Croatian vocabulary: VERB-BUILDING #002

PISATI and related verbs

Following are concise meanings (with illustrative examples) of verbs derived from the verb govoriti.

They exist in pairs – one continous form (imperfective), and the other finished/non-continuous form (perfective). For each pair, the continuous form is the first one shown.

Their declensions have the following patterns:
opisivati: opisujem, opisuješ, opisuje, opisujemo, opisujete, opisuju. Ja sam opisivao, ...
opisati: opišem, opišeš, opiše, opišemo, opišete, opišu. Ja sam opisao, ......

pisati (impf.)                to write, to compose written text, to state in writing.

npr.      Mnogi ljudi ne znaju čitati ni pisati. Many people don’t know how to read nor write.
            O čemu pišeš? What are you writing about?
Oni dobro pišu. They write well.
            Gdje piše da …… Where is it written that ……
            Na znaku piše da je zabrenjeno pušenje ovdje. On the sign is written that smoking is forbidden here.
            Piši mi što prije. Write to me as soon as possible.

napisati (pf.)                to compose in writing. [It seems that the imperfective verb napisivati does not exist.]

npr.      Ona je napisala taj roman 2016. g. She wrote that novel in 2016,
            Napišem priču svaki tjedan. I write a story every week.
  Trebao bih mu napisati poruku. I should write a message to him.
            Moram napisati sastavak na hrvatskom. I have to write an essay in Croatian.

zapisivati/zapisati                   to record in writing, to make notes, to make an entry.

npr.      Jesi li zapisao što je ona rekla?   Have you recorded (in writing) what she said?
            Zapisat ću vas za 13:00.                       I will put you down for 1 p.m.
            Zapiši broj taksista! Record the taxi driver's number!
Ako ne zapišem, neću pamtiti. If I don't write it down, I won't remember it.
            Moram Vas upozoriti da se sve što kažete može zapisati i upotrijebiti kao dokaz.
I must warn you that anything you say can be written down and used as evidence.

upisivati/upisati 1. To insert some text into larger text.
2. to register, enroll, admit somebody (e.g., in a course), to be put on a waiting list.
3. to record, register a value (e.g., a grade, or a measurement)

npr. Urednik je upisao ključnu rečenicu u priču. The editor inserted a key sentence into the story.
Upišite Anu na viši tečaj. Enrol Anna in the higher course.
Upisat ćemo njegov ime na listu čekanja. We will put his name on the waiting list.
Učiteljica je upisala Ivanu 4. The teacher entered a grade of 4 for Ivan.

upisivati se/upisati se             to enrol, register oneself

npr.                  Hoćete se upisati?                                            Will you enrol?
                        Njihov sin se upisao na sveučilište.    Their son enrolled at university.

zapisivati se/zapisati se to enlist, to enrol oneself.

Synonyms of: upisati se, prijaviti se]

ispisivati/ispisati        1. to copy excerpts of text verbatim.
2. to deregister, to remove smb. from membership

npr.   Ispisao je popis hrvatskih glagola iz udžbenika. He copied the list of Croatian verbs from the textbook.
            Predsjednik ga je ispitao iz člantsva odbora. The president removed him from membership of the committee.
            Moramo ispitati svoju djecu iz škole. We have to withdraw our children from school.

ispisivati se/ispisati se to resign, to withdraw membership, to remove one’s name from a register.

n.pr. Nažalost, moram se ispisati s tečaja. Unfortunately, I must withdraw from the course.

dopisivati/dopisati      to add (in writing) to already-existing text or list.

npr      Dodao sam tvoje ime na popis. I added your name to the list.
Kad dogovoramo, dopisat ću datum u kalendar.     When we have agreed, I will add the date to the calendar.

dopisivati se     to write/correspond/communicate in writing with each other.

npr       Počeli su se dopisivati.             They began to correspond.
            poslovno dopisivanje business correspondence.

opisivati/opisati to describe, to portray, to give an account of something.

npr Opišite životinju koju ste vidjeli. Describe the animal that you saw.
Bilo je tako odlično da ne mogu opisati. It was too wonderful for me to describe.
Ne mogu opisati ljubav. I can’t describe love.
Priča opisuje život u tom selu. The story describes life in that village.

otpisivati/otpisati to reduce/depreciate the value of an object or property, or to write off all/part of its value. to write off someone’s worth (as a failure).

npr Vrijednost oprema je otpisala 50 %. The value of the equipment has depreciated by 50 %.
Možeš otpisati taj dug. You can write off that debt.
Ja ih ne bih još otpisao. I wouldn’t write them off just yet. (a company or team not performing well.)

popisivati/popisati     to list, to make an inventory, to catalogue.

npr.      Popisali smo stvari u spremištu. We have catalogued the things in the storeroom.
            Morat ćemo ih popisati da vidimo nedostaje li koja.     We have to list them to see if any are missing.

potpisivati/potpisati      to sign (a document). To add one’s signature.

npr.           Oni moraju potpisati ugovor. They must sign the contract.
                 Potpiši tu.                                             Sign here.

prepisivati/prepisati   1. to copy in writing, to transcribe.
2. to plagiarize, to cheat (in test) by copying.
3. (medical) to prescribe.
4. to transfer ownership in writing to smb. else.

npr.      Prepisao sam što piše na ploču. I transcribed what was written on the board.
            Ivan je prošao ispit. Je li on prepisao od nekoga? Ivan passed the test. Did he copy from someone?
            Hoćete li prepisati kuću na mene? Will you transfer (ownership of) the house to me?
Je li bilo razloga u njezinom zdravstvenom stanju prepisati takav lijek?
Was there any reason in her medical condition to prescribe such a drug?

pripisivati/pripisati 1. to annotate (add notes/comments to) a text.
2. To attribute blame credit to someone (regardless of evidence).

npr Tijekom predavanja, pripisujem udžbenik. During lectures, I annotate my textbook.
Kome to pripisati? Who is responsible for it? Who is to blame for it?
Mogu li si pripisati tu zaslugu? Can I take credit for that?

propisivati/propisati   to stipulate, decree, regulate, prescribe.

npr       Vlada je propisala da nedelje neće biti radni dani.
The government has decreed that Sundays will not be working days.
            Možete li mi propisati neke tablete koje bi pomogle?
Can you prescribe for me some tablets that would help?

raspisivati/raspisati                to announce vacancies, to invite tenders.

npr       Trvtka je raspisala u novinama da traži zaposlenike.
The company announced in newspapers that it was looking for employees.