean speaking to one person or more than one person?

It can mean either:

more than one person: You all, go forward
one person formally/politely: Please go forward

Croatian often uses the same form for plural you and formal singular you.
You understand which one is meant from the situation.

What does naprijed mean exactly?

Naprijed is an adverb meaning forward, ahead, or sometimes onward.

In this sentence, it tells the direction of movement:

Idite naprijed. = Go forward / Go ahead.

It does not change form here; it is just an adverb describing where to go.

Is this the normal way to say go ahead in Croatian?

It depends on what go ahead means in English.

Idite naprijed works well when you mean:

move forward
continue ahead physically

But English go ahead can also mean:

you may begin
please continue speaking
after you

In those cases, Croatian may use different expressions, for example:

Izvolite. = go ahead / please do / after you
Samo nastavite. = just continue

So Idite naprijed is mainly about going forward, not every possible English use of go ahead.

Can I say Idi naprijed instead?

Yes, if you are talking to one person informally.

Use:

Idi naprijed. = to one friend, child, classmate, etc.
Idite naprijed. = to several people, or politely to one person

This is a very common distinction in Croatian, so it is worth learning early:

idi = singular informal command
idite = plural or formal command

Could the words be reversed?

Croatian word order is more flexible than English, but Idite naprijed is the most natural neutral order.

You may sometimes hear:

Naprijed! = Forward!
Naprijed idite = possible, but less neutral and usually more marked or emphatic

For a learner, Idite naprijed is the safest standard pattern.

How is Idite naprijed pronounced?

A simple learner-friendly approximation is:

Idite ≈ EE-dee-teh
naprijed ≈ NAH-pree-yed

A few notes:

Croatian i is like ee in see
j is like English y
rije in naprijed sounds roughly like rye-eh or ree-yeh, depending on how carefully it is spoken

You do not need perfect accent placement at first; being clear with the vowels will already help a lot.

Is naprijed ever replaced by another word?

Yes. Depending on context, Croatian may also use:

ravno = straight
napred = a common variant of naprijed
dalje = further / on

For example:

Idite ravno. = Go straight.
Idite dalje. = Go on / Go further.

But naprijed specifically gives the idea of forward/ahead.

Can this sentence be used figuratively, not just for physical movement?

Sometimes, yes.

Besides literal movement, naprijed can also suggest progress or moving onward, depending on context. But in everyday direct instructions, Idite naprijed most often means actual movement in space.

If the context is abstract, Croatian often uses other expressions too, such as:

Nastavite dalje. = Continue on
Krenite dalje. = Move on / proceed

So the figurative reading is possible, but the literal one is the most basic and common.

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