What do they speak in Croatia?

What do they speak in Croatia? Are you thinking about visiting Croatia and wondering how you will communicate there?

Great, you’ve come to the right place. My name is Aleksandra, and I’m a Croatian philologist (I’ve done masters in Croatian language and studies at university). I’m also the author of a travel blog about Europe.

In this article, I will explain what do they speak in Croatia. Spoiler: It’s Croatian.

That’s why, in the chapters in the second part of the article, I will also briefly tell you about the  Croatian language.

Do they speak English in Croatia?

Yes! Croatia is a popular tourist destination, and the English language, especially in tourist areas, is widely spoken. You will have no problem communicating.

When it comes to other foreign languages, sometimes you can also communicate in German and Italian language.

What do they speak in Croatia?

Let’s answer the main question. What do they speak in Croatia? What’s the official language of Croatia?

As simple as that, it’s the Croatian language.

Quick links to organise your trip to Croatia:

Accommodation: Booking.com

Check here for flights.

Ferryhopper for ferry schedules and tickets.

Private transfers and guided tours.

A few basic Croatian phases

It’s always nice to know a few basic words when visiting any country. Interested in a few basic Croatian phrases? Here you go:

Hello – Bok

Good morning – Dobro jutro

Good afternoon – Dobar dan

Good evening – Dobra večer

Good night – Laku noć

Thank you – Hvala

Slavic languages

Croatian is a Slavic language, or more exactly, a South Slavic language. It’s in one group of South Slavic languages, with Slovenian or Bulgarian.

Slavic languages are the languages of countries in Central Europe and East Europe. They are divided into three groups: Western Slavic (like, for example, Polish or Czech languages), East Slavic (like Russian or Ukrainian), and South Slavic, to which Croatian belongs.

Slavic languages were established and developed from Proto-Slavic language. The first literary Slavic language, though, is called Old Church Slavonic. It was created based on one of dialects of the Proto-Slavic by Cyryl and Methodius. At the start, the language used the Glagolitic script.

I’m not going to go into more historical details now, but mentioning it, as Glagolitic Script monuments are important in Croatian culture and you can see them in Croatia. Especially if you visit Istria and the Kvarner regions (for example, the Island of Krk).

If you speak any other Slavic language, you can find a few words and grammar rules that are similar. However, it’s not ‘the same’; these are all separate languages and not always easy to understand, even for Slavic language native speakers.

What do they speak in Croatia: Croatian language facts

In the past, during former Yugoslavia, it was called the Serbo-Croatian language. After the separation of countries for some time, linguists were arguing about whether these were same or two different languages. The situation is now more clear, and they are rather treated as separate languages, even if they are very similar. They have differences in words; they also have different alphabets.

Croatian uses the Latin alphabet, (while the Serbian language uses the Cyrillic alphabet and can use Latin as well).

Croatian has conjugation, declination, and grammatical gender, which are typical for Slavic languages.

It also has rule that ‘how you write it, you read it’, although it’s probably not that obvious if you don’t know sounds. The language was standardised by Ljudevit Gaj in the 19th century.

What’s interesting is that the Croatian alphabet has a few letters that you will not find in English alphabet: č, ć, š, ž, đ, dž, lj, and nj.

Croatian is one of the 24 official languages of the European Union (while three: English, French, and German are used as working languages).

Croatian dialects

Croatia is a relatively small country, so you could think that the language is quite homogeneous. But it’s not. Let’s look briefly at different dialects.

There are three main dialects: Kajkavian, Čakavian, and Štokavian (shtokavian). Their names come from the way that word ‘what’ sounds. In Štokavian it’s ‘što’, in Kajkavian ‘kaj’, in Čakavian ‘ča’.

Kajkavian is used mostly in the north of Croatia, and Čakavian in parts of the coast. Štokavian is mostly spread.

But it’s not all yet. As there are other dialects, based on the way the old Slavic letter ‘yat’ developed and is pronounced. They are called jekavski, ikavski, and ekavski. It’s not very easy to explain it in English, but let me show the examples:

Word child can have 3 forms: dijete, dite and dete

Word girl: djevojka, divojka and devojka.

Again, it’s mostly dependent on regions. On the Dalmatian coast, you can hear ikavski dialect.

What’s even more complicated is that these dialects can be mixed with each other. Here you can find quite good descriptions and maps.

Do you need to know it when visiting Croatia? Not at all. This information here is just out of interest, in case you are more interested in linguistic topics.

Standard Croatian language is based on the Shtokavian dialect and on jekavica. And this is the language I’ve learned during my studies and speak when visiting Croatia.

As in every country, you can find people speaking minority languages. Minority languages in Croatia are Serbian, Italian, Hungarian, and more.

What do they speak in Croatia: Dalmatian coast

In addition to dialects, there are also different words for the same thing in different regions. It’s not only a Croatian or Balkan thing; it happens in most languages. Language is never separated from history. That’s why you can find ‘borrowings’, words that come from the other language that influenced the region before and show rich history.

That’s why, on the Dalmatian coast and islands, you will be able to find more Italian words because of Italian influence from the past. I think it only shows a rich cultural heritage.

Is Croatian difficult?

It’s not easy to say if the Croatian language is difficult. I think it mostly depends on your language background. If you are a native speaker of any Slavic language or have even just learned it a bit, it’s going to be easier. It doesn’t mean you will catch Croatian very quickly, but for sure, it will be easier to read or learn how to declinate or conjugate Croatian verbs. I’m a Polish (so Slavic) language speaker, so a few rules were for sure more obvious for me. However, I still had to spend 5 years studying to learn the language, and I would still say I speak at just good level.

Of course, you can learn Croatian without any Slavic language background as well, just as we all learn English:) It’s nice-sounding language, so go for it, if you feel like!

In my opinion, it’s accents that are most difficult in Croatian. There are four accents, and this is something you just learn with time by listening. But believe me, you can speak without using these accents.

Second, quite tough thing, can be a lot of consonants in one word. Probably the most favourite words for everyone are: Krk (which is the island in the Kvarner region) and Krka (National Park with beautiful waterfalls close to Šibenik).

What do they speak in Croatia: Summary

To summarise, the most important answers to your questions are:

Can you communicate in English in Croatia? Yes, without any problems. It plays a crucial role in the Croatian tourism industry. So don’t worry and just visit this beautiful country.

What do they speak in Croatia? The answer is Croatian.

If you are interested in language information, you can read about facts, major dialects, and origins in a few chapters.

I can imagine this information may sound a little bit complicated, but hopefully it has helped to understand about the Croatian language a little bit more.

If you are checking information about Croatian language, I assume Croatia is on your travel radar?

If yes, these posts will be very helpful for you:

Krk Island, what to see and practical tips.

Zadar, what to see and practical tips.

Main airports in Croatia.

Best souvenirs to buy from Croatia.

Enjoy your trip to Croatia!