This is the 272nd most frequent Croatian word.
rata
The Croatian word "rata" means "war" in English.
In this sentence, 'rata' is the genitive case of the Croatian word 'rat', meaning 'war'. It is used to indicate something belonging to or associated with war.
Rata je ostavila duboke tragove u povijesti zemlje.
The war left deep marks in the history of the country.
Here, 'ratu' is in the accusative singular case of the Croatian word 'rata', meaning 'installment' (as in loan payment). It is used to indicate the object of the action 'to pay'.
Svaki mjesec plaćamo ratu kredita na vrijeme.
Every month we pay the loan installment on time.
In this usage, 'rata' is in the genitive singular case of 'rat', once again meaning 'war'. It is used to describe the type or context of the time being mentioned.