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Common pet names
Let’s start of with some of the most common pet names for the one you love:
dragi – dear (male)
draga – dear (female)
moj najdraži – my dearest (male)
moja najdraža – my dearest (female)
moja ljubav – my love
Using the vocative case to speak to people directly
When you address someone directly in Croatian, the vocative case is used. That means that if you’re talking to someone about “your love” you would say “moja ljubav”, but if you’re talking directly to your partner and calling them “my love”, you would say “moja ljubavi”.
Most nouns in Croatian have different nominative and vocative forms, here are few examples:
žena – wife >>> vocative: ženo
muž – husband >>> vocative: mužu
cura – girlfriend >>> vocative: curo
dečko – boyfriend >>> vocative: dečko
You can find out more about the vocative case and how to use it correctly here.
Using diminutives to make things smaller
Diminutives are also very common when talking to your partner in Croatian. Here are some general rules on how to create diminutives in Croatian.
Croatians lovingly refer to their partners using a whole host of different animal names. For example, you can say “You are my mouse” (“Ti si moj miš”) or “You are my little mouse” (“Ti si moj mali miš” / “Ti si moj mišić”).
| Word | Diminutive form | Vocative forms |
|---|---|---|
| miš – mouse | mišić – little mouse | mišu, mišiću |
| zec – rabbit | zečić/zeko – little rabbit | zeko, zečiću |
| slon – elephant | slonić – little elephant | slonu, sloniću |
| lav – lion | lavić – little lion | lavu, laviću |
| riba – fish | ribica – little fish | ribo, ribice |
| mačka – cat | mačkica – little cat | mačko, mačkice |
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Exercise: Can you guess what the following phrases mean?
Volim te – I love you
Jako te volim – I love you a lot
Fališ mi – I miss you
Jako mi fališ – I miss you a lot
Kada ćemo se opet vidjeti? – When will we see each other again?
Idemo li večeras van na večeru? – Shall we go out to dinner tonight?
Večeras ja kuham! – I’ll cook tonight
Nađimo se u … sati – Let’s meet at … o’clock
Molim te, baci smeće – Please take the trash out
Danas je tvoj red za čišćenje – It’s your turn to clean today
Idemo spavati – Let’s go to sleep
Ti si moj mali slatki medo – You are my sweet little teddy bear
Gdje je tvoja kreditna kartica? – Where’s your credit card?
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