Work & Career in Croatian
«Što radiš?» asks both "what are you doing?" and "what do you do for a living?" — context decides. This lesson equips you for the second reading, and hands you a pleasant surprise: Croatian job talk needs no case gymnastics at all.
Saying Your Job
Plain nominative — and Croatian jobs come in male/female pairs:
| Masculine | Feminine | English |
|---|---|---|
| učitelj | učiteljica | teacher |
| liječnik | liječnica | doctor |
| konobar | konobarica | waiter / waitress |
| prevoditelj | prevoditeljica | translator |
Ja sam učiteljica. Radim u školi.
I'm a teacher. I work at a school.
Note: Nominative for the job, locative for the workplace.
Working As
raditi kao + nominative:
Ljeti radim kao konobar na otoku.
In summer I work as a waiter on an island.
Note: ljeti + kao + na otoku — three chapters shaking hands.
Becoming — Still Nominative
Here's the pleasant surprise. Czech says stát se učitelem, Polish zostać nauczycielem, Russian стать учителем — all instrumental. Croatian just… doesn't:
| Croatian | English |
|---|---|
| Postao je učitelj. | He became a teacher. |
| Postala je liječnica. | She became a doctor. |
| Želim postati prevoditelj. | I want to become a translator. |
Studying & Commuting
University studies use studirati + accusative: studiram pravo (law), medicinu, ekonomiju.
And the daily loop runs on the accusative/locative/genitive trio you've mastered:
| Croatian | Case & meaning |
|---|---|
| Idem na posao. | accusative — heading to work |
| Na poslu sam. | locative — at work |
| Dolazim s posla. | genitive — coming from work |
💬 The job interview, informal edition
Što radiš?
What do you do?
Radim kao konobarica, ali studiram pravo.
I work as a waitress, but I'm studying law.
I što ćeš poslije?
And what after?
Postat ću odvjetnica. Ili ću otvoriti konobu.
I'll become a lawyer. Or I'll open a konoba.
(plaća is your salary; plaža is the beach. One diacritic separates payday from vacation — a typo Croatians find deeply relatable.)