How to form ordinal numbers from cardinal numbers?
For all cardinal numbers except the numbers 1, 2, 3 or 4, you can form the ordinal number by simply adding the ending -i to the cardinal number (-ti to numbers that end with a vowel like sto (hundred), dvjesto (two hundred) etc.).
Examples:
- pet (five) → peti (fifth)
- dvanaest (twelve) → dvanaesti (twelfth)
- tristo (three hundred) → tristoti (three hundredth)
The ordinal numbers in Croatian behave just like adjectives which means:
- they can be either masculine, feminine or neuter by gender
- they have a singular or plural form
- they have different endings, depending on case of the noun they refer to.
|
CARDINAL NUMBER
(GLAVNI BROJ) | ORDINAL NUMBER (REDNI BROJ) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| masculine (muški rod) | feminine (ženski rod) | neuter (srednji rod) | |
| jedan (1) | prvi (e.g stan) | prva (e.g. kuća) | prvo (e.g. pivo) |
| dva (2) | drugi | druga | drugo |
| tri (3) | treći | treća | treće |
| četiri (4) | četvrti | četvrta | četvrto |
| pet (5) | peti | peta | peto |
| šest (6) | šesti | šesta | šesto |
| sedam (7) | sedmi | sedma | sedmo |
| osam (8) | osmi | osma | osmo |
| devet (9) | deveti | deveta | deveto |
| deset (10) | deseti | deseta | deseto |
| jedanaest (11) | jedanaesti | jedanaesta | jedanaesto |
| dvanaest (12) | dvanaesti | dvanaesta | dvanaesto |
| sedamnaest (17) | sedamnaesti | sedamnaesta | sedamnaesto |
| dvadeset (20) | dvadeseti | dvadeseta | dvadeseto |
| četrdeset osam (48) | četrdeset osmi | četrdeset osma | četrdeset osmo |
| sto dvadeset dva (122) | sto dvadeset drugi | sto dvadeset druga | sto dvadeset drugo |
| sto (100) | stoti | stota | stoto |
| petsto (500) | petstoti | petstota | petstoto |
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Exercise: How would you say the following?
Neil Armstrong was the first man on the Moon.
→ Neil Armstrong je bio prvi
Marie Curie was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize.
→ Marie Curie je bila prva
Not that I’m counting, but this is your third beer today!
→ Nije da brojim, ali ovo ti je već treće
Josip is his fifth child, but the first son.
→ Josip je njegovo prvo
I think we’re the first people who did that!
→ Mislim da smo mi prvi
This is your fourth mistake today.
→ Ovo ti je četvrta
This is the hundredth time I’m telling you the same thing!
→ Ovo je stoti
Ivo was my first love.
→ Ivo je bio moja prva
Sara and Mara are the first women in our company.
→ Sara i Mara su prve
Language guide
Explore grammar and learning tips in our Croatian language guide.
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Love & Relationships
Add warmth to your speech with Croatian diminutives – learn how to form affectionate and cute versions of nouns.
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Grammar Essentials
Want to give a command or make a polite request? This guide teaches how to use and soften the imperative in Croatian.
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Grammar Essentials
Every noun in Croatian has a gender – learn to recognize masculine, feminine, and neuter forms with helpful patterns.
