Metvica brzo raste u velikoj posudi.

Metvica is the subject of the sentence, so it is in the nominative singular.

• Dictionary form: metvica
• Gender: feminine
• Here it means mint (the plant/herb)

Because Croatian marks grammatical roles with case endings, the subject normally appears in the nominative.

Raste is the 3rd person singular present tense form of the verb rasti, meaning to grow.

So:

• ja rastem = I grow
• ti rasteš = you grow
• on/ona/ono raste = he/she/it grows

Since metvica is a singular subject, raste matches it: mint grows.

Because brzo is an adverb, not an adjective.

• brz / brza / brzo as adjectives = fast
• brzo as an adverb = quickly

In this sentence, it describes how it grows, so Croatian uses the adverb:

• Metvica brzo raste = Mint grows quickly.

If you used brza, that would describe the noun metvica itself:

• Metvica je brza = The mint is fast

That is grammatically possible, but it means something quite different and sounds odd in normal usage.

Because u here means in, expressing location, and that requires the locative case.

So:

• posuda = container, pot, vessel
• locative singular: posudi
• velika must agree with posuda, so it also becomes locative singular feminine: velikoj

That gives:

• u velikoj posudi = in a large pot/container

This is a very common Croatian pattern:

• u + locative = location (in, inside, at)
• u + accusative = movement into something

Compare:

• Metvica raste u velikoj posudi. = Mint grows in a large pot.
  
  • location → locative
• Stavljam metvicu u veliku posudu. = I am putting mint into a large pot.
  
  • movement toward/into → accusative

So the form tells you whether something is already there or moving there.

It is locative singular feminine.

Breakdown:

• velika posuda = a big/large pot
• nominative singular feminine:
  • velika
  • posuda
• locative singular feminine:
  • velikoj
  • posudi

The adjective must agree with the noun in:

• gender
• number
• case

So both words change together.

Because Croatian has no articles.

English says:

• the mint
• a large pot

Croatian usually just says:

• metvica
• velika posuda / velikoj posudi

Whether English translates that as the, a, or no article at all depends on context.

So Metvica brzo raste u velikoj posudi could be understood in English as:

• Mint grows quickly in a large pot
• The mint grows quickly in a large pot

depending on the situation.

Yes. Croatian word order is fairly flexible because case endings show grammatical relationships.

The neutral order here is:

• Metvica brzo raste u velikoj posudi.

But you could also say:

• Metvica raste brzo u velikoj posudi.
• U velikoj posudi metvica brzo raste.
• Brzo raste metvica u velikoj posudi.

These versions are not all equally neutral. Changing the order usually changes emphasis or style, not the core meaning.

For example:

• U velikoj posudi... puts focus on where
• Brzo raste... puts focus on how quickly

Not exactly.

• posuda = a general container, vessel, pot
• lonac = a cooking pot
• tegla = a jar, and sometimes also a flowerpot depending on region/context
• posuda za cvijeće or tegla may be used for a plant pot in some contexts

So posuda is a broad, general word. In this sentence, it works well because it simply says the mint is growing in some kind of large container.

Yes, metvica is a correct Croatian word for mint. You may also encounter menta, especially in some contexts or regions.

For a learner, the important point is:

• metvica = mint
• it is feminine
• the sentence treats it as a normal singular noun

A simple pronunciation guide is:

MET-vee-tsa BR-zoh RAS-teh oo veh-LEE-koy poh-SOO-dee

A few useful notes:

• c in metvica sounds like ts
• r in Croatian is usually rolled or tapped
• j sounds like English y
• u is pronounced like oo

So:

• metvica ≈ MET-vee-tsa
• brzo ≈ BR-zoh
• raste ≈ RAS-teh
• u ≈ oo
• velikoj ≈ veh-LEE-koy
• posudi ≈ poh-SOO-dee

Yes. Both are grammatical.

• Metvica brzo raste
• Metvica raste brzo

The difference is mostly about rhythm and emphasis, not basic meaning. The first version is often a bit more natural as a neutral statement, but the second is also perfectly acceptable.

Here are the dictionary forms:

• metvica → metvica = mint
• brzo → from brz = fast; brzo is the adverb quickly
• raste → from rasti = to grow
• u = in
• velikoj → from velik = big, large
• posudi → from posuda = container, pot

This is useful because Croatian words often change form depending on their grammatical role.