October 18, 2023 – Are you visiting Croatia and want to ensure you’re prepared to get by? There is no reason to worry, as Croatian people generally do speak English, especially in hospitality. You might still want to impress them by at least greeting or thanking them in their own language. To simplify things, we’ll share a list of the most useful Croatian phrases you can learn and use daily.
Croatian Greetings
Croatia’s diversity shines through in the varying language used region by region just as much as it does in every other aspect of life. If you speak Croatian to any extent, you might notice that it’s not the same talking to people down in Dalmatia, Međimurje, or Slavonia. In most cases, Croatian people from different regions might need to work a bit harder to understand each other as well. Thankfully, everyday Croatian phrases mostly follow the standard and will greatly help wherever you go.
Let’s start with the greetings:
Good morning – dobro jutro (doh-broh you-troh)
Good day / Good afternoon – dobar dan (doh-bahr dahn)
Good evening – dobra večer (doh-brah ve-cher)
Good night – laku noć (lah-koo noch)
Hello – bok (bohk)
Goodbye – doviđenja (doh-vee-jen-yah)
Pleased to meet you – drago mi je (dra-goh mee yeh)
How are you? – formal: Kako ste? (kah-koh steh) / informal: Kako si? (kah-koh see)
I’m fine, thank you. – Ja sam dobro, hvala. (yah sahm doh-broh, hva-lah)
Everyday Croatian Phrases
Once you’ve mastered the greetings, you’ll probably want establish a base of everyday phrases that will help your daily life in Croatia. Here are some that might help you get what you need, or at least start moving in the right direction.
Thank you – hvala (hva-lah)
Yes – da
No – ne
Excuse me – oprostite (oh-pro-sti-teh)
Please – molim (moh-leem)
How much is it? – Koliko ovo košta? (Koh-lee-koh oh-voh koh-shtah?)
And just in case you get a little bit tired…
Do you speak English? – Govorite li engleski? (goh-voh-ree-teh lee en-glees-kee?)
Once you have mastered these, stay tuned for volume 2 of our pocket dictionary, where we’ll share the most useful Croatian phrases for travelling and getting around the country.
