5 Croatian words to use when you’re enjoying food (and 5 to use when you’re not)

It is very common to be at a loss for words in Croatia as a foreigner when you’re not sure how to communicate your thoughts in Croatian. Whenever I’m at a restaurant and the waiter asks how the food is, I usually go to one of my two comfortable stand-bys: “dobro” and “odlično“. Frankly, it’s a bit basic.

If you’re a food lover like me, you probably want to be able to communicate your genuine reactions in Croatian instead of going mute, especially if it’s over-the-moon fantastic or if it’s completely wretched.

This is just the first in a long series we have planned to help you say what you want to say when it comes to food. In this post, we’ll give you 5 words you can say right now to express how much you love a dish, and 5 words you can say for when you really really do not.

For each word, we give a couple of examples, several of which include some of my top spots in Split. YOU’RE WELCOME.

In this post, we cover:

• How to describe food you love in Croatian
• How to describe food you don’t enjoy in Croatian

Let’s talk about the food…

5 Croatian words to use when you’re enjoying food (and 5 to use when you’re not)

How to describe food you love in Croatian

čudesan

Meaning: marvelous
Exclamation: Čudesno (je)!
Example:

English: Bepina Pizzeria makes a marvelous pizza with shrimps from the island of Brac.
Croatian: Bepina Pizzeria radi čudesnu pizzu sa škampima s otoka Brača.

izvrstan

Meaning: exquisite
Exclamation: Izvrsno (je)!
Example:

English: Let’s go to ARTiČOK tonight! Their pork loin is exquisite.
Croatian: Ajmo u ARTiČOK večeras! Njihov svinjski lungić je izvrstan.

božanstven

Meaning: heavenly
Exclamation: Božanstveno (je)!
Example:

English: The amarena cherry ice cream from Gelateria Emiliana is heavenly. Best in Split.
Croatian: Sladoled od amarena trešnje iz Gelaterije Emiliane je božanstven. Najbolji u Splitu.

sočan

Meaning: succulent
Exclamation: Sočno (je)!
Example:

English: This duck is succulent. Want a bite?
Croatian: Ova patka je sočna. Hoćeš zalogaj?

ukusan

Meaning: tasty, delicious, delightful
Exclamation: Ukusno (je)!
Example:

English: Samir cooked Bosanski lonac for lunch. It was very tasty.
Croatian: Samir je kuhao Bosanski lonac za ručak. Bio je vrlo ukusan.

How to describe food you don’t enjoy in Croatian

bljutav

Meaning: bland
Exclamation: bljutavo (je)!
Example:

English: The stuffed peppers are very bland.
Croatian: Punjene paprike su jako bljutave.

odvratan

Meaning: disgusting
Exclamation: Odvratno (je)!
Example:

English: I don’t want to go to that restaurant. Their burgers are disgusting.
Croatian: Neću ići u taj restoran. Njihovi burgeri su odvratni.

bezokusan

Meaning: flavorless
Exclamation: Bezokusno (je)!
Example:

English: These ćevapi are flavorless. Where are the spices?
Croatian: Ovi ćevapi su bezokusni. Gdje su začini?

gadan

Meaning: nasty
Exclamation: Gadno (je)!
Example:

English: I know you like to eat fileki, but I think it is nasty.
Croatian: Znam da voliš jesti fileke, ali meni je to gadno.

Note: If you don’t know what fileki is, it’s a dish made with a cow’s stomach (tripe).

užegao

Meaning: rancid
Exclamation: Užeglo (je)!
Example:

English: This fish soup smells rancid.
Croatian: Ova juha miriše na užeglo.

View other food posts

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• A local’s guide to buying food at Croatia’s farmer’s market
• Bio & Bio – Organic and Natural Food
• Croatian farms and food suppliers with online ordering and home delivery
• GMO (genetically modified organisms) in Croatia
• How to buy flour in Croatia