Dići ruke od nečega
Literally to raise one's hands from something
Means to give up on something, stop trying
Example Nakon nekoliko neuspjelih pokušaja, digao je ruke od tog projekta.
An idiom is a phrase you cannot translate word for word. Here are 15 of the most common Croatian idioms, each with its literal translation, real meaning, and an example sentence, so you know what natives actually mean.
Common Croatian idioms are everyday expressions whose meaning cannot be guessed from the individual words. For example, Dići ruke od nečega literally means "to raise one's hands from something" but is used to mean to give up on something, stop trying. This free tool lists 15 real Croatian idioms, each with its literal translation, meaning, and an example sentence.
All 15 Croatian idioms, with meanings and examples.
Guess the meaning, then tap a card to check.
Idiom list verified as of July 2026.
Dići ruke od nečega
Literally to raise one's hands from something
Means to give up on something, stop trying
Example Nakon nekoliko neuspjelih pokušaja, digao je ruke od tog projekta.
Biti na konju
Literally to be on the horse
Means to be in a favorable position, doing very well
Example Otkad je otvorio vlastitu tvrtku, on je na konju.
Držati fige
Literally to hold figs
Means to keep one's fingers crossed for good luck
Example Držim ti fige za sutrašnji razgovor za posao.
Vući nekoga za nos
Literally to pull someone by the nose
Means to deceive or fool someone
Example Prestani me vući za nos i reci mi istinu.
Biti na sedmom nebu
Literally to be in the seventh heaven
Means to be extremely happy, overjoyed
Example Kad je vidjela rezultate ispita, bila je na sedmom nebu.
Ubiti dvije muhe jednim udarcem
Literally to kill two flies with one blow
Means to accomplish two things with a single action
Example Ako putujemo preko Beča, ubit ćemo dvije muhe jednim udarcem.
Piti kao smuk
Literally to drink like a grass snake
Means to drink alcohol heavily, drink like a fish
Example Na svakom rođendanu pije kao smuk.
Biti pod papučom
Literally to be under the slipper
Means to be dominated by one's spouse, henpecked
Example Otkad se oženio, potpuno je pod papučom.
Praviti od muhe slona
Literally to make an elephant out of a fly
Means to exaggerate a small problem, make a mountain out of a molehill
Example Smiri se, ne moraš praviti od muhe slona.
Kupiti mačka u vreći
Literally to buy a cat in a sack
Means to buy something without inspecting it first, buy a pig in a poke
Example Uvijek pregledaj stan prije nego što ga unajmiš, da ne kupiš mačka u vreći.
Ni pet ni šest
Literally neither five nor six
Means without any hesitation, right away
Example Ni pet ni šest, samo je ustao i otišao bez riječi.
Praviti se Englez
Literally to pretend to be an Englishman
Means to feign ignorance, pretend not to notice or understand something inconvenient
Example Znam da si dobio moju poruku, ne pravi se Englez.
Nemati dlake na jeziku
Literally to have no hair on the tongue
Means to speak bluntly and honestly, not mince words
Example Kolegica nema dlake na jeziku kad iznosi svoje mišljenje.
Sjediti na dvije stolice
Literally to sit on two chairs
Means to try to support or please two opposing sides at once
Example U ovoj svađi ne možeš sjediti na dvije stolice.
Pao mu je kamen sa srca
Literally a stone fell from his heart
Means he felt a great sense of relief, a weight lifted off his mind
Example Kad je čuo da je sin sletio sigurno, pao mu je kamen sa srca.
Idioms stick when you see them in context, not on a list. Lingo7 lets you read real Croatian books with sentence-aligned translation and native-narrated audio, so you meet idioms in the wild and tap any line you do not get. Save them and review later. Free to start.
An idiom is a phrase whose meaning is fixed by convention, not built from its words. That is why a word-for-word translation fails: Dići ruke od nečega comes out as "to raise one's hands from something", which makes no sense until you know it means to give up on something, stop trying.
Learn a few at a time, not a whole list. Pick the ones you keep running into, say them out loud in a real sentence, and you will remember them far longer than by drilling flashcards.
The most reliable way to absorb idioms is to meet them in context, again and again, in things you actually read. Parallel text and audio let you catch an idiom in a real Croatian sentence and check what it means without breaking your reading. That is what reading in Lingo7 is built for.
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Some of the most common Croatian idioms are Dići ruke od nečega, Biti na konju, Držati fige, Vući nekoga za nos. Each one means something you could not guess from the words alone, which is exactly why learners have to meet them in context. This tool lists 15 of them with their meaning and an example sentence.
In Croatian, "Dići ruke od nečega" translates literally as "to raise one's hands from something", but it actually means to give up on something, stop trying. You would use it like this: Nakon nekoliko neuspjelih pokušaja, digao je ruke od tog projekta.
Idioms are non-compositional: their meaning is fixed by convention, not built from the individual words. Dići ruke od nečega translates literally as "to raise one's hands from something", yet it means to give up on something, stop trying. Translate word for word and you get nonsense, so idioms have to be learned as whole units.
The fastest way is to meet them in context and reuse them, not to memorize a list. Learn a handful at a time, notice them while reading and listening, and try them in your own sentences. Reading real Croatian with tap-to-translate, the way Lingo7 works, turns every page into idiom practice.