u/GladiusNuba

Difference between donekle, ukoliko, and unekoliko?

Hello.

I’m trying to understand the difference between donekleukoliko, and unekoliko — especially the last two.

My current understanding is that donekle means something like “somewhat / partly / to some extent,” and I just wanted to see if these examples sound right/natural to you guys.

  • Donekle se slažem. — I somewhat agree.
  • To je donekle točno. — That is somewhat true.
  • Donekle mi je jasno. — It’s somewhat clear to me.
  • Donekle si u pravu. — You’re right up to a point.
  • To donekle objašnjava situaciju. — That partly explains the situation.
  • Film mi se donekle svidio. — I somewhat liked the movie.
  • Problem je donekle riješen. — The problem has been partly solved.
  • Ovo je donekle slično hrvatskom. — This is somewhat similar to Croatian.
  • Donekle je teško objasniti. — It’s somewhat hard to explain.
  • Slažem se, ali samo donekle. — I agree, but only up to a point.
  • Njegov odgovor je donekle nejasan. — His answer is somewhat unclear.

I also have do neke mjere as a more transparent equivalent:

  • Do neke mjere se slažem. - To some extent I agree.
  • Do neke mjere si u pravu. - To some extent you are right.
  • To je do neke mjere točno. - That is to some extent correct.
  • Razumijem ga do neke mjere. - I understand him to some extent.
  • Problem je riješen do neke mjere. - The problem has been solved to some extent.
  • Do neke mjere mi je jasno što želi reći. - To some extent it is clear to me what he wants to say.

Regarding that, I wanted to ask if a literal translation of "to a certain extent" in English could be rendered in Croatian? I.e. "do određene mjere."

But I’m confused about ukoliko vs. unekoliko.

From what I can tell, ukoliko usually means something like “if / insofar as / to the extent that,” while unekoliko seems to mean “somewhat / to some extent,” but maybe in a more formal, literary, or old-fashioned way. Is that right? Or is it regional and informal?

For example, do these unekoliko sentences sound natural in Croatian, or are they too formal/unnatural?

  • Unekoliko se slažem s tobom. - I somewhat agree with you.
  • To je unekoliko točno. - That is somewhat true.
  • Njegov odgovor je unekoliko nejasan. - His answer is somewhat unclear.
  • Situacija se unekoliko popravila. - The situation was somewhat improved.
  • Ovo unekoliko podsjeća na stari sustav. - This somewhat resembles the old system.
  • Unekоliko razumijem njegovu odluku. - I somewhat understand his decision.

Thanks!

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u/GladiusNuba — 2 days ago