Croatian Translation

Croatian is a language that coins its own equivalents rather than borrowing international words. That choice becomes visible in administrative texts: the same concept may appear under an entirely different word.

4 min readLast updated 2 September 2026

Short answer

Croatian is written only in the Latin alphabet, and Croatia is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention. What needs care is terminology: Croatian uses native coinages rather than international words, and these differ from the equivalents in neighbouring languages.

Alphabet: Latin only, 30 letters
Digraphs: dž, lj and nj count as single letters
Terminology: Native coinages rather than loanwords
Apostille: Croatia and Türkiye are both parties

Native coinages instead of international words

Croatian prefers equivalents formed from the language's own resources over international borrowings. This is a deliberate language policy applied consistently in official texts. As a result, a concept carried by a loanword elsewhere appears in Croatian under an unfamiliar word.

The same concept across neighbouring languages
Concept	Croatian	Serbian	International form
Aeroplane	zrakoplov	avion	avion
Computer	računalo	kompjuter	computer
Railway station	kolodvor	stanica	station
Date (calendar)	nadnevak	datum	datum
University	sveučilište	univerzitet	university
Document	isprava	dokument	document

The same concept across neighbouring languages

Digraphs counted as single letters

The Croatian alphabet has 30 letters, three of them written with two characters: dž, lj and nj. These count as single letters and occupy one position in alphabetical order. That explains why a list of names on a document sorts unexpectedly.

Special letters in the alphabet
Letter	Sound	Example in a name
č	hard ch	Čačić
ć	soft ch	Kovačić
đ	soft dj	Đurić
š	sh	Šimić
ž	zh	Živković
dž	j as in jam	Džamonja
lj	ly	Ljubić
nj	ny	Njegoš

Special letters in the alphabet

Passports simplify these: Kovačić becomes KOVACIC, Đurić becomes DJURIC or DURIC. The translation follows the passport spelling while also showing the original Croatian form, so the institution can see that the difference is not an inconsistency.

Domovnica: a document with no Turkish counterpart

In Croatia citizenship is proved by a document of its own: the domovnica. It is separate from the birth certificate and the identity card and shows citizenship alone. Because citizenship appears within the civil registry extract in Türkiye, there is no direct counterpart.

Identity and civil status documents in Croatia
Document	What it shows	Turkish counterpart
Domovnica	Citizenship	No separate document
Rodni list	Birth record	Part of the civil registry extract
Vjenčani list	Marriage record	Marriage registry extract
Osobna iskaznica	Identity card	Identity card
Uvjerenje o prebivalištu	Certificate of residence	Residence certificate

Identity and civil status documents in Croatia

Grades run 1 to 5

Croatian grades run from 1 to 5, with 5 the highest and 2 the pass mark; higher education keeps the same scale. A Turkish institution reading it against a scale of 100 could take a 4 on a transcript for a low mark.

letters in the Croatian alphabet: 30letters in the Croatian alphabet
single letters written with two characters: 3single letters written with two characters
the grading scale; 5 is highest: 1–5the grading scale; 5 is highest

We do not convert grades in translation; the source value is carried across and the scale stated. If your transcript carries no explanation of the scale, ask your university for a written statement of its grading system.

Frequently asked questions

Can a translator who knows Serbian handle my Croatian document?

Not for an official procedure. A sworn translation requires a Croatian oath record. Croatian administrative terms also depart markedly from Serbian: the same concept appears under a different word, and the difference is systematic rather than incidental.

Is an apostille enough for a document going to Croatia?

Yes. Croatia is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, so sworn translation, notarisation and an apostille are valid. Because Croatia has its own system of court-sworn translators, we suggest confirming with the receiving institution.

Will the difference between ć and č in my surname survive in Turkish records?

Both are simplified to c in a passport, and Turkish records follow the passport. The translation shows the original spelling and notes that these are different sounds which can occur together in one word, as in Kovačić.

Can I use the domovnica in place of a civil registry extract?

Their scopes differ. A domovnica shows citizenship alone; family ties and marital status require the rodni list and vjenčani list. Ask the Turkish institution what information it needs and we will work out together which documents to translate.