Cjelina 3: Moja obitelj
🧩 3 | 1 | Lekcija 4: Vjenčanje – Vokabular
Important occasions
In this lesson, you were introduced to some of the most important celebrations in Croatia that bring all family members together.
According to Hrvatski zavod za statistiku (Croatian Bureau of Statistics), Croatia is predominantly a Catholic country. Thus, religious components represent an important part of Croatian identity. Even though people may not be practicing the religion, they will mostly declare themselves to be Catholic. According to 2011 Census, religion among Croatians is as follows:
| religija | religion | % |
|---|---|---|
| katolici | Catholics | 86.28 |
| pravoslavci | Orthodocs | 4.44 |
| protestanti | Protestan | 0.34 |
| ostali kršćani | Other Christians | 0.30 |
| muslimani | Muslim | 1.47 |
| židovi | Judaism | 0.01 |
| istočne religije | Eastern religion | 0.06 |
| ostale religije | Other religion | 0.06 |
| agnostici | Agnostic | 0.76 |
| ateisti | Atheist | 3.81 |
| ne izjašnjavaju se | Not declared | 2.17 |
| nepoznato | Unknown | 0.29 |
To get married
Here are some crucial verbs that express the meaning “to get/be married.” In contrast to English terminology, Croatian distinguishes several verb forms. They are listed below:

Bride (only the bride): udati se / udavati se

Groom (only the groom): oženiti se / ženiti se

Bride and/or groom: vjenčati se / vjenčavati se
When to use each verb?
UDATI SE / OŽENITI SE
It happened. Will happen, but no specific information when it will happen.
- UDATI SE
- Ona se udala. [past] / Ona će se udati. [future]
- OŽENITI SE
- On se oženio. [past] / On će se oženiti. [future]
UDAVATI SE / ŽENITI SE
It will happen in the near future and we know when it will happen.
- UDAVATI SE
- Ona se udaje u subotu. — She is getting married this Saturday.
- ŽENITI SE
- On se ženi u subotu. — He is getting married this Saturday.
All these verbs are reflexive verbs. We will work with this type of verb in the near future. For now, this is just an informative page for you to discover the vocabulary related to marriage. Here are the three verbs that will most likely appear in the present tense.
Udavati se
| who | verb form | who | verb form |
|---|---|---|---|
| ja | uda-jem se | mi | uda-jemo se |
| ti | uda-ješ se | vi | uda-jete se |
| ona | uda-je se | one | uda-ju se |
Ženiti se
| who | verb form | who | verb form |
|---|---|---|---|
| ja | žen-im se | mi | žen-imo se |
| ti | žen-iš se | vi | žen-ite se |
| on | žen-i se | oni | žen-e se |
Vjenčati se
| who | verb form | who | verb form |
|---|---|---|---|
| ja | vjenča-am se | mi | vjenča-amo se |
| ti | vjenča-aš se | vi | vjenča-ate se |
| on/ona | vjenča-a se | oni/one | vjenča-aju se |
The most common practice in Croatia is to get married in a church (crkva). However, some people get married only by the registrar (matičar) – which represents only a civil marriage.
How to say […] is/are married?
- On je oženjen. — He is married.
- Ona je udana. — She is married.
- Oni su vjenčani. — They are married.
🧩 Vocabulary list
| Hrvatski | English |
|---|---|
| čekati | to wait |
| crkva | church |
| džins | jeans |
| krizma | confirmation |
| krštenje | baptism |
| mlada | bride |
| mladoženja | groom |
| nositi | to wear |
| obred | ceremony |
| oženjen | married (male) |
| pričest | first communion |
| rođendan | birthday |
| svadbeno slavlje | wedding celebration |
| udana | married (female) |
| vidjeti | to see |
| vjenčanje | wedding |
| vjenčanica | wedding dress |
| zgodan | good-looking |
Media Attributions
- Birthday cake © Roberta F. is licensed under a CC BY-SA (Attribution ShareAlike) license
- Baptism
- Communion
- Confirmation © Jim, the Photographer is licensed under a CC BY-SA (Attribution ShareAlike) license
- Wedding: bride and groom is licensed under a Public Domain license
- Funeral © Jereka20bohinj is licensed under a CC BY-SA (Attribution ShareAlike) license
- Bride in a white wedding dress
- Groom at the wedding
- Groom and bride holding hands
at the birthday (party)
at the baptism
at the (First) Communion
at the Confirmation
at the wedding
at the funeral





