Settling the bill is the one part of a Croatian meal that has its own choreography: you ask for the račun yourself, you decide between cash and card, and you handle the napojnica (tip) in a way that is friendly but never showy. This exchange between a guest and a waiter packs the grammar you actually need to close out a meal — the ritual Račun, molim, prices counted in eura and centi, the polite conditional that softens every request, and the instrumental of means that turns "card" into karticom ("by card"). Read as one continuous scene, it shows how these pieces interlock the moment you reach for your wallet.
The dialogue
— Gost: Račun, molim. — Konobar: Odmah. Jeste li bili zadovoljni? — Gost: Jako. Sve je bilo izvrsno, pogotovo riba. — Konobar: Drago mi je. Evo računa — to je trideset i dva eura. — Gost: Mogu li platiti karticom ili samo gotovinom? — Konobar: Naravno, primamo kartice. — Gost: Htio bih ostaviti i napojnicu. Stavite trideset i pet eura. — Konobar: Hvala, vrlo ljubazno. Trenutak, donosim aparat. — Gost: Bez žurbe. — Konobar: Izvolite, upišite iznos i pin. Evo, prošlo je. — Gost: Super. Možete li mi dati i račun na ime firme? — Konobar: Mogu, samo mi recite podatke. Hvala vam i doviđenja!
Grammar in action
Račun, molim — asking for the bill. In a Croatian restaurant the bill does not arrive on its own; you summon it. The standard line is Račun, molim — literally "the bill, please" — with molim doing all the politeness work. Račun covers both the bill and the printed receipt, so the same word opens the transaction and ends it.
Račun, molim.
The bill, please. — 'molim' (please) softens the bare noun 'račun' into a polite request.
The waiter answers with Odmah ("right away") and, when he brings it, frames the total with to je ("that is / that comes to"). The whole paying-and-prices script lives on numbers, prices and haggling.
Prices in eura. Since 2023 Croatia is in the eurozone, and totals are quoted in eura and centi. The numeral governs the noun: after compound numbers ending in 2, 3, 4 you get the paucal eura, and the same genitive-plural form eura shows up after 5 and above. Trideset i dva eura is "thirty-two euros"; the i ("and") links tens to units exactly as in trideset i pet.
Drago mi je. Evo računa — to je trideset i dva eura.
Glad to hear it. Here's the bill — that's thirty-two euros. — 'evo' + genitive 'računa'; 'trideset i dva eura' counts the total.
Htio bih ostaviti i napojnicu. Stavite trideset i pet eura.
I'd like to leave a tip too. Make it thirty-five euros. — 'trideset i pet eura' = thirty-five euros; 'i' adds the tip on top.
The conditional softener — Htio bih. A blunt Hoću ostaviti napojnicu ("I want to leave a tip") sounds abrupt. Croatian softens intentions with the conditional: Htio bih (man) / Htjela bih (woman), "I would like." The clitic bih marks first-person conditional and the participle agrees with the speaker's gender, while the action that follows stays in the infinitive (ostaviti).
Mogu li platiti karticom ili samo gotovinom?
Can I pay by card, or only in cash? — 'mogu li' opens a polite yes/no question; the action verb 'platiti' is the infinitive.
The full bih / bi / bismo / biste paradigm — and why it makes requests sound considerate rather than demanding — is on the conditional.
Karticom — the instrumental of means. This is the grammatical heart of paying. "By card" is not a preposition phrase; Croatian puts the instrument of an action directly into the instrumental case with no preposition at all. Kartica ("card") becomes karticom and gotovina ("cash") becomes gotovinom — "by means of a card", "by means of cash." The same logic gives autobusom ("by bus") and olovkom ("with a pencil"): the thing you use to do something takes the bare instrumental. You can see both forms already in the guest's question above, karticom ili samo gotovinom.
Naravno, primamo kartice.
Of course, we accept cards. — 'kartice' here is plural accusative (the cards we take), distinct from instrumental 'karticom' = 'by card'.
Notice the contrast in the dialogue: primamo kartice puts "cards" in the accusative (the direct object the restaurant accepts), but platiti karticom puts "card" in the instrumental (the means of payment). Same noun, two cases, two roles. The full account of the no-preposition instrument is on the instrumental of means and accompaniment.
The napojnica — tipping the Croatian way. Napojnica ("tip") is modest and discreet. The usual move is to round up or add 5–10%, and you state the rounded-up total rather than handing over coins: Stavite trideset i pet eura ("Make it thirty-five euros"). Here stavite is the polite Vi-imperative ("put / set it at"), and the guest folds the tip straight into the card amount.
Hvala, vrlo ljubazno. Trenutak, donosim aparat.
Thank you, very kind. One moment, I'll bring the machine. — 'donosim' is the imperfective present used for an action happening right now.
Izvolite, upišite iznos i pin. Evo, prošlo je.
Here you go, type in the amount and the PIN. There, it went through. — 'upišite' polite imperative; 'prošlo je' = the payment went through.
Closing the transaction. A guest who needs an invoice in a company's name asks račun na ime firme — the same word račun now meaning a formal invoice. The exchange ends with the doubled politeness Hvala vam i doviđenja ("Thank you and goodbye"), where vam is the dative Vi-form.
Mogu, samo mi recite podatke.
I can, just tell me the details. — 'mi' is the dative 'to me'; 'recite' is the polite imperative of 'reći' (to say).
Vocabulary
| Croatian | English | Note |
|---|---|---|
| račun | bill / receipt / invoice | 'Račun, molim' = the bill, please |
| platiti | to pay | perfective; 'platiti karticom' = pay by card |
| karticom | by card | instrumental of 'kartica'; no preposition |
| gotovinom | in cash | instrumental of 'gotovina' |
| napojnica | tip | round up or 5–10% |
| iznos | amount / sum | 'upišite iznos' = type in the amount |
| aparat | card machine / device | here the card terminal |
| na ime firme | in the company's name | 'firma' = company; for an invoice |
| bez žurbe | no rush | 'žurba' = haste; 'bez' + genitive |
| doviđenja | goodbye | (formal-neutral) — until we see each other |
Culture & register note
Key Takeaways
- Ask for the bill yourself: Račun, molim. The same word račun means the bill, the receipt, and a formal invoice.
- Prices are in eura and centi; after numbers ending in 2–4 and after 5+, euro shows up as eura (trideset i dva eura).
- Soften requests with the conditional: Htio bih (man) / Htjela bih (woman) + infinitive.
- "By card / in cash" is the bare instrumental of means — karticom, gotovinom — with no preposition, distinct from the accusative kartice the restaurant "accepts."
- The napojnica is modest: round up or 5–10%, stated as a rounded total, never demanded.
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Start learning Croatian→Related Topics
- Prices and BargainingA2 — Asking prices and haggling in Croatian — Koliko košta?, Preskupo je, Imate li popust?, the all-purpose Može li jeftinije? (can it be cheaper?), round numbers, and paying with the instrumental (karticom, gotovinom).
- Conditional I (kondicional prvi)A2 — The 'would' form: bih/bi + l-participle.
- Instrumental: Means and AccompanimentA2 — The 'by means of' and 'with someone' functions.
- Dialogue: Ordering CoffeeA1 — An annotated café dialogue — polite ordering with the conditional 'Htio/Htjela bih', 'Molim', the partitive genitive, prices in eura, and 'Račun, molim'.
- Dialogue: At the RestaurantB1 — An annotated restaurant dialogue — conditional ordering with 'Htio bih', the toasts 'Dobar tek' and 'Živjeli', the se-passive on the menu, aspect in requests, and dative recipients like 'Donesite nam…'.