Ići nekome na živce
Literally to go on someone's nerves
Means to irritate or annoy someone
English idiom get on someone's nerves
Example Susjedova mi glazba već cijeli dan ide na živce.
The neighbour's music has been getting on my nerves all day.
An idiom is a phrase you cannot translate word for word. Here are the 25 most common Croatian idioms, ranked by how often you will actually meet them, each with its literal translation, real meaning, the closest English idiom where one exists, and an example sentence with an English translation, so you know what natives actually mean.
Common Croatian idioms are everyday expressions whose meaning cannot be guessed from the individual words. For example, Ići nekome na živce literally means "to go on someone's nerves" but is used to mean to irritate or annoy someone. This free page ranks the 25 most common Croatian idioms by how often you meet them, each with its literal translation, meaning, the closest English idiom where one exists, and an example sentence with an English translation.
All 25 idioms, most common first.
Guess the meaning, then tap a card to check.
Idiom list verified as of August 2026.
Ići nekome na živce
Literally to go on someone's nerves
Means to irritate or annoy someone
English idiom get on someone's nerves
Example Susjedova mi glazba već cijeli dan ide na živce.
The neighbour's music has been getting on my nerves all day.
Ne pada mi na pamet
Literally it does not fall on my mind
Means I have no intention of doing that
English idiom I wouldn't dream of it
Example Da mu opet posudim novac? Ne pada mi na pamet.
Lend him money again? I wouldn't dream of it.
Note The same words can also be meant literally (the idea never occurred to me), so context decides which sense is in play.
Dići ruke od nečega
Literally to raise one's hands from something
Means to give up on something and stop trying
English idiom throw in the towel
Example Nakon nekoliko neuspjelih pokušaja, digao je ruke od tog projekta.
After a few failed attempts, he gave up on that project.
Pun mi je kufer
Literally my suitcase is full
Means to have run out of patience with something and be unable to take any more
English idiom have had it up to here
Example Pun mi je kufer čekanja u redovima.
I have had it up to here with waiting in queues.
Note Very informal slang built on the German word for suitcase, fine among friends but out of place in formal speech.
Spavati kao top
Literally to sleep like a cannon
Means to sleep very deeply
English idiom sleep like a log
Example Bio sam toliko umoran da sam spavao kao top.
I was so tired that I slept like a log.
Držati fige
Literally to hold figs
Means to wish someone luck
English idiom keep one's fingers crossed
Example Držim ti fige za sutrašnji razgovor za posao.
I am keeping my fingers crossed for your job interview tomorrow.
Note The matching gesture is a fist with the thumb pushed between the index and middle fingers, not crossed fingers.
Praviti od muhe slona
Literally to make an elephant out of a fly
Means to exaggerate a small problem into a huge one
English idiom make a mountain out of a molehill
Example Smiri se, ne moraš praviti od muhe slona.
Calm down, there is no need to make a mountain out of a molehill.
Vući nekoga za nos
Literally to pull someone by the nose
Means to deceive someone and keep them waiting with false promises
English idiom string someone along
Example Prestani me vući za nos i reci mi istinu.
Stop stringing me along and tell me the truth.
Biti na sedmom nebu
Literally to be in the seventh heaven
Means to be extremely happy
English idiom be on cloud nine
Example Kad je vidjela rezultate ispita, bila je na sedmom nebu.
When she saw her exam results, she was on cloud nine.
Pao mu je kamen sa srca
Literally a stone fell from his heart
Means to feel a huge sense of relief after worrying
English idiom a weight off one's shoulders
Example Kad je čuo da je sin sigurno sletio, pao mu je kamen sa srca.
When he heard that his son had landed safely, it was a weight off his shoulders.
Nemati dlake na jeziku
Literally to have no hair on the tongue
Means to speak bluntly and say exactly what one thinks
English idiom not mince words
Example Kolegica nema dlake na jeziku kad iznosi svoje mišljenje.
My colleague does not mince words when she gives her opinion.
Ubiti dvije muhe jednim udarcem
Literally to kill two flies with one blow
Means to achieve two things with a single action
English idiom kill two birds with one stone
Example Ako putujemo preko Beča, ubit ćemo dvije muhe jednim udarcem.
If we travel via Vienna, we will kill two birds with one stone.
Bacati novac kroz prozor
Literally to throw money through the window
Means to waste money on things that bring nothing back
English idiom throw money down the drain
Example Kupovati treći mobitel ove godine znači bacati novac kroz prozor.
Buying a third phone this year is throwing money down the drain.
Kad na vrbi rodi grožđe
Literally when grapes grow on a willow
Means never, at a moment that will never arrive
English idiom when pigs fly
Example Vratit će mi dug kad na vrbi rodi grožđe.
He will pay me back when pigs fly.
Gledati kroz prste
Literally to look through the fingers
Means to deliberately overlook someone's mistakes instead of punishing them
English idiom turn a blind eye
Example Profesor mu gleda kroz prste jer dobro igra nogomet.
The teacher turns a blind eye to him because he is good at football.
Biti na konju
Literally to be on the horse
Means to be in a strong position with everything going well
English idiom be sitting pretty
Example Otkad je otvorio vlastitu tvrtku, on je na konju.
Since he opened his own company, he has been sitting pretty.
Kupiti mačka u vreći
Literally to buy a cat in a sack
Means to buy something without checking it first
English idiom buy a pig in a poke
Example Uvijek pregledaj stan prije nego što ga unajmiš, da ne kupiš mačka u vreći.
Always inspect a flat before you rent it, so you do not buy a pig in a poke.
Stati nekome na žulj
Literally to step on someone's blister
Means to hurt or offend someone by bringing up exactly what bothers them
English idiom touch a nerve
Example Stao si mu na žulj tom šalom o njegovoj plaći.
You touched a nerve with that joke about his salary.
Prodavati maglu
Literally to sell fog
Means to talk in empty words and make promises with nothing behind them
English idiom blow smoke
Example Taj trgovac samo prodaje maglu, nemoj mu vjerovati.
That salesman is just blowing smoke, do not believe him.
Praviti se Englez
Literally to pretend to be an Englishman
Means to act as if one has not noticed or understood something inconvenient
English idiom play dumb
Example Znam da si dobio moju poruku, ne pravi se Englez.
I know you got my message, do not play dumb.
Note No dig at English people is intended, the picture is simply a foreigner who does not follow what is going on.
Biti pod papučom
Literally to be under the slipper
Means to be completely controlled by one's wife or partner
English idiom be henpecked
Example Otkad se oženio, potpuno je pod papučom.
Since he got married, he has been completely henpecked.
Note Almost always said about a husband and always teasing, so save it for friends.
Ni pet ni šest
Literally neither five nor six
Means without any hesitation, straight away
English idiom without a second thought
Example Ni pet ni šest, samo je ustao i otišao bez riječi.
Without a second thought, he simply got up and left without a word.
Sjediti na dvije stolice
Literally to sit on two chairs
Means to try to keep two opposing sides happy at the same time
English idiom have a foot in both camps
Example U ovoj svađi ne možeš sjediti na dvije stolice.
In this argument you cannot have a foot in both camps.
Piti kao smuk
Literally to drink like a snake
Means to drink a lot of alcohol
English idiom drink like a fish
Example Na svakom rođendanu pije kao smuk.
He drinks like a fish at every birthday party.
Note A smuk is a large non-venomous snake. The phrase is a blunt judgement about someone, not something you would say to their face.
Trbuhom za kruhom
Literally with the belly after bread
Means to leave home and move somewhere else in search of work
Example Mnogi mladi odlaze u inozemstvo trbuhom za kruhom.
Many young people go abroad in search of work.
Note The phrase carries the weight of Croatia's long history of economic emigration, so it sounds heavier than plain job hunting.
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: Ići nekome na živce comes out as "to go on someone's nerves", which makes no sense until you know it means to irritate or annoy someone.
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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The most common Croatian idioms, ranked by everyday frequency, start with Ići nekome na živce, Ne pada mi na pamet, Dići ruke od nečega, Pun mi je kufer, Spavati kao top. Each one means something you could not guess from the words alone, which is exactly why learners have to meet them in context. This page lists 25 of them with meanings and example sentences.
In Croatian, "Ići nekome na živce" translates literally as "to go on someone's nerves", but it actually means to irritate or annoy someone. The closest English idiom is "get on someone's nerves". Example: Susjedova mi glazba već cijeli dan ide na živce. ("The neighbour's music has been getting on my nerves all day.")
The Croatian equivalent is "Ići nekome na živce", literally "to go on someone's nerves". Example: Susjedova mi glazba već cijeli dan ide na živce. ("The neighbour's music has been getting on my nerves all day.")
In Croatian, an idiom is called frazem, and a proverb is poslovica. A frazem is a fixed expression whose meaning cannot be worked out from the individual words, while a poslovica is a complete sentence that passes on a piece of folk wisdom.
Idioms are non-compositional: their meaning is fixed by convention, not built from the individual words. Ići nekome na živce translates literally as "to go on someone's nerves", yet it means to irritate or annoy someone. 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.