The dative case in Croatian

The dative case might seem tricky because the rules on when to use it are not very straightforward. Fortunately, the noun endings for the dative case are identical to those used in the locative so you only have to learn them once!

The dative is most commonly used without prepositions as an indirect object, mostly describing to whom something is given or for whom something is done:

Marko je dao čokoladu mami → Marko gave a chocolate to his mom

Luka je kupio igračku sinu → Luka bought a toy for his son

Maja je poslala pismo prijateljima → Maja sent a letter to her friends

Regular noun endings in the dative case

		Muški rod (musculine)	Ženski rod (feminine)	Srednji rod (neuter)
Jednina (singular)	Nominative	- krevet (bed) susjed (neighbour)	-a stolica (chair) mačka (cat)	-o/e stablo (tree) more (sea)
	Dative	-u krevetu susjedu	-i stolici mački	-u stablu moru
Množina (plural)	Nominative	-i kreveti susjedi	-e stolice mačke	-a stabla mora
	Dative	-ima krevetima susjedima	-ama stolicama mačkama	-ima stablima morima

When is the dative case used?

1. veseliti se (to look forward to)
   Veselim se Božiću. → I’m looking forward to Christmas.
2. nadati se (to hope)
   Nadam se dobrim vijestima.→ I’m hoping for good news.
3. nedostajati (to miss)
   Marku nedostaje Ana. → Marko misses Ana.
4. sviđati se (to like)
   Ivanu se sviđa život u Zagrebu. → Ivan likes the life in Zagreb.

With a few prepositions:

1. k, ka (to)
   Idemo k Ivanu. → We’re going to Ivan's.
   Moram k zubaru. → I have to go to the dentist.
2. nasuprot (across from)
   Nasuprot bolnici se nalazi pekara. → Across from the hospital is a bakery.
   Nasuprot kući je restoran. → Across from the house is a restaurant.
3. usprkos, unatoč (despite)
   Izašli smo unatoč kiši. → We went out despite the rain.
   Došla je na posao usprkos bolesti. → She came to work despite the illness.

Assibilation in the dative case

Where can assibilation be found?

In feminine nouns in the singular form:

knjiga (book) → knjizi
ruka (hand) → ruci
noga (leg) → nozi

In masculine nouns in the plural form:

radnik (worker) → radnici (nominative plural) → radnicima (dative plural)
junak (hero) → junaci → junacima
orah (walnut) → orasi → orasima

There are a few exceptions to this rule

Hypocoristics (affectionate names) in the feminine gender:

baka (granny) → baki
seka (little sister) → seki

Nouns that end in -cka, -čka, -tka, -ga:

kocka (cube) → kocki
mačka (cat) → mački
patka (duck) → patki

Declination of the first names

Zrinka → Zrinki
Dubravka → Dubravki