The Croatian Alphabet

Level 1

Croatian uses a Latin alphabet with 30 letters. Three of those letters are written with two characters: dž, lj and nj.

How It Works

The alphabet contains familiar Latin letters plus č, ć, đ, š, ž and the digraphs dž, lj, nj. A digraph is a letter written as a pair of characters. Treat the pair as a unit when learning the alphabet.

At the start of a normally capitalized name, write Lj or Nj, as in Ljiljana and Njemačka. In a word written entirely in capitals, both characters are capitalized: LJILJANA. Do not write LJiljana.

Foreign names may retain letters such as q, w, x or y. They do not require changing ordinary Croatian spelling. Removing a mark can create another word or an incorrect spelling, so preserve the letters even if a keyboard makes them less convenient.

Examples (3)

  1. Čitam knjigu.

    I am reading a book.

    Č and the digraph nj occur in the same sentence.

  2. Ljiljana živi u Zagrebu.

    Ljiljana lives in Zagreb.

    The name starts with title-case Lj, not LJ.

  3. U džepu je ključ.

    The key is in the pocket.

    Dž is a digraph; č is one character with a mark.

How It Connects

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The Croatian AlphabetLevel 1

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