Pardon my Croatian – Dubrovnik Green Market Edition
Following our earlier Green Market post (here) are some useful phrases for getting around, which will, if nothing else, draw a smile from your vendor.
Good afternoon – Dobar dan. [ DOE-bahr dahn ]
Or if you want to keep it in a more relaxed and local manner:
Hi – Kenova. [KE-no-va]
Is it fresh? – Je li freško. [Yeh lee freshko]
Is homemade – Je li je domaće? [Yeh lee DOH-ma-chay]
How much does it cost? – Koliko košta? [ko-lee-ko KO-shta] or simply (and definitively locally) – Pošto? [po-shto]
Bear in mind that you will probably get a price for 1 Kilo, so if the metric system isn’t your strong suit, here is a cheat sheet:
– 1 kg is 2.2 pounds
– 1.5 kg is 3.3 pounds
– 2 kg is 4.4 pounds and more than that you probably don’t need!
With the summer season in the Mediterranean, we present the following fruits and vegetables:
(also bear in mind that these are local expressions, which are not often used outside the Dubrovnik region, but will definitely earn you „extra points“ with Dubrovnik market ladies)
Paprika – Paprika [PA-pri-ka]
Croatian is a piece of cake, right?
Tomatoes – Pomadore [po-MA-dor-ay]
Zucchinis – Tikvice [TIK-vi-tsay]
Eggplants – Balančane [ba-LAN-cha-ney]
good luck with this one
Cucumbers – Kukumari [KU-ku-ma-ri]
no we are not kidding
Peaches – Praske [pra-skey]
Plums – Šljive [shlYi -vey]
just try to squeeze a little Y sound next to the L!
Cantaloupe – Pipun [PI-poon]
Watermelon– Dinja [DIN-ya]
Cherries – Kriješve [krY-jesh-vey] if it doesn’t work the first time just give up with this one and point with your finger
Grapes – Grožđe [groz-jay]
if you want it red, ask for black (no kidding)
Crno Grožđe [tsrno ]
and for White ask for
Bijelo Grožđe [bee-ye-lo]
With the classics for the end:
Thank you very much. Hvala lijepa. [ HVAh-lah LYEH-pah ]
Goodbye! Adio [ adio ]
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