BASIC
PHRASES AND EXPRESSIONS:
Special
Caution:
Only
Croatian script and usage are presented below to save space. Be sensitive to
this if attempting to communicate with Serbians or Montenegrans. You could,
by using the Croatian usage, seem biased towards the Croat cause. One primary
difference in usage is the Serbian variant of the words and phrases below will
employ so-called "hard vowels" where the Croatian uses "soft vowels." To give
a word the Serbian pronunciation, you would normally say "eh" rather than "yeh."
An example of this is the Croatian mlijeko (meleeyehko) versus the Serbian
(mlechko); brijeg (breeyehg) versus breg (brehg) and/or naprijed (nahpreeeyehd)
versus napred (nahprehd); ne razumijem (neh rahzoomeyehm) verus (neh rahzsoomehm).
| English | Croat | Phonetic |
|---|
| Please | Molim | moleem |
| Thank
you | Hvala | hvahlah |
| OK | U
redu | oo
rehdoo |
| OK,
thank you | Dobro,
hvala | dobro
hvahlah |
| Sorry | Zao
mi je/Oprostite/Izvinite | zhaho
mee yeh/ ohprohstiteh/eezveeheeteh |
| Excuse
me | Oprostite/Izvinite | ohprohstiteh/izvinite |
| Good
day | Dobar
dan | dobahr
dahn |
| Good
Morning | Dobro
jutro | dobro
yootro |
| Good-bye | Zbogom | zbogom |
| Hello | Zdravo | zdrahvo |
| Big/Small | Veliko/Malo | vehleeko/mahlo |
| Right/Wrong | Tocno/Pogresno | tochno/progeshno |
| Yes/No | Da/Ne | dah/neh |
| Good/Bad | Dobro/Lose | losheh |
| Black/Blue | Crn/Plav | tsern/plahv |
| Green/Red | Zelen/Crven | zshehn/tservehn |
| White/Yellow | Bijel/Zut | beyehlo/zhoot |
| Man | Covjek/Muskarac | chovyehk/mooshkahrahts |
| Woman/Child | Zena/Rodaci | porodeetsah/rodjahtsee |
| Refugee | Izbjeglica | eezhyehgleetsah |
| East/West
| Istok/Zapad | eestok/zahpahd |
| North/South | Sjever/Jug | syehvehr/yoog |
| Up/Down | Gore/Dolje | goreh/dolyeh |
| Left/Right | Lijevo/Desno | leeyehvo/deshno |
| Here/There | Ovdje/Tamo | ovdjeh/tahmo |
| Straight
forward | Ravno/Pravo | rahvno/pravo |
| Near/Far | Blizu/Daleko | Bleezoo/dahlenko |
| Base | Baza | Bahzah |
| Barracks | Baraka | Bahrahkah |
| Camp | Logor/Tabor
| Logor/tahbor |
| House | Kuca/Dom | Kootchah/dom |
| Airfield | Uzletiste/Aerodrom/
Zracna Luka | Oozlehteeshteh/Ahrehrodrom/
zrahchnah lookah |
| Road | Put/Cesta | poot/tsestah |
| Dirt
Road | Seoski
Put/Seoska/Cesta/Drum | Seeohskee
poot/ seeochskah/tshsah/droom |
| Paved
Road | Asfaltiran
Put/Asfaltirana Cesta | achfahlteerahn
poot/tsestah ahsfahlteerahnah tsehstah |
| Bridge | Most | Most |
| Car | Auto/Automobil/Kola | ahooto/ahootomobeel/kolah |
| Plane | Avion | ahveeon |
| Ship | Brod | brod |
| Trailer | Prikolica | preekoleetshah |
| Truck | Kamion/Teretno
vozilo | kahmeeon/tehrehtno
vozeelo |
| Tent | Sator | shahtor |
| Tree | Drvo/Stablo | dervoh/stahbloh |
| Village | Selo | sehlo |
| Path | Staza | stahzah |
| Square | Trg | terg |
| Border | Granica | grahneetsah |
| Mountains | Planine | plahneeneh |
| Forest | suma | shoomah |
| Valley | Dolina | doleenah |
| Hill | Brdo/Brijeg | berdo/breeyehg |
| Lake | Jezero | jehzehro |
| Ocean | Ocean | otsehahn |
| Sea | More | moreh |
| Meadow | Livada | leevahdah |
| River | Rijeka
| reeyehkah |
| Rock | Stijena/Krs/Kamen
| steeehnah/kersh/kahmehn
|
| Days | Dani | dahnee |
| Hours/Minutes | Sati/Minute | sahtee/meenooteh |
| Week | Nedelja/Tjedan | nedh'yehl'yah/tyedahn
|
| Now/Later | Sada/kasnije | sahdah/kahsneeyeh |
| Yesterday/Today | Jucer/Danas | yoochehr/dahnahs |
| Tomorrow | Sutra | sootrah |
Back
to Chapter 3: Table of Contents
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