Picture yourself on a stone terrace in Split, ordering coffee, or checking into a small guesthouse in Dubrovnik after a long drive down the coast. You don't need fluent Croatian for either moment — you need about 30 phrases that cover greetings, basic questions and the small polite words that make a good first impression. That's exactly what this lesson gives you: basic Croatian phrases for real situations, not a random word list.
Croatian is spoken by around 5.5 million people, mostly in Croatia but also across parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina and among Croatian communities abroad. Most people working in tourism speak some English, so nobody expects you to be fluent. But a few words in Croatian — a proper hvala instead of "thanks," a molim at the right moment — tend to get you a warmer smile and sometimes a better deal at the market.
Below you'll find two short tables: everyday phrases and greetings, both with their Croatian equivalents. Tap the audio icon next to each word to hear it said out loud, since Croatian spelling is fairly logical once you know a few pronunciation rules — more on that at the end of this lesson.
Basic Everyday Phrases
Yes
Da
No
Ne
Please
Molim
Thank you
Hvala
You are welcome
Nema na čemu
Excuse me
Oprostite
Sorry
Žao mi je
I don't understand
Ne razumijem
Do you speak English?
Govorite li engleski?
Can you help me?
Možete li mi pomoći?
How old are you?
Koliko imaš godina?
I am 20.
Imam 20 godina.
What is your name?
Kako se zoveš?
My name is Maria.
Zovem se Maria.
Where are you from?
Odakle si?
I am from England.
Ja sam iz Engleske.
Nice to meet you.
Drago mi je.
Is everything okay?
Je li sve u redu?
Help!
Upomoć!
Call the police!
Zovite policiju!
Practice these words
Da
Quick notes:
- Molim does triple duty — it means "please," "you're welcome," and "pardon?" when you didn't hear something.
- Oprostite is your all-purpose "excuse me," whether you're squeezing past someone or getting a waiter's attention.
- Croatian has formal and casual "you." The phrases above use the polite form, which is the safe default with strangers.
Basic Greetings
Good morning
Dobro jutro
Good afternoon
Dobar dan
Good evening
Dobra večer
Hello
Bok
Goodbye
Doviđenja
How are you?
Kako si?
I'm good, thank you. And you?
Dobro sam, hvala. A ti?
Have a nice day!
Ugodan dan!
Practice these words
Dobro jutro
Quick notes:
- Bok works for both "hi" and "bye" — locals use it constantly, at any time of day, with almost anyone.
- Dobar dan ("good day") is the safer, more formal greeting for shops, offices or older people.
- Doviđenja is the polite goodbye. Among friends, people just say bok again.
A Couple of Things That'll Make Croatian Click
Croatian spelling is more honest than English — once you learn the sounds, you can read almost any word correctly. The letter č sounds like "ch" in "church," š sounds like "sh," and ž sounds like the "s" in "measure." So već is "vetch" and draž is close to "drazh." There are no silent letters hiding here, which makes Croatian much easier to read out loud than it looks on paper.
One more thing worth knowing early: Croatian nouns and adjectives change their endings depending on their role in the sentence, a feature called cases. You won't need to master this to be understood — locals are used to hearing simplified Croatian from beginners, and a mispronounced ending won't stop anyone from helping you. Focus on the phrases above first; the grammar can wait.