Pronunciation Guide
The good news: Croatian is spoken exactly as it is written. No silent letters, no exceptions. Once you learn the letters, you can pronounce any word.
The Most Important Special Letters
| Letter | Pronunciation | Example | Sounds like |
|---|---|---|---|
| č | tsch (hard) | čokolada (chocolate) | Tschechia |
| ć | tj (soft) | noć (night) | soft tch, like Cutsche with a soft start |
| š | sch | šuma (forest) | School |
| ž | voiced sch | žena (woman) | like “j” in French Journal |
| đ | dj (voiced) | đak (student) | like “g” in English gentle |
| nj | nj | konj (horse) | like gn in French Champagne |
| lj | lj | ljubav (love) | like gl in Italian tagliatelle |
| dž | dsch | džep (pocket) | Dschungle |
| c | ts | cesta (road) | Zahn |
| j | j | ja (I) | Ja |
| r | rolled | Hrvatska (Croatia) | like in Bavarian or Spanish |
Basic Rules
- Emphasis is usually on the first syllable — never on the last!
- Every letter is pronounced individually — there are no diphthongs
- R can be syllabic: “Krk” is really pronounced “Krk” (the R acts as a vowel)
- The H is always pronounced, never silent: “Hrvatska” = “Cher-vat-ska”
💡 Tipp
The difference between <strong>č</strong> (hard, as in “Czech”) and <strong>ć</strong> (soft, like a soft tj) is the hardest for Germans. Don't stress — Croatians will understand you even if you pronounce both as “tsch.”