prelaziti

Prelaziti is a verb used in Croatian, Serbian, and Bosnian to express the action of crossing or passing over something. It denotes moving from one side to the other, such as crossing a street, a river, a road, or a border. It can also be used metaphorically to mean moving beyond a limit, overcoming an obstacle, or transitioning from one state to another.

Aspect and usage: prelaziti is imperfective, describing repeated or ongoing crossing; the corresponding perfective form for a single crossing is preći (often with the appropriate preposition, e.g., preći cestu, preći rijeku). In present tense: ja prelazim, ti prelaziš, on prelazi; mi prelazimo; vi prelazite; oni prelaze. Past tense forms include prelazio/la/lo depending on gender. Future forms include prelazit ću (imperfective sense) or preći ću (perfective sense), depending on intended meaning.

Noun forms and common phrases: the noun prelazak means the act of crossing or a crossing point. Common phrases include granični prelaz (border crossing), prelaz rijeke (ford), and pješački prelaz (pedestrian crossing). The related verb prijelaz (often translated as transition) is used in different, more abstract senses, such as political or temporal transitions, rather than the physical act of crossing.

Notes on usage: prelaziti is versatile and appears in literal contexts—crossing streets, rivers, and borders—as well as figurative ones, such as crossing limits or thresholds. It is typically contrasted with preći, which more often marks a single, completed crossing in a specific moment. The word is widely understood across South Slavic languages and forms part of everyday transport, geography, and discourse about change.