Zatvoriti

Zatvoriti is a verb used in several South Slavic languages, including Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, and Montenegrin. It means to close or shut something, and can also be used in more abstract senses such as closing a file, a case, a business, or a period. The action is typically completed, which characterizes the verb as perfective; its imperfective counterpart is zatvarati or zatvarati, depending on dialect.

Usage and nuances

Zatvoriti covers both concrete closures, like doors, windows, and containers (zatvoriti vrata, zatvoriti prozor, zatvoriti kapiju), and figurative closures (zatvoriti račun, zatvoriti istragu, zatvoriti prošlost). In addition to physical closure, it can denote bringing an ongoing process to an end or preventing further access or continuation. The verb is commonly used for single, completed actions, whereas its imperfective form refers to the process of closing or repeated closing.

Forms and related words

Zatvoriti is a perfective verb; its imperative forms are zatvori (informal singular) and zatvorite (plural or formal). The past participle is zatvoren, meaning closed, and the noun zatvaranje refers to the act of closing. The occasional nominal form zatvor is used for a prison in some contexts, while the broader sense of closure is handled with the verbal and nominal derivatives of zatvoriti.

Examples

Zatvorio sam vrata. (I closed the doors.)

Zatvorite prozor, molim vas. (Please close the window.)

Moramo zatvoriti račun prije kraja mjeseca. (We must close the account before the end of the month.)

On je zatvorio oči od umora. (He closed his eyes from fatigue.)

These usages illustrate the range from literal closure to closing of non-physical matters.