oko, uz, niz, duž

Around, Along, Up and Down

Level 4

Oko kuće, duž puta take the genitive; uz rijeku, niz brdo take the accusative.

How It Works

Four small words show how someone moves.

WordMeaningCaseExample
okoaroundgenitiveoko kuće
dužalonggenitiveduž puta
uzup, alongsideaccusativeuz rijeku
nizdownaccusativeniz brdo

Think of a walk: you go oko jezera (around the lake), duž obale (along the shore), uz brdo (up the hill) and niz brdo (down the hill).

Oko also means "about" with numbers: oko deset sati. Uz can also mean "with" or "together with": kafa uz kolač.

For feminine nouns in -a, the accusative ends in -u (uz Miljacku) and the genitive in -e (oko škole).

Examples (4)

  1. Šetamo oko jezera.

    We are walking around the lake.

    Oko takes the genitive.

  2. Staza ide duž rijeke Une.

    The path runs along the Una river.

    Duž takes the genitive.

  3. Vozim biciklom uz Miljacku.

    I ride my bike along the Miljacka.

    Uz takes the accusative.

  4. Dječak trči niz ulicu.

    The boy runs down the street.

    Niz takes the accusative.

Common Mistakes

  • Learners keep the nominative after oko.

    Trčimo oko kuća.
    Trčimo oko kuće.

    Oko needs the genitive singular: kuće.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

oko, uz, niz, dužLevel 4Around, Along, Up and Down

Learn This First

These prepositions take cases.

Words in This Pattern

okodužuzniz