Two things make Croatian's calendar vocabulary worth a page of its own. First, the month names are native Slavic words — siječanj, veljača, ožujak — not the international Latin ones (januar, februar), and using the Latin set instantly marks you as a non-native or as a Serbian speaker. Second, the little preposition u („in/on") behaves differently with days and with months: „on Monday" is u + accusative, but „in May" is u + locative. That contrast appears the moment you try to say when something happens, so it is worth nailing early. This page covers the days, the seasons, and — front and centre — those native months and the u-split.
The days of the week
The Croatian week begins on Monday. The names are transparent once you see the logic: several come from ordinal numbers (srijeda „the middle one," četvrtak „the fourth," petak „the fifth"), and nedjelja means both „Sunday" and „week." Note: day names are not capitalised in Croatian.
| Day | English | „on …" (u + accusative) |
|---|---|---|
| ponedjeljak | Monday | u ponedjeljak |
| utorak | Tuesday | u utorak |
| srijeda | Wednesday | u srijedu |
| četvrtak | Thursday | u četvrtak |
| petak | Friday | u petak |
| subota | Saturday | u subotu |
| nedjelja | Sunday | u nedjelju |
Vidimo se u ponedjeljak ujutro.
See you Monday morning. — 'u' + accusative 'ponedjeljak' (masculine, unchanged).
U srijedu imam zubara.
On Wednesday I have a dentist's appointment. — 'srijeda' → accusative 'srijedu'.
U nedjelju obično ne radim.
On Sundays I usually don't work. — 'nedjelja' → accusative 'nedjelju'.
Notice how the feminine days shift their ending: srijeda → srijedu, subota → subotu, nedjelja → nedjelju. That is the accusative at work, because „on a (single) day" in Croatian uses u + accusative — the construction for a point in time you move toward.
The months — Croatia's native names
This is the headline feature. While most of Europe borrowed the Roman month names, Croatian uses native Slavic names tied to nature and the farming year. Saying januar or februar will mark your Croatian as Serbian-influenced or simply non-native. Day names and month names are both lowercase.
| Croatian month | English | Rough origin |
|---|---|---|
| siječanj | January | „sječa" — cutting of wood |
| veljača | February | changeable winter weather |
| ožujak | March | the windy, deceptive month |
| travanj | April | „trava" — grass sprouting |
| svibanj | May | „sviba" — dogwood blossom |
| lipanj | June | „lipa" — linden in bloom |
| srpanj | July | „srp" — the sickle, harvest |
| kolovoz | August | „kola voziti" — carting the harvest |
| rujan | September | rutting season / reddening |
| listopad | October | „list" + „pad" — leaf-fall |
| studeni | November | „studen" — the cold |
| prosinac | December | „prosinuti" — sun breaking through |
„in May": u + locative, not accusative
Here is the contrast that trips everyone. With a day, „on Monday" = u + accusative (u ponedjeljak). With a month, „in May" = u + locative (u svibnju). Same preposition u, two different cases — and the locative is the case for a span you are inside, while the accusative was the point you move toward. Note the months also drop the fleeting -a- when they take an ending: svibanj → svibnju, siječanj → siječnju.
Rođen sam u svibnju.
I was born in May. — 'u' + LOCATIVE 'svibnju' (from svibanj).
U prosincu pada snijeg.
In December it snows. — 'u' + locative 'prosincu' (from prosinac).
Idemo na more u srpnju.
We're going to the seaside in July. — 'u' + locative 'srpnju' (from srpanj).
The seasons
The four seasons are proljeće (spring), ljeto (summer), jesen (autumn), and zima (winter). „In summer" can be said two ways: the adverb ljeti („in summer," a one-word form) or u ljeto / ljetos — and likewise zimi, u jesen, u proljeće. The neat one-word adverbs (ljeti, zimi) are very common in speech.
| Season | English | „in …" |
|---|---|---|
| proljeće | spring | u proljeće / s proljeća |
| ljeto | summer | ljeti / u ljeto |
| jesen | autumn | u jesen / na jesen |
| zima | winter | zimi / u zimu |
Ljeti najviše volim plivati u moru.
In summer I most love swimming in the sea. — one-word adverb 'ljeti'.
U proljeće sve procvjeta.
In spring everything blooms. — 'u proljeće'.
Zimi je u Zagrebu često hladno i sivo.
In winter Zagreb is often cold and grey. — adverb 'zimi'.
For asking and giving the date, and for the genitive that dates require (sedamnaestog lipnja), see telling time and dates.
Common Mistakes
❌ Rođen sam u januaru.
Wrong for Croatian — 'januar' is Serbian/Bosnian. The native name is 'siječanj'.
✅ Rođen sam u siječnju.
I was born in January. — 'u' + locative 'siječnju'.
❌ Vidimo se u Ponedjeljak.
Wrong — day names are NOT capitalised in Croatian: 'ponedjeljak'.
✅ Vidimo se u ponedjeljak.
See you on Monday. — lowercase day name.
❌ Rođen sam u svibanj.
Wrong case — a month takes 'u' + LOCATIVE: 'u svibnju', not accusative 'svibanj'.
✅ Rođen sam u svibnju.
I was born in May. — locative 'svibnju'.
❌ U srijeda imam sastanak.
Wrong case — a day takes 'u' + ACCUSATIVE: 'u srijedu', not nominative 'srijeda'.
✅ U srijedu imam sastanak.
On Wednesday I have a meeting. — accusative 'srijedu'.
Key Takeaways
- The week starts Monday; day names (ponedjeljak … nedjelja) are lowercase.
- Croatian uses native month names — siječanj, veljača, ožujak, travanj, svibanj, lipanj, srpanj, kolovoz, rujan, listopad, studeni, prosinac — never januar/februar. They are lowercase too.
- „on Monday" = u + accusative (u ponedjeljak); „in May" = u + locative (u svibnju) — same u, two cases.
- Seasons: proljeće, ljeto, jesen, zima; „in summer/winter" has neat one-word adverbs ljeti / zimi.
Now practice Croatian
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Start learning Croatian→Related Topics
- Telling Time and DatesA2 — Asking the time, telling it (half past, quarter to), the days of the week, and Croatian's striking NATIVE month names — siječanj, veljača, ožujak — plus the genitive date.
- Temporal PrepositionsB1 — Time prepositions and the cases they take — the u + accusative vs u + locative split, plus za, prije, nakon, do, od and during.
- Everyday Number PhrasesA1 — Numbers as you actually use them — giving your age (Imam dvadeset jednu godinu), reading phone numbers, quantities at the shop, and koliko + genitive — with the 1 / 2–4 / 5+ rule rehearsed in real phrases.
- Croatian ProverbsB2 — A grammar-aware survey of common Croatian proverbs — tko rano rani, bolje vrabac u ruci nego golub na grani — showing how the gnomic present, tko-relatives, and bolje…nego comparison concentrate in everyday wisdom.