Croatian Alphabet

Croatian Alphabet: Letters and Pronunciation

Learning how to pronounce letters is an important step in any new language, as it helps you say words correctly and understand different accents.

In this article, we will go over the Croatian alphabet, explain how to pronounce each letter, and show how it is different from English. Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about the Croatian alphabet and how to pronounce its letters.

How many letters are in the Croatian alphabet?

The Croatian alphabet consists of 30 letters, including both consonants and vowels. While it is based on the Latin alphabet, like English, it includes several additional letters with diacritical marks that represent distinct sounds.

Each letter in the Croatian alphabet generally corresponds to a single sound, making Croatian a largely phonetic language. This means that once you learn the alphabet, pronouncing words becomes much easier compared to languages with less predictable spelling rules.

Croatian alphabet pronunciation

The chart below serves as a pronunciation guide for each letter of the Croatian alphabet. When saying the alphabet or spelling out words, this is how each letter is typically pronounced. However, certain letter combinations or placements within a word can slightly alter pronunciation.

Letter	Pronunciation
A	ah
B	beh
C	tseh
Č	chay (like chair)
Ć	tchy (like in "cheek")
D	deh
Dž	juh (like judge)
Đ	dy (like in "duke")
E	eh
F	ef
G	geh (like go)
H	hah
I	ee (like see)
J	yeh (like yes)
K	kah
L	el
Lj	lyee (like million)
M	em
N	en
Nj	nyeh (like canyon)
O	oh
P	peh
R	rrr (rolled, like Spanish r)
S	es
Š	sh (like shoe)
T	teh
U	oo (like moon)
V	veh
Z	zeh

How do you pronounce accents in Croatian?

Croatian uses diacritical marks (special symbols placed on letters) to modify the pronunciation of certain letters. These accents help to create different sounds and meanings, making them an important part of the language.

Here’s what each diacritical mark represents and how it affects pronunciation:

Caron (ˇ): Found on č, š, and ž, it softens the consonant sound.
č sounds like ch in chair
š sounds like sh in shoe
ž sounds like zh in measure
Acute accent (´): Appears on some vowels in written language to indicate stress or longer sounds, especially in poetry or dialects.
Dieresis (¨): Rare in standard Croatian but can appear in some older texts or dialects.

Silent Letters

Croatian doesn’t have many silent letters. Most letters are pronounced as they are written, making the language highly phonetic. However, in casual speech and particularly in some regional dialects, the letter “h” may be lightly pronounced or even omitted. If you're learning Croatian, it’s important to remember that this does not apply universally, so it’s best to stick with the standard pronunciation unless you're familiar with specific regional dialects.

Croatian Vowels

Croatian has five vowels: a, e, i, o, u, and each one has a fixed pronunciation, making the language highly phonetic.

Unlike English, where vowels can have multiple sounds depending on their position in a word, Croatian vowels are pronounced the same way every time.

A: Always pronounced like ah in father. It is an open, fronted vowel and one of the most common sounds in Croatian.
E: Pronounced like e in bed. It’s a short, clear sound, without the diphthong glide that often occurs in English.
I: Pronounced like ee in see. It’s a high, front vowel, always sharp and clear, without the laxness sometimes heard in English.
O: Pronounced like o in pot. It’s a rounded, mid-back vowel. Croatian doesn’t have the ow sound common in English words like go.
U: Pronounced like oo in moon. It’s a rounded, back vowel, always short and pure without a diphthong glide.

Croatian Consonants

Croatian has 25 consonant letters, many of which are pronounced similarly to their English counterparts. However, the Croatian alphabet also includes several consonants with distinct sounds represented by diacritical marks.

Consonant Categories

Croatian consonants can be grouped into several categories based on how they are pronounced:

Voiced vs. Voiceless Consonants

The key difference between voiced and voiceless consonants lies in the vibration of the “vocal cords”.

Voiced consonants, such as b, d, g, z, and ž, are produced with the vocal cords vibrating, giving it a more resonant sound. In contrast, voiceless consonants like p, t, k, s, and š are pronounced without vocal cord vibration, resulting in a sharper, clearer sound.

In Croatian, many voiced and voiceless consonants form pairs, such as b-p, d-t, and g-k, where the mouth position remains the same, but the vocal cords determine whether the sound is voiced or voiceless. Sounds easy, right? Well, not quite.

Soft vs. Hard Consonants

Soft consonants have a lighter, softer sound (lj, nj, č, ć, đ), while hard consonants sound more solid (k, g, p, t, d).

Hissing vs. Hushing Sounds

Hissing sounds (s, z) are sharper, like the “s” in snake.

Hushing sounds (š, ž, č) are softer, like the “sh” in shoe.

Special Consonants

Č: Pronounced like ch in chair.
Ć: Softer than č, similar to the tchy sound in cheek.
Đ: Pronounced like the j in judge.
Dž: Also pronounced like the j in judge, though typically found in loanwords or older texts.
Lj: A palatal sound similar to the lli in million.
Nj: Pronounced like the ny in canyon.

Consonant Clusters

Croatian frequently blends consonants without inserting vowels, which can be difficult for beginners. Words such as "prst" (finger) and "vrt" (garden) serve as typical examples. Each consonant must be pronounced separately, without merging the sounds.

These kinds of words can be especially surprising for non-native speakers of Croatian, as the sequence of consonants in a row appears nearly impossible to pronounce.

However, with enough practice and exposure to the language, these clusters become easier to pronounce.

How to learn the Croatian alphabet quickly?

To learn the Croatian alphabet quickly, start by familiarizing yourself with its 30 letters. The Croatian alphabet uses the Latin script, but with a few unique characters like Č, Ć, Ž, Š, and Đ. The key to mastering it is understanding the sound each letter makes. Croatian is mostly phonetic, meaning words are pronounced exactly as they are written.

Once you know the sound of each letter, you'll be able to pronounce almost any word correctly. This is a big advantage over other languages, where knowing the alphabet doesn't guarantee you'll pronounce words the same way.

Summary

The Croatian alphabet is straightforward once you understand the sound of each letter, as the language is largely phonetic, and words are pronounced as written. We encourage you to check out our other blog posts about the Croatian language to learn more about its grammar and to receive more pronunciation tips.