3 Basic Phrases

I will here list some basic phrases, and some basic patterns of simple sentences. First, most basic words and politeness:

da	"yes"
ne	"no"
možda	"maybe"
molim	"please" [listen]
hvala	"thank you" [listen]
oprostite	"excuse me", "sorry"

How to ask does someone know a language:

Govorite li...	"Do you speak..."
Razumijem...	"I understand..."
Znam...	"I know (speak)..."
Ne razumijem...	"I don't understand..."
... engleski	"English"
... hrvatski	"Croatian"
... njemački	"German"
... francuski	"French"
... talijanski	"Italian"
... španjolski	"Spanish"
... japanski	"Japanese" (slim chance for this one!)

Some other useful phrases:

Možete li mi pomoći?	"Can you help me?"
Gdjë je...?	"Where is...?"
... toalet?	"... the toilet?"
... izlaz?	"... the exit?"
... policija?	"... the police?"
... bolnica?	"... hospital?"
... pošta?	"... post office?"
... banka?	"... bank?"
Trëbam(o)...	"I (we) need..."
... pomoć	"... help"
... doktora	"... doctor"
... vode	"... water"

Yes, we are rude; please don't ask for a bathroom, you want a toilet really! Ask for a bathroom if you want to take a shower...

You will often hear people saying to you izvolite. That means two things: "can I serve you", and "here it is". For instance, you come to a post office:

• a clerk says izvolite
• you ask for postcards, and give him/her the money
• the clerk gives you postcards and says again izvolite.

That's just a polite word.

Also, when someone says hvala "thank you" other side will usually respond with molim, a word that usually means "please".

Finally, some greetings:

Dobär dan!	"Good day", "Good afternoon" (the basic formal greeting when meeting someone) [listen]
Dobro jutro!	"Good morning" [listen]
Dobra večer!	"Good evening" [listen] (she says dobär actually; some people do it)
Laku noć!	"Good night" [listen]
Do viđenja!	"Good bye" (this is formal) [listen]
Bok!	"Hi" (this is informal, both meeting and leaving)

You can find other useful words using a free online dictionary; it's comprehensive, but it translates some sentences slightly incorrectly. You can also use Google™ Translate (http://translate.google.com).