Megasprachen

Croatian for your holiday · Chapter 1: Greetings and First Phrases

I Don't Speak Croatian Well

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Ne govorim dobro hrvatski means “I don’t speak Croatian well”. The sentence takes the pressure off: you are speaking Croatian – and saying at the same time that it is not perfect yet.

You are walking uncertainly through fog carrying a gong so you do not bump into anyone. It is wrapped in wool, enormous, and plays a melody when struck: fog, gong, wool, huge and melody give you ne govorim. Then you meet a person holding the tin with bread sticking out – the dobro from the previous video.

He replies that you should ask the gentleman over there, the one with cotton wool on his umbrella: gentleman (Herr in German) and cotton wool give you hrvatski. From here on you will notice that many images come back – and that is exactly what makes the longer sentences easier over time.