Croatian Alphabet + Pronunciation Hacks for Beginners! | Learn to Speak Croatian

[@balktalkphrasebooks7483]

Any questions about the alphabet? Let us know below!

[@EdwardAlver]

Thank you so much my friend for this very helpful video. Ever since I visited Medjugorje and the City of Mostar , I have decided that I really want to learn Croatian , so when I get to visit Croatia next time , I will feel more comfortable with the local people. Thanks !!! Your friend from U S A , Edwin

[@kailawarren2000]

Very helpful, thanks!

[@balktalkphrasebooks7483]

Yay, great!

[@izro1436]

Thank you!! 😄

[@balktalkphrasebooks7483]

Yay! Glad to hear :D

[@brightwinter9334]

That "lj" sound sounds just like the "lh" sound in Portuguese. It's the same phoneme we use in words such as "ilha," "coelho," etc.

[@kamenatlanta5661]

Zdravo! How one can tell when a word is written with "ni" like in "nije" and when with "nji", like in "njime"? I'm Polish and I hear practically no difference in both cases. In my mother tongue the equivalent of nj is ń, but if there should be a vowel "i" after ń, it turns to be "ni" (n loses the stroke), so it's always read like nji. Same thing goes with "li" and "lji" - to me they sound the same. Hvala unaprijed i ćao!

[@balktalkphrasebooks7483]

Hello @KamenAtlanta56 Apologies for the late reply. I can't think of so many instances where you see "nji..." so I wouldn't stress about it so much. The example you gave is a good one though! As a foreigner, I can hear the difference between "nji" and "ni" easily. Maybe that just comes with having lived in the Balkan region for a long time. Any word with "nj" is so simple for me. On the contrary, I struggle telling the difference between č and ć, and I realize that will always be a struggle for me... and I accept that. The best way to look at it is, you will get better with time at telling the difference between certain letters and letter pairings. The more you hear it, the easier it will become... There is a popular song called "Prekasno" by Amar Gile where the lyrics repeat: "Ne bi ove noći bila ti sa njim, ja sa njom..." maybe it will help to listen to this song over and over again to get used to hearing the sound of "nji" you can also always remember that every time you hear the word "njim," even if it sounds like "nim," you know it's "njim." so by remembering the word, you can immediately fight what your ears are hearing incorrectly. but some letters will always be more frustrating than others, which is normal. My parents are immigrants to USA and are fluent in english, but even after living in USA for 40+ years, my dad will never be able to pronounce the word "assume" like an American. He always says "azzume." LOL. But everything else he says perfectly. I think part of learning another language is knowing you will never perfectly speak or sound like a native speaker or maybe hear things as perfect as them. You can only get better with time and do your best. But I really believe with time, you can hear better the difference. - Nwando

[@hamiltonian4698]

0:52 I think this backwards or? ć is Alveolo-palata and not č. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/Serbo-Croatian