Pogledaj okolo prije nego što odeš.

Pogledaj is the imperative form, used to give a command or instruction. It comes from the verb pogledati.

In this sentence, pogledaj means something like look or take a look.

Because it is addressed to one person informally, the form is singular:

• pogledaj = look! (to one person, informal)

Related forms:

• pogledajte = look! (to more than one person, or to one person formally)

So:

• Pogledaj okolo... = Look around...
• Pogledajte okolo... = Look around... (formal/plural)

This is mainly a question of aspect.

Croatian often uses:

• gledati = imperfective, to look/watch in an ongoing or repeated way
• pogledati = perfective, to take a look, to look once, to glance

In a sentence like this, the speaker usually means do this one complete action before leaving:

• Pogledaj okolo prije nego što odeš. = Take a look around before you leave.

If you said Gledaj okolo, it would sound more like:

• Keep looking around
• Look around continuously

So pogledaj fits better because it suggests a single, completed action.

Okolo means around.

In this sentence, it means around you / around the area / around the place:

• Pogledaj okolo = Look around

It is being used as an adverb, so it does not need any extra ending here.

You may also encounter similar words such as:

• oko sebe = around yourself, around you
• unaokolo / uokolo = also around, depending on style or region

So pogledaj okolo is a very natural way to say look around.

Yes. Pogledaj oko sebe is also natural and means look around you.

The difference is small:

• pogledaj okolo = look around
• pogledaj oko sebe = look around you

Oko sebe is a bit more explicit because it literally says around yourself.
Okolo is a little shorter and more general.

Both are correct in many situations.

Prije nego što means before or more literally before that.

It introduces a clause:

• prije nego što odeš = before you leave

This is a very common Croatian structure:

• prije nego što + verb

Examples:

• Nazovi me prije nego što kreneš. = Call me before you leave/set off.
• Operi ruke prije nego što jedeš. = Wash your hands before you eat.

So in your sentence:

• Pogledaj okolo prije nego što odeš. = Look around before you leave.

In standard Croatian, prije nego što is a very common and normal full form.

You may sometimes hear or see shorter versions, but for a learner it is safest to remember:

• prije nego što...

So:

• prije nego što odeš = standard and very natural

The word što does not need to be translated word-for-word in English here. It is just part of the Croatian conjunction pattern.

Croatian often uses the present tense after conjunctions like prije nego što, even when English uses a future idea.

So:

• prije nego što odeš literally looks like before you leave
• but it refers to a future action: before you go / before you leave

This is normal Croatian grammar.

So even though the meaning is future-related, Croatian does not normally say:

• prije nego što ćeš otići ❌

Instead, it says:

• prije nego što odeš ✅

Odeš comes from the verb otići, which means to go away, to leave.

It is the 2nd person singular present form:

• ja odem
• ti odeš
• on/ona/ono ode
• mi odemo
• vi odete
• oni odu

In this sentence:

• odeš = you leave / you go away

Because otići is a perfective verb, its present-tense forms often refer to a future completed action, especially in clauses like this one.

Because otići and ići are not exactly the same.

• ići = to go
• otići = to go away, to leave

In prije nego što odeš, the idea is specifically before you leave / before you go away from here, so otići is the better choice.

If you used ideš, it would feel less precise here.
Odeš clearly marks the idea of departure.

Yes. It is addressed to one person informally, because of:

• pogledaj
• odeš

If you wanted to say the same thing:

• to one person formally, or
• to several people

you would say:

• Pogledajte okolo prije nego što odete.

So:

• Pogledaj ... odeš = singular informal
• Pogledajte ... odete = plural or formal

Yes. Croatian word order is fairly flexible.

Your sentence:

• Pogledaj okolo prije nego što odeš.

A very natural alternative is:

• Prije nego što odeš, pogledaj okolo.

Both mean the same thing. The difference is mostly in emphasis:

• starting with Pogledaj okolo emphasizes the instruction first
• starting with Prije nego što odeš emphasizes the time condition first

Both are correct and natural.

Yes. Croatian usually does not need subject pronouns when the verb form already shows the person.

Here:

• pogledaj already tells you it is you (singular, informal command)
• odeš also already tells you it is you (singular)

So Croatian normally leaves out ti.

You could add ti for emphasis, but it is not necessary:

• Ti pogledaj okolo prije nego što odeš.

That would sound more emphatic, like you look around before you leave.

Yes, it is completely natural.

It sounds like a normal instruction or reminder, for example:

• when someone is about to leave a room
• when checking whether they forgot something
• when telling someone to notice their surroundings

So it is a good, idiomatic sentence to learn.