Greetings are the first thing you will ever say in Croatian and the first thing you will hear. The good news is that one short word — bok — does most of the work in everyday life. The catch, which surprises English speakers, is that the same word means both „hello" and „goodbye," and that the politeness level you pick (the casual bok versus the formal dobar dan) is a real social signal, not a free choice. This page sorts the everyday greetings by register and time of day, and points out the small grammar that sits behind them.
The one word you need first: bok
bok (informal) is the Croatian greeting. You use it walking into a shop, meeting a friend, answering the phone among people you know — and you use the exact same word when you leave. There is no separate „bye"; bok covers both directions.
Bok! Kako si?
Hi! How are you? — 'bok' on arrival, informal.
Moram ići, bok!
I have to go, bye! — the same 'bok' on departure.
Bok, vidimo se sutra.
Bye, see you tomorrow. — 'bok' as a farewell, rounded off with 'vidimo se'.
A note on spelling and on a near-neighbour: you will also hear bog (with a g), historically from Bog „God" in the blessing s Bogom („go with God" → goodbye). In casual writing bok is now the standard everyday form. And avoid zdravo as a default: it is grammatical Croatian, but to many ears it carries a Yugoslav-era / Serbian flavour, so it can sound dated or out of place in Zagreb or Split. Stick with bok.
Time-of-day greetings (the polite default)
When you do not know someone, or the setting is formal — a bank, a doctor's office, an older neighbour — you switch from bok to a time-of-day greeting. These are the polite, neutral choice and pair naturally with the formal Vi (see ti vs. vi).
| Expression | Meaning | When / Register |
|---|---|---|
| dobro jutro | good morning | roughly until 10 a.m.; neutral–polite |
| dobar dan | good day / hello | the all-day polite greeting; neutral–formal |
| dobra večer | good evening | from dusk; neutral–polite |
| laku noć | good night | only on parting / before sleep |
Dobar dan, htjela bih kavu, molim.
Hello (good day), I'd like a coffee, please. — 'dobar dan' is the safe polite greeting in any shop or café.
Dobro jutro! Jeste li dobro spavali?
Good morning! Did you sleep well? — formal 'Vi' form, polite.
Laku noć, vidimo se ujutro.
Good night, see you in the morning. — 'laku noć' only on parting, never as a hello.
Notice that dobar dan, dobra večer and laku noć are not random word-pairs: they are an adjective agreeing with a noun in the accusative (an old „I wish you a good day" with the verb dropped). That is why the adjective changes shape with the noun's gender — dobar (masculine dan), dobra (feminine večer), laku (feminine noć). You do not need to manufacture these; just learn them as fixed units, but it is worth knowing the agreement is doing real work.
Farewells
| Expression | Meaning | Register |
|---|---|---|
| bok | bye | (informal) |
| doviđenja | goodbye | (formal) — literally „until (we) see (each other)" |
| ćao | bye (also hi) | (informal) — borrowed from Italian ciao |
| vidimo se | see you | (informal) — „we see each other" |
| do sutra | see you tomorrow | (informal–neutral) — „until tomorrow" |
| laku noć | good night | neutral |
Doviđenja i hvala na pomoći.
Goodbye and thank you for your help. — 'doviđenja' is the formal goodbye you'd use to a clerk or stranger.
Ćao, javim ti se navečer.
Bye, I'll text/call you in the evening. — 'ćao', casual, between friends.
Vidimo se u petak, do tada!
See you Friday, until then! — 'vidimo se' = literally 'we see each other'.
Pozdrav: the flexible one
pozdrav literally means „a greeting." Spoken, it is a slightly breezy, friendly hello-or-bye, common among younger people and on the phone. Written, Pozdrav (and the warmer Lijep pozdrav, „warm regards") is the standard neutral sign-off in emails and texts — roughly „Best" / „Regards."
Pozdrav, kako ide?
Hi, how's it going? — spoken 'pozdrav', casual and friendly.
Lijep pozdrav, Ana
Best regards, Ana — the standard friendly email sign-off.
Addressing the person: the vocative
When you greet someone by name, Croatian does not leave the name untouched the way English does. It puts the name (and any title) into the vocative — the case of direct address. So Marko becomes Marko (here unchanged), but Ana stays Ana, while many names and all titles shift: gospodin („mister") → gospodine, profesor → profesore, Ivan → Ivane.
Bok, Marko! Dugo se nismo vidjeli.
Hi, Marko! Long time no see. — direct address; here 'Marko' happens to look unchanged.
Dobar dan, gospodine!
Good day, sir! — 'gospodin' → vocative 'gospodine'; the ending really does change.
The full mechanics — which endings appear and which names resist — are on the vocative overview. For greetings, just remember: the moment you attach a name or a title, expect the ending to shift.
Common Mistakes
❌ Koristim 'bok' samo kad dolazim.
Wrong assumption — 'bok' is NOT arrival-only; it serves both hello and goodbye.
✅ 'Bok' služi i za pozdrav i za rastanak.
'Bok' works both for greeting and for parting.
❌ Laku noć! (ulazeći u trgovinu ujutro)
Wrong — 'laku noć' is good NIGHT, a parting/bedtime phrase, never a morning hello. Use 'dobro jutro'.
✅ Dobro jutro! (ulazeći u trgovinu ujutro)
Good morning! — the correct morning greeting on entering.
❌ Dobar dan, gospodin!
Wrong — direct address needs the vocative: 'gospodine', not nominative 'gospodin'.
✅ Dobar dan, gospodine!
Good day, sir! — vocative 'gospodine'.
❌ Zdravo, kako ste? (u Zagrebu, neutralno)
Risky — 'zdravo' can sound Serbian/Yugoslav to Croatian ears; pick 'bok' (informal) or 'dobar dan' (formal).
✅ Dobar dan, kako ste?
Hello, how are you? — neutral and unmarked in Croatia.
Key Takeaways
- bok is the everyday informal greeting and works for both hello and goodbye. Reach for it with anyone you call by first name.
- For strangers and formal settings, use time-of-day greetings: dobro jutro, dobar dan, dobra večer, and laku noć only on parting.
- Pair openers with matching closers: informal bok ↔ bok/ćao/vidimo se; formal dobar dan ↔ doviđenja.
- pozdrav is a flexible friendly hello (spoken) and the standard email sign-off (written).
- Avoid zdravo as a default in Croatia — it carries a Serbian/Yugoslav flavour.
- The moment you add a name or title to a greeting, expect the vocative ending to change it: gospodine, profesore, Ivane.
Now practice Croatian
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Croatian→Related Topics
- The Vocative: Direct AddressA1 — Why Croatian has a living vocative and when you must use it.
- ti vs Vi: Formal and Informal YouA1 — Croatian splits 'you' into informal ti and formal/respectful Vi — and the one rule everyone gets wrong is that Vi takes plural verb agreement even for a single person.
- Please, Thank You, and ApologiesA1 — The everyday courtesy words — molim, hvala, oprosti(te), izvolite — with the surprising triple duty of 'molim' and the ti/Vi split in apologies.
- Introducing Yourself and OthersA1 — Names, origins, and 'nice to meet you' — the everyday introduction phrases, the reflexive 'zvati se', the dative 'Kako ti je ime', and 'iz' + genitive for where you're from.
- Congratulations and Good WishesA2 — Croatian good wishes — 'Sretan rođendan!', 'Sretna Nova godina!', 'Čestitam!', and 'Želim ti sreću', with the gender agreement of 'sretan/sretna' and the dative + accusative of 'želim'.