Is Croatian on Duolingo?
Short answer: not yet. Duolingo doesn’t currently offer a Croatian course for English speakers. If you like Duolingo’s bite-sized style, you can recreate that structure with a mix of free apps, decks, and short daily practice.
Meanwhile, keep an eye on announcements from Duolingo and the wider language-learning community. Until an official course appears, the options below will help you learn Croatian as a beginner—without losing momentum.
- Build a mini “tree” using spaced-repetition flashcards (Anki/Memrise).
- Do 10–15 minutes of daily listening and phrase shadowing.
- Use a printable PDF phrase sheet for quick reviews offline.
A Simple 30-Day Beginner Roadmap
Consistency beats intensity. Aim for 20–30 focused minutes per day. This plan mirrors a Duolingo-like routine but uses free and online resources you can mix and match.
Tip: Track a streak, keep sessions short, and finish with something fun (a song clip, a short video, or a quick chat prompt) so you want to return tomorrow.
- Week 1: Sounds and survival. Learn the alphabet (č, ć, dž/đ, š, ž), greetings, numbers, yes/no, please/thank you. Start an SRS deck with 10–15 new cards daily.
- Week 2: Essential phrases. Practice introductions, ordering, directions, prices, time, days. Shadow audio daily to fix pronunciation and rhythm.
- Week 3: Core grammar. Present tense of common verbs (biti “to be,” imati “to have”), gender of nouns, basic cases in set phrases (u, na, iz).
- Week 4: Daily mini-dialogues. Role-play buying coffee, asking for help, and small talk. Record yourself; compare to native audio.
- Every day: 10 minutes SRS + 10 minutes listening/shadowing + 5 minutes reading a short, beginner text.
- End of 30 days: Print a one-page PDF of your personal top 50 words/phrases and review it weekly.
Essential Croatian Phrases for Beginners
These everyday phrases cover greetings, help, and simple interactions. Practice them aloud and add them to your deck. They’re small, essential building blocks for confidence.
- Bok! / Dobar dan. — Hi! / Good day.
- Hvala. / Molim. — Thank you. / Please; You’re welcome.
- Oprostite. — Excuse me / I’m sorry.
- Kako si? (informal) / Kako ste? (formal) — How are you?
- Ja sam … / Moje ime je … — I’m … / My name is …
- Govorite li engleski? — Do you speak English?
- Ne govorim dobro hrvatski. — I don’t speak Croatian well.
- Koliko košta? — How much does it cost?
- Gdje je …? — Where is …?
- Može račun, molim. — Can I have the bill, please?
Free and Online Resources (Great Alternatives to Duolingo)
You can learn Croatian online with a solid mix of multimedia input and spaced practice. Many of these are free, and several offer handy PDF downloads for offline study.
Combine one app for vocabulary, one source of native audio, and one grammar/phrase PDF. Keep it light but consistent.
- Spaced repetition: Anki (shared Croatian decks), Memrise community courses for beginner vocabulary and phrases.
- Context practice: Clozemaster for sentence exposure and fast review.
- Audio/pronunciation: YouTube beginner playlists, Forvo for native word recordings, simple podcasts with transcripts.
- Grammar and PDF guides: University handouts and phrase sheets; older FSI Serbo-Croatian PDFs (still useful for structure and drills).
- Reading: Tatoeba example sentences, children’s stories, and short news-in-easy-language snippets.
Tips to Actually Learn and Remember
Make your setup small, clear, and sticky. The goal is daily contact with Croatian, not perfection. Keep sessions doable and celebrate small wins.
- Shadow daily: Listen and repeat 2–3 short lines until they feel natural.
- Limit new cards: 10–15 new words/phrases per day is enough for beginners.
- Micro-goals: One dialogue, one phrase set, one short listen—done.
- Speak early: Record 30 seconds describing your day; review weekly.
- Print a PDF cheat sheet: Your top verbs, connectors (i, ali, jer), and essential phrases.
FAQ
- Is Croatian available on Duolingo?
- Not currently. There’s no official Croatian course for English speakers on Duolingo yet. Until that changes, use free online alternatives—SRS decks, phrase PDFs, YouTube audio, and sentence practice.
- How can I learn Croatian for free as a complete beginner?
- Combine an Anki or Memrise deck for spaced repetition, a short PDF phrase list, YouTube for listening/shadowing, and Clozemaster for context. Do 20–30 minutes daily and track a streak.
- Where can I get a good Croatian PDF?
- Look for university Croatian handouts, beginner phrase sheets, and public-domain FSI Serbo-Croatian PDFs. Compile your own one-page PDF with your top 50 phrases for quick offline review.
- How long does it take to reach A2 in Croatian?
- With consistent study (5–6 days a week), many learners reach A2 in 3–6 months—roughly 150–250 focused hours. Prioritize high-frequency words, essential phrases, and daily listening.
- Is Croatian very different from Serbian or Bosnian for beginners?
- They’re highly mutually intelligible. Croatian uses Latin script; Serbian also uses Cyrillic. Vocabulary and usage differ, but a beginner can learn effectively by focusing on one standard.