How to call family members in Croatian around the country

Croatians have a variety of words that mean the same thing with only a slight difference in meaning, but the words used can also differ by dialect. Terms usually depend on the region, but sometimes they vary from city to city or island to island.

Things could get quite complicated when talking about family members since we have a ton of expressions for even the closest family. Some are easy to remember, and some are pretty odd. They get VERY specific, more specific than in English.

If you are a new Croatian family member, you could have difficulty learning the words for your brand-new relatives. Let’s go through them one by one:

• Mother
• Father
• Daughter
• Son
• Sister
• Brother
• Grandmother
• Grandfather
• Granddaughter
• Grandson
• Female cousin
• Male cousin
• Female spouse
• Male spouse
• Girlfriend
• Boyfriend
• Fiancee
• Fiancé
• Female partner
• Male partner
• Aunt
• Uncle
• Mother-in-law
• Father-in-law
• Stepsister
• Stepbrother
• Stepdaughter
• Stepson
• Adoptive female parent
• Adoptive male parent
• Female guardian
• Male guardian
• Great grandmother
• Great grandfather
• Great great grandmother
• Great great grandfather
• Sister-in-law
• Brother-in-law
• Female relative
• Male relative
• Parent
• Daughter-in-law
• Son-in-law
• Get help with citizenship application

The names are these…

Names for Croatian relatives and their variations around the country

#1 Mother

Variations:
majka – standard Croatian
majčica – diminutive
mama
mamica
mater
mati
stara

#2 Father

Variations:
otac – standard Croatian
tata
tatica – diminutive
stari
otec – Hrvatsko zagorje
tatek – Hrvatsko zagorje
japa
ćaća – Dalmatia, Istria
ćale
pape
tajo – Slavonia

#3 Daughter

Variations:
kći – standard Croatian
kćerkica, ćerkica – diminutive
kćer, ćer
kćerka, ćerka

#4 Son

Variations:
sin – standard Croatian
sinčić – diminutive
sinko
sinek – Hrvatsko zagorje

#5 Sister

Variations:
sestra – standard Croatian
sestrica – diminutive
seka
sekica

#6 Brother

Variations:
brat – standard Croatian
braco
bracek
brale – my cousin in Slavonija says this is Bosnian

#7 Grandmother

Variations:

baka – standard Croatian
bakica – diminutive
baba – Slavonia, Dalmatia
babica – diminutive in Hrvatsko zagorje
nona, none – Dalmatia, Istria
omama – Zagreb (purgerski)

#8 Grandfather

Variations:
djed – standard Croatian
deda
dedo
did, dida
djedica – diminutive
nono – Dalmatia, Istria
otata/opapa – Zagreb (purgerski)
dedek

#9 Granddaughter

Variations:
unuka – standard Croatian
unučica – diminutive

#10 Grandson

Variations:
unuk – standard Croatian
unuče
unučić – diminutive

#11 Female cousin

Meaning: aunt’s or uncle’s daughter

Variations:
sestrična – standard Croatian
rodica
sestrić – Dalmacija
zrmana – Istria

#12 Male cousin

Meaning: aunt’s or uncle’s son

Variations:
bratić – standard Croatian
zrman – Istria

#13 Female spouse

Variations:
supruga  – standard Croatian
žena (wife)
ženica – diminutive
stara

#14 Male spouse

Variations:
suprug – standard Croatian
muž (husband)
mužić – diminutive
mužek
stari

#15 Girlfriend

Variations:
djevojka – standard Croatian
cura
puca – Hrvatsko zagorje
dekla, deklina – Zagreb (purgerski)

#16 Boyfriend

Variations:
dečko – standard Croatian
momak

#17 Fiancee

Variations:
zaručnica – standard Croatian
vjerenica

#18 Fiancé

Variations:
zaručnica – standard Croatian
vjerenik

#19 Female partner

Variations:
partnerica – standard Croatian
sudružnica

#20 Male partner

Variations:
partner
sudrug

#21 Aunt

Meaning #1: mother’s or father’s sister

Variations:
teta – standard Croatian
tetica – diminutive
tetka
teca – Hrvatsko zagorje

Meaning #2: mother’s brother’s wife

Variations:
ujna – standard Croatian
ujnica
vujna
vujnica

Meaning #3: father’s brother’s wife

Variations:
strina – standard Croatian
strinica – diminutive

#22 Uncle

Meaning #1: mother’s or father’s sister’s husband

Variations:
tetak – standard Croatian
tečec
teček – Hrvatsko zagorje
tetec
barba – Istria
dundo – Dalmatia

Meaning #2: mother’s brother

Variations:
ujak – standard Croatian
ujac
ujče
ujo, ujko
vujac
vujec, vujček – Hrvatsko zagorje
barba – Istria
dundo – Dalmatia

Meaning #3: father’s brother

Variations:
stric – standard Croatian
striček – diminutive
striko
striča – Hrvatsko zagorje
strikan – Slavonia
barba – Istria
dundo – Dalmatia

#23 Mother-in law

Meaning #1: husband’s mother

Variations:
svekrva – standard Croatian

Meaning #2: wife’s mother

Variations:
punica – standard Croatian
tasta

#24 Father-in-law

Meaning #1: husband’s father

Variations:
svekar – standard Croatian

Meaning #2: wife’s father

Variations:
punac – standard Croatian
tast
starac – Slavonia

#25 Stepsister

Variations:
polusestra

#26 Stepbrother

Variations:
polubrat

#27 Stepdaughter

Variations:
pokćerka – standard Croatian
pastorka

#28 Stepson

Variations:
posinak – standard Croatian
pastorak

#29 Adoptive female parent

Variations:
posvojiteljica – standard Croatian

#30 Adoptive male parent

Variations:
posvojitelj – standard Croatian

#31 Female guardian

Variations:
skrbnica – standard Croatian

#32 Male guardian

Variations:
skrbnik – standard Croatian

#33 Great grandmother

Variations:
prabaka – standard Croatian
stara mama
prababa

#34 Great grandfather

Variations:
pradjed – standard Croatian
pradeda – Hrvatsko zagorje
stari čačko

#35 Great great grandmother

Variations:
šukunbaka – standard Croatian
praprabaka
šukunbaba
pradjedova majka
djedova majka

#36 Great great grandfather

Variations:
šukundjed – standard Croatian
prapradjed
pradjedov otac
djedov djed

#37 Sister-in-law

Meaning: spouse’s sister, sister’s or brother’s (female) spouse

Variations:
šogorica
nevesta
zaova

#38 Brother-in-law

Meaning: spouse’s brother, sister’s or brother’s (male) spouse

Variations:
šogor – standard Croatian
šurjak (female spouse’s brother) – men who married sisters
djever (male spouse’s brother)

#39 Female relative

Variations:
rođakinja – standard Croatian

#40 Male relative

Variations:
rođak – standard Croatian
rođo
svojta – spouses of relatives

#41 Parent

Variations:
roditelj – standard Croatian
starac

#42 Daughter-in-law

Variations:
snaha – standard Croatian
snaja
snaša – Slavonia
sneha – Hrvatsko zagorje

#43 Son-in-law

Variations:
zet – standard Croatian

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View our other family articles

• All types of marital unions and partnerships in Croatia
• How non-EU/EEA family members of EU/EEA nationals can get temporary residence
• How non-EU spouses of Croatians can apply for residence
• How to adopt a child and adoption by foreigners
• How to apply for temporary residence in Croatia based on family reunification
• How to attend a Croatian wedding
• How to get divorced in Croatia (without kids)
• How to get married in Croatia
• How to get married in Croatia if at least one spouse is a foreigner
• How to obtain a life partnership for same-sex couples in Croatia
• How to register a marriage or divorce in Croatia