hrvatski
Croatian
Slavic
Croatian (Hrvatski) is a South Slavic language with ~5M speakers — sole official language of Croatia, co-official in Bosnia and Herzegovina, plus minorities across the former Yugoslav region. Mutually intelligible with Serbian, Bosnian, and Montenegrin (Serbo-Croatian dialect continuum), but with distinct standardization: Latin alphabet (Gajica) only (no Cyrillic option as in Serbian), preference for ijekavian dialect (mlijeko vs Serbian mleko), and rejection of foreign loanwords in favor of Slavic-rooted neologisms. Standardized through Croatian National Revival (Illyrian Movement, 19c.).
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Croatian
Water
voda
/ˈʋoda/
Fire
vatra
/ˈʋatra/
Sun
sunce
/ˈsuːnt͡se/
Moon
mjesec
/ˈmjeseːt͡s/
Mother
majka
/ˈmaːjka/
Father
otac
/ˈotat͡s/
Eat
jesti
/ˈjɛsti/
Drink
piti
/ˈpiːti/
Love
ljubav
/ˈʎuːbaʋ/
Heart
srce
/ˈsr̩t͡se/
Tree
drvo
/ˈdr̩ʋo/
House
kuća
/ˈkuːt͡ɕa/
Dog
pas
/pas/
Cat
mačka
/ˈmaːt͡ʃka/
Hand
ruka
/ˈruːka/
Eye
oko
/ˈoːko/
Hello
bok
/bok/
Thank you
hvala
/ˈxʋaːla/
One
jedan
/ˈjɛdan/
Good
dobar
/ˈdobar/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Slavic languages
| Meaning | Croatian | Serbian | Bosnian | Rusyn | Czech | Slovak | Macedonian |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | voda /ˈʋoda/ | вода /ˈʋoda/ | voda /ˈvoda/ | вода /ˈvoda/ | voda /ˈvoda/ | voda /ˈvoda/ | вода /ˈvɔda/ |
| Fire | vatra /ˈʋatra/ | ватра /ˈʋatra/ | vatra /ˈvatra/ | огень /ˈohenʲ/ | oheň /ˈoɦɛɲ/ | oheň /ˈoɦeɲ/ | оган /ˈɔɡan/ |
| Sun | sunce /ˈsuːnt͡se/ | сунце /ˈsunt͡se/ | sunce /ˈsunt͡se/ | сонце /ˈsont͡se/ | slunce /ˈslunt͡sɛ/ | slnko /ˈsl̩nko/ | сонце /ˈsɔnt͡sɛ/ |
| Moon | mjesec /ˈmjeseːt͡s/ | месец /ˈmɛsɛt͡s/ | mjesec /ˈmjɛset͡s/ | місяць /ˈmʲisʲat͡sʲ/ | měsíc /ˈmɲɛsiːt͡s/ | mesiac /ˈmɛsɪat͡s/ | месечина /mɛˈsɛt͡ʃina/ |
| Mother | majka /ˈmaːjka/ | мајка /ˈmajka/ | majka /ˈmajka/ | мати /ˈmati/ | matka /ˈmatka/ | matka /ˈmatka/ | мајка /ˈmajka/ |
| Father | otac /ˈotat͡s/ | отац /ˈotat͡s/ | otac /ˈotat͡s/ | отець /ˈotet͡sʲ/ | otec /ˈotɛt͡s/ | otec /ˈotɛt͡s/ | татко /ˈtatkɔ/ |
| Eat | jesti /ˈjɛsti/ | јести /ˈjɛsti/ | jesti /ˈjɛsti/ | їсти /ˈjisti/ | jíst /jiːst/ | jesť /jɛsc/ | јаде /ˈjadɛ/ |
| Drink | piti /ˈpiːti/ | пити /ˈpiti/ | piti /ˈpiti/ | пити /ˈpiti/ | pít /piːt/ | piť /pɪc/ | пие /ˈpiɛ/ |
| Love | ljubav /ˈʎuːbaʋ/ | љубав /ˈʎubaʋ/ | ljubav /ˈʎubav/ | любов /lʲuˈbov/ | láska /ˈlaːska/ | láska /ˈlaːska/ | љубов /ˈʎubɔv/ |
| Heart | srce /ˈsr̩t͡se/ | срце /ˈsr̩t͡sɛ/ | srce /ˈsr̩t͡se/ | сердце /ˈserd͡ze/ | srdce /ˈsr̩t͡sɛ/ | srdce /ˈsr̩t͡sɛ/ | срце /ˈsərt͡sɛ/ |
| Tree | drvo /ˈdr̩ʋo/ | дрво /ˈdr̩ʋo/ | drvo /ˈdr̩vo/ | древо /ˈdrevo/ | strom /strom/ | strom /strom/ | дрво /ˈdərvɔ/ |
| House | kuća /ˈkuːt͡ɕa/ | кућа /ˈkut͡ɕa/ | kuća /ˈkut͡ɕa/ | хыжа /ˈxɨʒa/ | dům /duːm/ | dom /dom/ | куќа /ˈkut͡ɕa/ |
| Dog | pas /pas/ | пас /pas/ | pas /pas/ | пес /pes/ | pes /pɛs/ | pes /pɛs/ | куче /ˈkut͡ʃɛ/ |
| Cat | mačka /ˈmaːt͡ʃka/ | мачка /ˈmat͡ʃka/ | mačka /ˈmat͡ʃka/ | мачка /ˈmat͡ʃka/ | kočka /ˈkot͡ʃka/ | mačka /ˈmat͡ʃka/ | мачка /ˈmat͡ʃka/ |
| Hand | ruka /ˈruːka/ | рука /ˈruka/ | ruka /ˈruka/ | рука /ˈruka/ | ruka /ˈruka/ | ruka /ˈruka/ | рака /ˈraka/ |
| Eye | oko /ˈoːko/ | око /ˈɔkɔ/ | oko /ˈoko/ | око /ˈoko/ | oko /ˈoko/ | oko /ˈoko/ | око /ˈɔkɔ/ |
| Hello | bok /bok/ | здраво /ˈzdraʋo/ | zdravo /ˈzdravo/ | Здраво /ˈzdravo/ | ahoj /ˈaɦoj/ | ahoj /ˈaɦoj/ | здраво /ˈzdravɔ/ |
| Thank you | hvala /ˈxʋaːla/ | хвала /ˈxʋala/ | hvala /ˈxvala/ | дякую /ˈdʲakuju/ | děkuji /ˈɟɛkuji/ | ďakujem /ˈɟakujɛm/ | благодарам /blaˈɡɔdaram/ |
| One | jedan /ˈjɛdan/ | један /ˈjɛdan/ | jedan /ˈjɛdan/ | єден /ˈjeden/ | jeden /ˈjɛdɛn/ | jeden /ˈjɛdɛn/ | еден /ˈɛdɛn/ |
| Good | dobar /ˈdobar/ | добар /ˈdɔbar/ | dobar /ˈdobar/ | добрый /ˈdobrɨj/ | dobrý /ˈdobriː/ | dobrý /ˈdobriː/ | добар /ˈdɔbar/ |
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