Good wishes are short, warm and everywhere — birthdays, the New Year, a trip out the door — and they are also a tidy lesson in two grammar points. The word for „happy," sretan, is an adjective, so it changes ending to agree with what follows: sretan rođendan but sretna godina. And the verb želim („I wish") sets up the classic Croatian double object — dative for the person, accusative for the thing wished — želim ti sreću („I wish you happiness"). This page gives you the set phrases and the grammar that makes them tick.
The big set wishes
These are fixed expressions you say verbatim. Memorise them whole — but notice the sretan / sretna / sretne ending shifting with the noun's gender.
| Croatian | Meaning | Gender of noun |
|---|---|---|
| Sretan rođendan! | Happy birthday! | masc. 'rođendan' → 'sretan' |
| Sretna Nova godina! | Happy New Year! | fem. 'godina' → 'sretna' |
| Sretan Božić! | Merry Christmas! | masc. 'Božić' → 'sretan' |
| Sretan put! | Have a good trip! / Bon voyage! | masc. 'put' → 'sretan' |
| Sretni blagdani! | Happy holidays! | masc. pl. 'blagdani' → 'sretni' |
| Sve najbolje! | All the best! | fixed phrase |
Sretan rođendan! Želim ti puno zdravlja i sreće.
Happy birthday! I wish you lots of health and happiness. — 'sretan' agrees with masc. 'rođendan'.
Sretna Nova godina i sve najbolje u 2027.!
Happy New Year and all the best in 2027! — 'sretna' agrees with fem. 'godina'.
Sretan put! Javi se kad stigneš.
Have a good trip! Let me know when you arrive. — 'sretan put', masc. 'put'.
The grammar inside „happy": sretan agrees
This is the point that explains why the wishes differ. Sretan is an adjective meaning „happy / lucky," and like every Croatian adjective it copies the gender and number of its noun. So the ending changes even though the meaning („happy") does not:
| Noun | Gender | Form of „happy" |
|---|---|---|
| rođendan (birthday) | masc. | sretan |
| Božić (Christmas) | masc. | sretan |
| put (trip) | masc. | sretan |
| godina (year) | fem. | sretna |
| blagdani (holidays) | masc. pl. | sretni |
Note the masculine form is sretan with a fleeting vowel -a- that drops out in the feminine: sretan → sretna, sretni. This „a" appears only in the bare masculine singular.
Sretan Božić i sretni blagdani svima!
Merry Christmas and happy holidays to everyone! — masc. sg. 'sretan', masc. pl. 'sretni'.
Želim ti sretnu godinu punu uspjeha.
I wish you a happy year full of success. — here 'sretnu godinu' is accusative (object of 'želim'), feminine.
Congratulating: Čestitam!
To congratulate, the verb is čestitati and the everyday exclamation is Čestitam! — „Congratulations!" (literally „I congratulate"). What you congratulate someone on goes into the dative (the person) plus na + locative (the occasion): čestitam ti na….
| Croatian | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Čestitam! | Congratulations! |
| Čestitam ti na rođendanu! | Happy birthday to you! (congrats on your birthday) |
| Čestitam na vjenčanju! | Congratulations on the wedding! |
| Čestitam na uspjehu! | Congratulations on your success! |
Čestitam! Zaslužila si tu nagradu.
Congratulations! You deserved that prize. — 'čestitam' as a standalone; 'zaslužila' female addressee.
Čestitam ti na novom poslu!
Congratulations on your new job! — dative 'ti' (person) + 'na' + locative 'novom poslu'.
See čestitati for its full pattern, including the dative-plus-na construction.
The grammar inside „I wish you…": dative + accusative
The verb želim („I wish") is the workhorse of good wishes, and it sets up Croatian's classic double object: the person you wish to goes in the dative (ti, vam), and the thing you wish them goes in the accusative. So Želim ti sreću parses as „I-wish to-you[dative] happiness[accusative]."
| Croatian | Dative (to whom) | Accusative (what) |
|---|---|---|
| Želim ti sreću. | ti (you) | sreću (happiness) |
| Želim ti zdravlje. | ti (you) | zdravlje (health) |
| Želim vam sve najbolje. | vam (you, formal) | sve najbolje (all the best) |
| Želimo vam ugodan boravak. | vam (you) | ugodan boravak (pleasant stay) |
Želim ti puno sreće na ispitu.
I wish you lots of luck on the exam. — dative 'ti' + genitive after 'puno', 'sreće'.
Želimo vam zdravlje i mir u novoj godini.
We wish you health and peace in the new year. — dative 'vam' + accusative 'zdravlje i mir'.
Želim ti sve najbolje za rođendan!
I wish you all the best for your birthday! — dative 'ti' + 'sve najbolje'.
Common Mistakes
❌ Sretan godina!
Wrong agreement — 'godina' is feminine, so it must be 'Sretna godina'.
✅ Sretna Nova godina!
Happy New Year! — feminine 'sretna' agrees with 'godina'.
❌ Sretna rođendan!
Wrong agreement — 'rođendan' is masculine, so it must be 'Sretan rođendan'.
✅ Sretan rođendan!
Happy birthday! — masculine 'sretan' agrees with 'rođendan'.
❌ Želim te sreću.
Wrong case for the person — the recipient is dative 'ti', not accusative 'te': 'Želim ti sreću'.
✅ Želim ti sreću.
I wish you happiness. — dative 'ti' (person) + accusative 'sreću' (thing).
❌ Čestitam te!
Wrong case — 'čestitati' takes the dative person: 'čestitam ti', not accusative 'te'.
✅ Čestitam ti!
Congratulations (to you)! — dative 'ti'.
Key Takeaways
- „Happy" is an adjective and agrees: Sretan rođendan / Božić / put (masc.), Sretna (Nova) godina (fem.), Sretni blagdani (masc. pl.). The masculine -an loses its „a" elsewhere: sretna, sretni.
- Čestitam! = „Congratulations!"; congratulate on something with dative person + na
- locative: čestitam ti na uspjehu.
- želim („I wish") takes a double object: dative person + accusative thing — želim ti sreću. After puno the thing goes genitive: puno sreće.
- Recipient = dative (ti, vam); never the accusative te.
Now practice Croatian
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Start learning Croatian→Related Topics
- čestitati (to congratulate)B1 — Congratulating, dative.
- Possessive Adjectives (Markov, majčin)A2 — Deriving 'X's' adjectives from names and kin nouns.
- Dative with Verbs and AdjectivesB1 — Verbs and adjectives that govern the dative.
- Small Talk TopicsA2 — Croatian small talk — openers like 'Kako si?', 'Što ima?' and 'Kako ide?', safe replies ('Dobro, hvala, a ti?'), and the existential 'ima' behind 'what's up?'.