A
Vowelauto
car
Say it like the a in father. Keep it short and clear.
Reference tool
Alphabet & Sounds
Croatian spelling is mostly regular. Each letter usually keeps the same sound.
DŽ, LJ, and NJ are treated as letters in Croatian alphabetical order.
B
Consonantbok
hi / bye
Say b as in boy.
C
Specialcesta
road
Say ts, like the ending of cats. It is not k or s.
English speakers often read this as k or s; Croatian C is always ts.
Č
Specialčaj
tea
Say a firm ch, like ch in chair.
Č is stronger than Ć.
Ć
Specialćevapi
ćevapi, grilled minced-meat rolls
Say a softer ch sound, with the tongue a little more forward.
Beginners can first aim for a clear ch sound, then refine Č versus Ć later.
D
Consonantdan
day
Say d as in day.
DŽ
Digraphdžep
Say j, like the first sound in jam.
Croatian treats DŽ as one alphabet letter even though it has two characters.
Đ
Specialđak
school pupil
Say a softer j sound than DŽ, with the tongue a little forward.
Beginners can first pronounce it close to English j, then refine it over time.
E
VowelEuropa
Europe
Say e like e in bed, but cleaner and steady.
F
Consonantfilm
film
Say f as in film.
G
Consonantgrad
city
Always say hard g, like g in go.
H
SpecialHrvatska
Croatia
Say a clear h from the throat. Do not drop it.
The word Hrvatska also has the consonant cluster hr at the start.
I
Vowelime
name
Say ee, like the vowel in see.
J
Specialja
I / me
Say y, like y in yes.
Croatian J is not the English j sound.
K
Consonantkava
coffee
Say k as in coffee.
L
Consonantlijep
beautiful / nice
Say a clear l, like l in light.
LJ
Digraphljubav
love
Say a soft ly sound, close to lli in million.
Croatian treats LJ as one alphabet letter even though it has two characters.
M
Consonantmolim
please / you're welcome
Say m as in mother.
N
Consonantne
no
Say n as in no.
NJ
Digraphnjemački
German
Say a soft ny sound, close to n in canyon.
Croatian treats NJ as one alphabet letter even though it has two characters.
O
Vowelotok
island
Say o like o in more, but shorter and without a glide.
P
Consonantpas
dog
Say p as in pen.
R
Specialriba
fish
Use a tapped or rolled r, not the English r.
A short tapped r is enough for beginners.
S
Consonantsunce
sun
Say s as in sun.
Š
Specialškola
school
Say sh, like sh in shoe.
T
Consonanttata
dad
Say t clearly, close to t in stop.
U
Vowelulica
street
Say oo, like oo in food.
V
Consonantvoda
water
Say v as in very.
Z
Consonantzrak
air
Say z as in zoo.
Ž
Specialžena
woman / wife
Say zh, like the middle sound in vision.