Ways to say it
| Croatian | Note |
|---|---|
| pomagati | Latin, imperfective |
| pomoći | Latin, perfective |
The verb means to provide assistance to someone or something. You can also use the feminine noun pomoć to mean 'help' or 'assistance', such as in the phrase Hitno trebam pomoć! (I urgently need help!). Additionally, the phrase u pomoć functions as an interjection meaning 'a cry of distress'.
Which one should you use?
Croatian uses different verb forms depending on whether the action is ongoing or completed. The imperfective form pomagati is used for ongoing or habitual assistance (to be helping), while the perfective form pomoći is used to refer to a specific, completed instance of helping (to help once).
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
When you use the verb to help someone, the person receiving the help must be placed in the dative case, such as in pomoći mi (help me).
Did you know?
- While English uses the same word for 'help' in all contexts, Croatian requires the dative case for the person being helped, which is the same case used for 'giving' a gift.
- The phrase pomoći sebi is used when someone 'cannot help themselves', but it can also be used ironically to describe someone causing their own problems.
- The root of pomagati is found in many other Slavic languages, such as Polish pomagać and Czech pomáhat, making it a very recognizable word across Eastern Europe.
Examples in context
- Hoćeš li mi pomoći?Are you going to help me?This sentence is useful for asking if someone is going to help you using the form pomoći.Tatoeba #6075473 by kkupus, translation #2547427 by CK
- Možete li mi pomoći s nečim?Can you help me with something?This sentence is useful for asking if someone can help you with something using the form pomoći.Tatoeba #5579832 by Gonic, translation #2064391 by CK
- Ne možeš si pomoći, zar ne Tome?You can't help yourself, can you, Tom?This sentence is useful for expressing that someone cannot help themselves using the form pomoći.Tatoeba #5697051 by puzz, translation #3730974 by CM
- Molim vas, možete li mi dati pomoć?Excuse me, can you give me some help?
- Možete li mi pomoći s pronalaženjem ovog artikla?Can you help me find this item?
- Ajde mi pomogni s ovom torbom!Help me with this bag!
- Molim te, možeš li mi pomoći s ovim zadatkom?Please, can you help me with this task?
- Pomozi mi, molim teHelp me, please
- 9 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Petra and Marko are cleaning the kitchen together.
- PetraŽelim ti pomagati u čišćenju.I want to help you with the cleaning.
- MarkoHvala, Petra, to bi bilo super.Thanks, Petra, that would be great.
- PetraŠto trebam raditi?What do I need to do?
- MarkoSamo operi ove tanjure.Just wash these plates.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “help” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries pomagati, pomoći, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
