EasyCroatian_r47.an

Easy Croaan (rev. 47b) / 01 Alphabet and Pronunciaon 9 / 600
01 Alphabet and Pronunciation
Croatian alphabet is simpler than English and much more similar to German or
Spanish.
Letters b, d, f, h, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, v, z are pronounced more or less as in English.
The letter g is pronounced always as in English go or get.
The following letters have a special pronunciation in Croatian:
Specific letters in Croatian
c as tz in tzar
č as ch in child
ć similar to č, a bit ‘softer’
đ as j in joke
j as y in you
š as sh in ship
ž as s in pleasure
Sequences of letters dž, lj and nj are considered single letters in Croatian; they are
pronounced as follows:
Specific two-letter sequences
dž similar to đ, a bit ‘harder’
lj like an l fused with a j
as Italian gl (e.g. in figlia)
or like English million
nj like an n fused with a j
like Spanish ñ (e.g. in señor)
or Italian gn (e.g. in bagno)
or like English onion
The 7 letters listed above (c to ž) and these two-letter sequences are Croatianspecific
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.)
Croatian vowels are quite different than English vowels: they should be pronounced
as Spanish or Italian vowels, as rather ‘flat’. Vowels can be either long or short
(similar to English fit vs. feet) but in some cities (notably, Zagreb, Rijeka and Pula)
that distinction is lost.
Therefore, I have decided not to mark long vowels, as it would be too complicated
for beginners: the rules are really complex and not respected in real life in many