How To Flirt In Croatian: A Beginners Guide

Written by Mateja Horvat (who happens to be our excellent language teacher)

Croatians are generally very friendly and open. However, “breaking the ice,” starting a conversation with a Croatian for the first time, might not be such an easy task.

As I began to travel, especially with my female friends to countries like the UK, Spain, or France, we were always genuinely surprised how many guys would hit on us daily in all kinds of random situations – like on the street, in a supermarket, on the metro, even on a zebra crossing! At night those numbers would just multiply! Before those trips abroad, we thought being approached so openly only occurred on TV, but nope, it actually happens in real life!

But NOT in Croatia.

On the other hand, for many of my foreign friends and students (especially girls), self-esteem takes a huge nose dive when they visit Croatia because guys are not approaching them. It rarely happens!

They wonder, “what’s wrong with me?”

Nothing is wrong with them of course; it’s just that when Croatians go out, it’s very common that they go in pairs or a group of friends and that the whole evening they talk amongst themselves in a group and that only person out of their group that they actually have communication with is the waiter. And that’s it!

If it happens that somebody from the group bumps into someone they know who is in another group of friends, those two groups might merge. You get to meet new people, but if that kind of scenario doesn’t happen (especially in the major cities like Zagreb) it is very likely on that night you won’t meet any new people: you’ll spend time with the people you came with, and that’s it.

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How to Flirt in Croatia: Basic Do’s and Don’ts

Don’t Use These Lines When Trying to Flirt in Croatian.

Lines that you definitely shouldn’t start your conversation with are lines like: “Hey, Angel, did it hurt when you fell from the skies?” or “Hi, I just realized this, but you look a lot like my next girlfriend.” Those lines might be ideal for countries like Spain or Latin America (so-called “piropos”), but not for Croatia. If you say something like that to a Croatian girl, she will probably give you a look like you are a weirdo and walk away. Even if you don’t say something as cheesy as that, she could give you a stern look and ignore you or walk away; Croatian girls often do that.

So, what to say if you want to start a conversation with a Croatian that you don’t know?

 

Do Say

Let’s get to the nitty-gritty of picking up your Croatian girl or guy. The fact that you are not from here will truly help. Questions like: “Can you, please, tell me where is…?” or “Excuse me, I’m wondering how to…” are great “ice breakers,” and once the ice is broken, further communication with your potential new Croatian girlfriend or boyfriend should be easy. Just continue with small talk like you would typically do. In general, Croatians are very good at speaking English. It’s pretty likely that many people will also have some knowledge of some other languages like Italian (especially in Istria), German (especially in southern parts of Croatia), or even some Spanish or Turkish (especially if your girl is into TV soap operas, but that’s whole other story).

Definitely, Try These Lines When Trying to Flirt in Croatian

However, if you want to see a smile on that girl’s / guys’ face, we highly recommend you to try to say at least a line or two in Croatian. No matter how bad your pronunciation might be or if you forget to pronounce some letters, I’m pretty sure that you’ll get some “brownie points.”

So, here are some simple Croatian phrases to start a conversation with a Croatian girl or guy in Croatian. So, nothing too pushy or aggressive – very lovely, easy, and innocent. Asking for help is an excellent way to start.

• Bok, kako si? – Hi, how are you?
• Oprosti, možeš li mi reći gdje je dućan / plaža / bankomat / restoran? – Excuse me, can you tell me where is a store / the beach / ATM/ restaurant?
• Oprosti, možeš li mi reći gdje mogu iznajmiti skuter / jet ski…? – Excuse me, can you tell me where can I hire a scooter / a jet ski…?
• Oprosti, možeš li mi reći gdje mogu kupiti kremu za sunčanje / sladoled…? – Excuse me, can you tell me where I can buy some sunscreen/ice cream…?

Once you have their attention and have broken the ice,  you might want to say something like:

• Koje je najbolje mjesto za izlazak ovdje? – What is the best place to go out around here?
• Hoćeš li ti večeras biti tamo? – Will you be there tonight?
• Jesi li za ples?– Would you like to dance? / Are you up for a dance?
• Jesi li za piće?– Would you like to have a drink?/ Are you up for a drink?
• Mogu li te odvesti na večeru? – Can I take you for dinner?

And if that goes well and you actually get to go out together, you might want to get some extra points by saying:

• Lijepa si. – You are beautiful.
• Imaš lijepe oči. – Your eyes are beautiful.
• Sviđa mi se tvoja kosa. – I like your hair.
• Sviđaš mi se. – I like you.

After all your flirting in Croatian, if it goes well and you want to kiss her/him… say nothing. Be all Nike-like and Just. Do. It.

If you want to practice how to flirt in Croatian (or learn any Croatian), you contact me below.
Learn Croatian Online
We’ve been taking weekly Croatian language Skype lessons for some time now with our teacher, who provides an excellent service. She is currently taking on new students, so if you’re interested in learning or improving your Croatian, now is the time.

Learning Croatian one-on-one with a language teacher via Skype has been. It continues to be an excellent experience, as you can learn at your own pace, you have the flexibility of taking the lessons in the comfort of your own home, and you have your very own teacher to help you along the way.

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