Slang

1. Ćao

   Hi / Bye

   Usage

   An Italian import used both on meeting and parting, heard most on the coast. Fine with friends, colleagues and familiar staff; with an older stranger use "Dobar dan" from the Greetings category

2. Kaj ima?

   What's up?

   Usage

   The Kajkavian greeting of Zagreb and the north; "kaj" is the standard "što", and using it marks you as a Zagreb speaker. In Dalmatia it becomes "Ča ima?" or "Što ima?". Peers you already know only

3. Ajde

   Come on / Let's go

   Usage

   A Turkish-derived word shared across the Balkans, used both to urge someone along and as a parting "right then". It hurries the listener, so avoid it with elders

4. Ma daj

   Come off it

   Usage

   Literally "oh, give it here" — both surprise and a light "get away with you". For friends who will take it as a joke, not for staff or elders

5. Može

   Sure / OK

   Usage

   Literally "it can", used on its own as an agreement, and in a café as "Može kava" — a coffee, please. Safe with anyone

6. Nema veze

   Never mind

   Usage

   Literally "there is no connection" — a reply to an apology, or a shrug at something that did not work out. Safe with anyone, though "U redu je" from the Basic Words category is politer in formal settings

7. Bez brige

   No worries

   Usage

   Literally "without worry", said to put someone at ease. Safe and polite with anyone

8. Polako

   Take it easy

   Usage

   Both "slowly" and "calm down". Safe with anyone, as long as you say it with a smile rather than as an order

9. Pomalo

   Easy does it

   Usage

   The word that sums up Dalmatia — bit by bit, no rush — and used as a greeting and a farewell too. Warmly received anywhere on the coast, though it may puzzle the interior

10. Fjaka

    Blissful idleness

    Usage

    A Dalmatian concept: the pleasant torpor of a hot afternoon when doing nothing is the point. "Imam fjaku" — I have the fjaka. Locals will laugh and agree, but do not offer it as an excuse at work

11. Ekstra

    Great

    Usage

    A positive that has been in use since Yugoslav times, applied to things and experiences. Understood at any age, though formal settings call for "odlično"

12. Super

    Great

    Usage

    A catch-all positive that works across all ages, safe with friends and staff alike

13. Ludilo

    It was wild

    Usage

    Literally "madness", used in praise of a concert or a festival. Positive about an event — said about a person it becomes an insult, so keep it to occasions

14. Skroz

    Totally

    Usage

    An intensifier of agreement: "Skroz tako" is "exactly so". For conversation with friends; in writing use "potpuno"

15. Fora

    A joke / The trick

    Usage

    Both a joke and the knack or the point of something: "U čemu je fora?" asks what the joke — or the catch — is. For chat among peers

16. Idemo na kavu

    Let's go for a coffee

    Usage

    The basic Croatian invitation. It means sitting and talking for hours; the coffee is not really the point. Fine with friends, colleagues and new acquaintances. Croatian coffee is "kava", where Serbian says "kafa"

17. Živjeli

    Cheers

    Usage

    Literally "may we live". Safe with anyone — but meet the other person's eyes as you clink, since looking away is taken as rude

    Grammar Note

    The Ijekavian form; Serbian spells it "živeli"

18. Gužva

    Crowd / Traffic jam

    Usage

    One word for a crush of people and a traffic jam, and unavoidable when talking about the summer ferry queues and the coast road. Safe with anyone

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