In Croatian the genitive case is always used to express:
- quantities with numbers (i.e. six apples)
- quantity and amounts without numbers (e.g. lots of apples)
The numbers 1 and 2 have genders!
In Croatian numbers jedan (one) and dva (two) change depending on the gender of the noun that they precede. The same rule applies to all numbers which end in 1 or 2, such as dvadeset jedan (twenty one), trideset dva (thirty two) and so on.
The only exceptions are the numbers jedanaest (eleven) and dvanaest (twelve) ... these end with 1 and 2 when written down, but not when pronounced, so these don't change! All other numbers stay the same, regardless of the gender of the noun.
Declining the numbers 1 and 2 when used with a noun:
Number | Muški rod (masculine) | Ženski rod (feminine) | Srednji rod (neutrum) |
1 |
jedan prozor - one window |
jedna jabuka - one apple |
jedno pivo - one beer |
2 |
dva prozora - two windows |
dvije jabuke - two apples |
dva piva - two beers |
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The numbers 2, 3 and 4 genitive singular
The numbers 2, 3 and 4 require the genitive singular. This rule also includes numbers such as 22, 23, 132 and 243:
Number | Muški rod (masculine) | Ženski rod (feminine) | Srednji rod (neutrum) |
2 |
dva prozora - two windows |
dvije jabuke - two apples |
dva piva - two beers |
3 |
tri prozora - three windows |
tri jabuke - three apples |
tri piva - three beers |
4 |
četiri prozora - four windows |
četiri jabuke - four apples |
četiri piva - four beers |
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The numbers 5, 6, 7 genitive plural
And finally, numbers from 5 onwards require the genitive plural, so:
Number | Muški rod (masculine) | Ženski rod (feminine) | Srednji rod (neutrum) |
5 |
pet prozora - five windows |
pet jabuka - five apples |
pet piva - five beers |
6 |
šest prozora - six windows |
šest jabuka - six apples |
šest piva - six beers |
11 |
jedanaest prozora - eleven windows |
jedanaest jabuka - eleven apples |
jedanaest piva - eleven beers |
27 |
dvadeset i sedam prozora - twenty seven windows |
dvadeset i sedam jabuka - twenty seven apples |
dvadeset i sedam piva - twenty seven beers |
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And a few notes ...
Single-syllable masculine nouns
The -a ending is applicable to plural forms, which is important to remember when it comes to the single syllable masculine nouns, which receive the ending –ovi or –evi in the plural instead of the usual –i:
(jedan) stol (table) dva stola pet stolova (*nominative plural: stolovi)
(jedan) nož (knife) dva noža pet noževa (*nominative plural: noževi)
And a few notable exceptions
Some words like cent (cent), mjesec (month) or sat (hour) in genitive plural end in -i:
(jedan) cent dva centa pet centi
(jedan) mjesec dva mjeseca pet mjeseci
(jedan) sat dva sata pet sati
Exercise: How would you say the following in Croatian?
2 houses
Answer
dvije kuće (kuća)
2 months
Answer
dva mjeseca (mjesec)
7 stars
Answer
sedam zvijezda (zvijezda)
12 bridges
Answer
dvanaest mostova (most)
3 kunas
Answer
tri kune (kuna)
5 kunas
Answer
pet kuna (kuna)
392 dollars
Answer
tristo devedeset i dva dolara (dolar)
198 dollars
Answer
sto devedeset i osam dolara (dolar)
33 cents
Answer
trideset i tri centa (cent)
35 cents
Answer
trideset i pet centi (cent)
27 eggs
Answer
dvadeset i sedam jaja (jaje)
15 months
Answer
petnaest mjeseci (mjesec)
4 husbands
Answer
četiri muža (muž)
13 husbands
Answer
trinaest muževa (muž)
4 bathrooms
Answer
četiri kupaonice (kupaonica)