Travel phrases

Essential Bosnian travel phrases

Pack the words that matter. These are the 34 Bosnian phrases that actually come up on a trip, from your first Zdravo to calling for help, grouped by situation and written with a simple pronunciation guide, and read aloud at the tap of a button. Chosen the way a Bosnian speaker would choose them, which is why the list ends with the phrases you only hear once you are there.

Quick answer

The most useful Bosnian travel phrases cover greetings, politeness, directions, food, and emergencies. Learn a handful first: Zdravo (hello), Molim vas (please), Hvala lijepo (thank you very much), and Gdje je toalet? (where is the toilet?). This free tool groups 34 Bosnian phrases by situation, each with a plain-English pronunciation and a play button that reads it aloud. They are the phrases Bosnian speakers really use, not an English list translated into Bosnian, so the last block is the one a phrasebook never has: what locals say to each other.

Start here

The first 10 Bosnian phrases to learn

The ones you need on day one. Tap play, say the phrase back until it sounds close, then say it along with the voice: that is shadowing, the drill interpreters train with.

  1. 1 Zdravo Hello ZDRAH-voh The everyday hello, fine in shops and with people your age; with an older stranger or in an office, Dobar dan
  2. 2 Dobar dan Good day DOH-bar DAHN For a stranger, in a shop or an office; after dark it becomes Dobro veče
  3. 3 Merhaba Hello (Bosniak greeting) MEHR-hah-bah Warm and very common among Bosniaks; with anyone else Dobar dan or Zdravo
  4. 4 Kako ste? How are you (formal)? KAH-koh steh To someone you have met before, a host or a landlady, not to a shop assistant; the answer is Dobro sam, hvala, a vi?
  5. 5 Doviđenja Goodbye doh-vee-JEH-nyah
  6. 6 Hvala lijepo Thank you very much HVAH-lah LYEH-poh
  7. 7 Da / Ne Yes / No DAH / neh
  8. 8 Molim vas Please MOH-leem vahs Goes in front of any request; Molim? on its own means sorry, what?
  9. 9 Izvinite Excuse me eez-VEE-nee-teh Sorry, and the way to stop a stranger before you ask something
  10. 10 Ne razumijem I do not understand neh rah-ZOO-mee-yem
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All 34 phrases, grouped by situation.

Greetings

Zdravo Hello ZDRAH-voh The everyday hello, fine in shops and with people your age; with an older stranger or in an office, Dobar dan
Dobar dan Good day DOH-bar DAHN For a stranger, in a shop or an office; after dark it becomes Dobro veče
Merhaba Hello (Bosniak greeting) MEHR-hah-bah Warm and very common among Bosniaks; with anyone else Dobar dan or Zdravo
Kako ste? How are you (formal)? KAH-koh steh To someone you have met before, a host or a landlady, not to a shop assistant; the answer is Dobro sam, hvala, a vi?
Doviđenja Goodbye doh-vee-JEH-nyah

Basics

Hvala lijepo Thank you very much HVAH-lah LYEH-poh
Da / Ne Yes / No DAH / neh
Molim vas Please MOH-leem vahs Goes in front of any request; Molim? on its own means sorry, what?
Izvinite Excuse me eez-VEE-nee-teh Sorry, and the way to stop a stranger before you ask something
Ne razumijem I do not understand neh rah-ZOO-mee-yem
Govorite li engleski? Do you speak English? GOH-voh-ree-teh lee EN-gles-kee

Getting around

Gdje je toalet? Where is the toilet? gdyeh yeh toh-AH-let
Gdje je autobuska stanica? Where is the bus station? gdyeh yeh ow-toh-BOOS-kah STAH-nee-tsah Buses, not trains, are how people get between towns
Kada polazi autobus? When does the bus leave? KAH-dah POH-lah-zee OW-toh-boos
Možete li uključiti taksimetar? Can you turn on the meter? MOH-zheh-teh lee OO-klyoo-chee-tee tahk-SEE-meh-tar Ask before you set off, or agree the price first
Jednu kartu, molim One ticket, please YED-noo KAR-too MOH-leem

Eating out

Jednu kahvu, molim One coffee, please YED-noo KAH-hvoo MOH-leem Kahva is the Bosnian word for coffee; it comes in a džezva with a sugar cube
Deset ćevapa, molim Ten ćevapi, please DEH-set CHEH-vah-pah MOH-leem Ćevapi are ordered by the piece, five or ten, served in somun bread
Je li domaće? Is it home made? yeh lee DOH-mah-cheh Asked about the cheese, the bread or the rakija, at a market stall or in a kafana; domaće means home made or local, the usual mark of quality
Čašu vode, molim A glass of water, please CHAH-shoo VOH-deh MOH-leem
Račun, molim The bill, please RAH-choon MOH-leem

Shopping

Pošto je ovo? How much is this? POSH-toh yeh OH-voh The everyday way to ask, above all at a market; Koliko košta is just as common in shops
Može li jeftinije? Can you make it cheaper? MOH-zheh lee yef-TEE-nee-yeh Haggling works at the Baščaršija stalls and markets, not in shops
Primate li kartice? Do you take cards? PREE-mah-teh lee KAR-tee-tseh Smaller places take only cash, in convertible marks
Samo razgledam, hvala I am just looking, thanks SAH-moh rahz-GLEH-dahm HVAH-lah

Emergencies

Upomoć! Help! OO-poh-moch
Zovite policiju! Call the police! ZOH-vee-teh poh-LEE-tsee-yoo Police 122, ambulance 124; the police station is also where you report a theft and get the paper for insurance
Treba mi ljekar I need a doctor TREH-bah mee LYEH-kar
Izgubio sam pasoš I have lost my passport eez-GOO-bee-oh sahm PAH-sosh A woman says Izgubila sam pasoš

Locals say

Bujrum Come in, help yourself BOOY-room Said welcoming you in or offering food; the Bosnian izvolite
Prijatno Enjoy your meal PREE-yaht-noh Said to anyone eating, and as a parting word when you leave
Živjeli! Cheers! ZHEEV-yeh-lee The toast, with eye contact; many Bosniaks do not drink, and raising juice or water is just as normal
Šta ima, bolan? What is up, mate? SHTAH EE-mah BOH-lahn Very informal, with friends; bolan tags a sentence like mate, bona to a woman
Hvala, komšija Thanks, neighbour HVAH-lah KOM-shee-yah Komšija means neighbour, and doubles as a friendly address for a man nearby

How to get the most from these phrases

Learn by situation, not alphabetically. Your memory files Zdravo next to the moment you would use it, so run through the greetings before you fly, the restaurant block on the way to dinner, and the emergency block once so it is there if you ever need it.

The pronunciation guide is written the way an English speaker would read it aloud, with the stressed syllable in capitals. It is a crutch, not the real sound. Press play, listen once, then say the phrase back: the audio fixes the vowels that plain English spelling cannot capture. Once a phrase feels easy, say it together with the voice, a beat behind, the way interpreters drill: our guide to shadowing explains the sequence.

Phrases get you to the country. What gets you fluent is meeting the same words again and again in context, which is exactly what reading does. Once Molim vas and Hvala lijepo feel automatic, the next step is a real Bosnian sentence, then a page, then a book. That is the whole idea behind reading in Lingo7.

Start reading Bosnian with Lingo7 →

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Not sure of your Bosnian level? Take the CEFR test (A1-C2) →

How long does it take to learn Bosnian? →

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Frequently asked questions

What are the most important Bosnian phrases for travel?

Start with greetings and politeness, then the phrases that solve a real problem: asking directions, ordering, paying, and getting help. On this page that is Zdravo (hello), Molim vas (please), Hvala lijepo (thank you very much), Gdje je toalet? (where is the toilet?), and Upomoć! (help!). Learn those few and you can be polite and safe almost anywhere.

What do Bosnian locals say that a phrasebook leaves out?

A phrasebook translates English, so it gives you the Bosnian for "hello" and stops. The phrases people there actually trade all day are the ones with no English slot: Bujrum (come in, help yourself), Prijatno (enjoy your meal), Živjeli! (cheers!). The "Locals say" block on this page collects 5 of them and says when each one is used, which is usually what turns a correct sentence into a normal one.

What do these Bosnian phrases sound like?

Tap the play button next to a phrase and you hear it read aloud, so you can copy the sound instead of guessing it from the spelling. The written pronunciation is a crutch for English eyes, the audio is the real thing. Play Zdravo and Hvala lijepo a few times, say them back, and they come out right when it counts.

How do you say hello and thank you in Bosnian?

In Bosnian, hello is Zdravo (pronounced ZDRAH-voh) and thank you is Hvala lijepo (HVAH-lah LYEH-poh). Add Molim vas (please) and Doviđenja (goodbye), and you have the words that carry most short exchanges with a shopkeeper, waiter, or stranger.

How do you ask where the toilet is in Bosnian?

Ask Gdje je toalet? (pronounced gdyeh yeh toh-AH-let), which means "where is the toilet?" in Bosnian. If you only catch part of the reply, Ne razumijem (I do not understand) and a smile usually gets it repeated or pointed out. It is one of the few phrases worth memorizing word for word before you go.

Do I need to learn Bosnian before traveling?

No, but a dozen Bosnian phrases go a long way. Locals warm up fast when you open with Zdravo and Hvala lijepo instead of English. You do not need grammar or fluency for a trip, just the survival set above. For anything past that, the fastest route to real Bosnian is reading, which is exactly what Lingo7 is built for.