Croatian Phrases To Learn

Split Old Town

 

Croatian is the official language of the country. English is widely spoken, especially amongst the younger generation, and those who work in hospitality and tourism. As the country shares a border with Italy, Italian is also spoken, especially in the north of the country in Istria. Before your Croatia trip, why not learn a few simple phrases to get you stuck in the local culture.

 

GREETINGS & GOODBYES

Bok is the most basic greeting in Croatia and can be used in almost any circumstance, it can also be used to say goodbye. Consider bok your Croatian aloha.

 

English Croatian Sounds Like
Hello Bok bohk
Good morning Dobro jutro doh-broh ‘yuh-troh
Good day Dobar dan doh-bahr ‘dahn
Good evening Dobra večer doh-brah ‘veh/chehr
Good night Laku noć lah-koo ‘nohch
How are you? Kako si? kah-koh see
Have a nice day Ugodan dan uh-goh-dahn ‘dahn

 

AT THE BAR & RESTAURANT

This is the polite and grammatically correct way to order a drink. All you need are two words: molim, and your drink of choice. You can also swap in a specific brand – for example, Molim Zmajsko (a local craft beer – write this one down!).

 

English Croatian Sounds Like
Can I have a water please? Molim vodu moh-leem ‘voh-doo
Can I have a coffee please? Molim kavu moh-leem ‘kah-voo
Can I have a wine please? Molim vino moh-leem ‘vee-noh
Can I have a beer please? Molim rakiju moh-leem ‘rah-kee-yoo
Cheers Živjeli zhiv-yeh-lee
Bon appetit Dobar tek doh-bahr ‘tehk
The bill, please Molim račun moh-leem ‘rah-choon

POLITENESS

Croatian can get very…colourful, even when it comes to saying thank you. We’ll spare you the wilder choices for now and keep it polite with hvala.

 

English Croatian Sounds Like
Thank you Hvala hvah-lah
Many thanks Puno hvala poo-noh ‘hvah-lah
Thank you kindly Hvala lijepa hvah-lah lee-‘yeh-pah