👋 Croatian Greetings التحيات

How to use these words

• Bok means both “hi” and “bye”, but only with friends, family and people your age. With strangers and older people use Dobar dan to arrive and Doviđenja to leave.
• Kako si? is “how are you?” to one friend; Kako ste? is the polite form, also used for several people. The usual answer is Dobro, hvala. A ti? or A Vi?
• Molim is a small magic word: “please”, “you are welcome”, and “pardon?” when you did not hear something. Many people also answer the phone with Molim?
• Oprostite (polite) and Oprosti (informal) are for “excuse me” and small apologies. Žao mi je is a real “I am sorry”, for bad news or a serious mistake.

A little culture

Friends usually greet with two kisses on the cheek, and people shake hands firmly when they meet for the first time. In emails and messages Croatians sign off with Lijep pozdrav (kind regards) or simply Pozdrav.

Common mistakes

• Using Dobro jutro all day. It is only for the morning, until about ten or eleven; after that switch to Dobar dan.
• Saying Bok to an older stranger or a shop assistant. It is not rude, but it sounds too casual.
• Writing “Dobro večer”. In Croatian večer is feminine, so it is Dobra večer. (You may hear “Dobro veče” from Serbian speakers.)

Quick quiz: greetings