jesti
Latin, imperfective
The Croatian verb for "eat" is jesti.
jesti is used to describe the action of eating a meal.
Meaning: eat a meal (verb)
Which one should you use?
The perfective form pojesti is used to emphasize the completion of the act of eating, whereas jesti describes the ongoing process.
How does it change in a sentence?
The first-person singular present tense of jesti is jedem (I eat / I am eating). The second-person plural or polite singular present tense of jesti is jedite (you eat). The masculine singular past participle of jesti is jeo and the feminine singular past participle of jesti is jela.
Did you know?
- Croatian has a specific word for the 'act of eating' called jelo, but it can also refer to the 'fir tree'.
- To describe someone who is a 'glutton' or eats excessively, Croatians use the word obžderač, which comes from a verb meaning to devour greedily rather than the standard jesti.
- The root of jesti is a direct relative of the English word 'eat'. Both share the same Proto-Indo-European ancestor *h₁édti.
Examples in context
- Ako ne radiš, ne možeš jesti.If you don't work, you can't eat.This sentence is useful for expressing the relationship between working and the ability to use jesti.Tatoeba #3957053 by krofna, translation #3860831 by CK
- Tom ne treba jesti ako ne želi.Tom doesn't have to eat it if he doesn't want to.This sentence shows how to use jesti when discussing whether or not someone needs to eat something.Tatoeba #5751320 by puzz, translation #4663023 by CK
- Zašto ne želiš jesti?Why don't you want to eat?This sentence is useful for asking why someone does not want to use jesti.Tatoeba #13941178 by mervert1, translation #12709883 by jacoblaguerre
- Jedete li većeru?Are you eating dinner?
- Morate jesti dovoljno povrća.You must eat enough vegetables.
- Počnimo jesti!Let's start eating!
- Jedeš li prije nego što izađemo?Are you eating before we go out?
- Iako je kasno, još uvijek mogu jesti pizzu.Even though it's late, I can still eat pizza.
- Idemo jesti nešto.Let's go eat something.
- Ona jede sendvič.She is eating a sandwich.
- Jedem pizzu.I am eating pizza.
- Jedem kolač.I am eating a cake.
- Jedem doručak.I am eating breakfast.
- Jedi voće.Eat fruit.
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Ana and Ivan are deciding what to do for lunch.
- AnaŽeliš li sada nešto jesti?Do you want to eat something now?
- IvanDa, vrlo sam gladan.Yes, I am very hungry.
- AnaMožemo jesti u onom novom restoranu.We can eat at that new restaurant.
- IvanTo zvuči kao odlična ideja.That sounds like a great idea.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “eat” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries jesti, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
