Alphabet and Pronunciation

- The Croatian alphabet consists of 30 letters in total and differs from standard Latin alphabet
- Rules of pronunciation:
• every single letter should be clearly pronounced
• there are no silent letters
• some letters have two characters, but each sound is represented by a single letter
• letters are pronounced the same regardless of their position in a word
- 5 vowels: A, E, I, O, U
- 25 consonants: B, C, Č, Ć, D, DŽ, Đ, F, G, H, J, K L, LJ, M, N, NJ, P, R, S, Š, T, U, V, Z, Ž

LETTER PRONUNCIATION EXAMPLE (translate)

Aa as a in another Airplane
Bb as b in bee hill
Cc as tz in tzar beetroot
Čč as ch in child boot
Ćć similar to č, a bit ‘softer’ prison cell
Dd as in day delivery
Dž dž similar to đ, a bit ‘harder’ jeep
Đđ as j in joke lily of the valley
Ee as e in escape team
Ff as f in fish Philosophy
Gg as in English go or get throat
Hh as h in high cold
Ii as i in innovation truth
Jj as y in you clear
Kk as k in kite goat
Ll as l in listen swan
Lj lj like an l fused with a j (as Italian love
gl in figlia)
Mm as in mouse peace
Nn as in nose new
Nj nj like an n fused with a j (like pendulum
Spanish ñ (e.g. in señor or
Italian gn (e.g. in bagno))
like ni onion / minion
Oo as o in October vinegar
Pp as in pupil history
Rr Rhotic pronunciation fish
Ss as s in see tear
Šš as sh in ship forest
Tt as t in tank thousand
Uu as u in Uber street
Vv as v in vein news
Zz as z in zoo green
Žž as s in pleasure life
Letters b, d, f, h, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, v, z are pronounced more or less as in English.

Sequences of letters dž, lj and nj are considered single letters in Croatian.

Letters c, č, ć, dž, đ, j, lj, nj, š, ž are Croatian-specific letters and have a somewhat special role in
grammar. (You can remember them as consonants having ‘hooks’ on them, including j, having a ‘dot’
+ letter c).

In the Standard pronunciation of ć and đ, the tip of tongue is pressed against the palate (top of the
mouth) right above teeth, the teeth are separated, and there’s a gap between lips and teeth; it’s
called apical pronunciation. But, most people in Croatia pronounce today ć the same as č, and dž the
same as đ. This feature includes most cities.

Learn the difference between letters "Č and Ć"

Even the Croatian native speakers are confused when it's about mentioned letters. What is the
difference? When should I use Č and when Ć?

Č is mostly referred as a harsh/hard one whereas ć is soft. The main difference between them is the
pronunciation. Unfortunately, there is no exact English equivalent to "Ć" whereas "Č" sounds like ch
in words such as "charming" or "matching".

Examples

Često trčim u park. = I often run in the park.

Izlazim van oko ponoći. = I go out around midnight.

Learn the difference between letters "DŽ and Đ"

The distinction is pretty much the same between "DŽ" and "Đ". As in the previous subtitle, there is no
exact English equivalent to đ whereas for "DŽ" is pronounced like j in "joy" (only slightly
harsher/harder). In order to produce "soft" sounds (ć, đ) your tongue should be placed right behind
your front teeth. Regarding the words with dž they are mostly originaly from Turkish and English
language.

Examples

Marko je pravi džentleman. = Marko is a real gentleman.

Mađarska graniči s Hrvatskom. = Hungary borders with Croatia.

Džamija je mjesto gdje se ljudi muslimanske vjeroispovijesti mole. =The mosque is a place where the
Muslim people pray.

Learn the difference between letters "Š and Ž"

Last but not least, "Š" and "Ž" are letters, which are quite easier to understand and pronounce.
Comparing to previous letters, there is only one version of "Š" = like sh in "shopping" and "Ž" is like s
in "treasure".
Examples

Škola se nalazi u centru grada. = The school is in the city center.

Marko je bio žrtva krađe. = Marko was a victim of a theft.

** Although words should be pronounced as spelled, a great majority of Croatians pronounce the
sequence ije (when not at the end of the word) as just je, for example:

lijepo (beautiful/ly) is usually pronounced as lje-po

prije (before) is pronounced as written (pri-je), since the ije comes at the very end

There are very few other situations where something is written but not pronounced in Croatian, they
will be specially emphasized.

Croatians spell foreign names and names of places how they are originally spelled, if the original
spelling uses the Latin script (e.g. New York, Chuck Norris), while sometimes in Bosnian, and as the
rule in Serbian, respelling according to an approximate pronunciation is used (Njujork, Čak Noris).

Stress (pronouncing one syllable a bit louder, as in English together) has quite complex rules and
varies in colloquial speech in different parts of Croatia. Stress is never indicated in writing (similar to
the practice in English, but unlike Spanish or Italian), and you are simply supposed to know it.

The standard stress is used in the Standard Croatian, and in cities of Split, Osijek, Dubrovnik, and
surrounding countryside; the area extends to Bosnia, and most of Serbia. This is what you hear on
the Croatian Public Radio and TV (this is the pronunciation you will find in language manuals and
good dictionaries). Furthermore, the Standard Croatian has two kinds of stress (ways that one
syllable in the word can be stressed): with the rising tone and the falling tone. It’s a bit similar to
tones in Swedish or even Chinese. The stress in the Standard Croatian is virtually identical to stress in
the Standard Serbian or Bosnian, but many people in Croatia don’t use standard stress in everyday
communication. Furthermore, rules governing standard stress are very complex (the stress changes
in various forms of one word) so I think it would be too complex to introduce tones in a course
intended for beginners (this approach is followed by most language schools that offer Croatian).