When visiting it is helpful and polite to learn a few basic Croatian phrases. Not only will it help you communicate, but the people appreciate the effort that goes into learning another language. Although, most Croatians speak at least a basic level of English if you want to impress your hosts, below are some useful Croatian phrases.
Contents
The Croatian Alphabet
Before the phrases comes the Croatian 30 letter alphabet which is very similar to the English alphabet.
Fortunately, most of the Croatian consonants are pronounced similar to their English counterparts. The vowels are short except for the i which is long like the “ee” in tree.
Rules to keep to remember:
- Each letter represents a single sound
- Every letter must be clearly enunciated
- There are no silent letters
- There are no special combinations of letters that together create one sound
| Letter | Phonetic Sound Example |
| A | past |
| B | bat |
| C | hats |
| Č | chalk |
| Ć | mature |
| D | day |
| Dž | fudge |
| Đ | schedule |
| E | let |
| F | film |
| G | game |
| H | heaven |
| I | tree |
| J | yes |
| K | cut |
| L | love |
| Lj | million |
| M | mice |
| N | nice |
| Nj | canyon |
| O | opera |
| P | pick |
| R | fritz – rolled r |
| S | sound |
| Š | shut |
| T | time |
| U | soon |
| V | vest |
| Z | zest |
| Ž | pleasure |
| Number | Croatian Word |
|---|---|
| 1 | jedan |
| 2 | dva |
| 3 | tri |
| 4 | četiri |
| 5 | pet |
| 6 | šest |
| 7 | sedam |
| 8 | osam |
| 9 | devet |
| 10 | deset |
| 20 | dvadeset |
| 30 | trideset |
| 40 | četrdeset |
| 50 | pedeset |
| 60 | šezdeset |
| 70 | sedamdeset |
| 80 | osamdeset |
| 90 | devetdeset |
| 100 | sto |
| 1000 | tisuća |
Greetings
- bok · hi / bye
- dobar dan · good day
- dobro jutro · good morning
- dobra večer · good evening
- doviđenja · goodbye
- laku noć · good night
- Kako si? ·How are you?
- Kako se zoveš? · What’a your name?
- drago mi je · nice to meet you
Good Manners
- hvala · thank you
- hvala lijepa · thank you very much
- hvala puno · thanks a lot
- oprpstite / oprosti · excuse me
- žao mi je · I’m sorry
- molim · please
- ne · no
- da · yes
- izvoli / izvolite · you’re welcome
Need Help
- upomoć · cry for help
- bolnica · hospital
- hitna pomoć · ambulance
- Možete li mi pomoći? · Can you help me?
- U pomoć! · Help!
- požar · fire
- stani · stop
- pozovite policiju · call the police
- pustite me na miru · go away
Bar / Restaurant
- živjeli / uzdravlje · cheers
- dobar tek · bon apetit
- račun · bill
- Gdje je toalet? · Where’s the toilet?
- Ja sam vegetarijanac · I’m a vegetarian
- doručak · breakfast
- ručak · lunch
- večera · dinner
- voda · water
- vino · wine
- bijelo · white
- crveno · red
- sve je bilo odlično · that was great
- jelovnik · menu
- zadrżite · keep the change
- Ja želim · I want
- Kada se otvara? · When does it open?
- Kada se zatvara? · When does it close?
- kava · coffee
- s mlijekom · with milk
- sa šećerom · with sugar
- pivo · beer
- cola · coke
- stol za · table for
Love
- Volim te · I love you
- jako si lijepa · you are very beautiful
- Mogu li te poljubiti? · May I kiss you?
Directions
- lijevo · left
- desno · right
- Kako ču doci do…? · How do I get to the…?
- Możete li mi reci gdje je …? · Could you tell me where…?
- ravno · straight
- ovdje · here
- tamo · there
Shopping
- Koliko je to? · How much is this?
- Żelim platiti · I want to buy this
- Koliko košta? · How much does it cost?
Locations
- željeznička stanica · train station
- autobusna stanica · bus station
- aerodrom / zračna luka · airport
- muzej · museum
- hotel · hotel
- dućan · grocery store
- bankomat · ATM
- plaža · beach
- park · park
- taxi · taxi
Hotel
- rezervacija · reservation
- prtljaga · luggage
- recepcija · reception
- ključ · key
- restoran · restaurant
- soba · room
- ručnik · towel
Final Thoughts
Many Croatians will have a reasonable understanding of English so you can certainly get by without knowing a single word in Croatian, but learning a few phrases is respectful and polite. Not to mention, the Croatians are very appreciative of the effort.
Visit this website for help with pronunciation.
Until next time…
· izzy
Additional information on travel in Croatia:
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