Ways to say it
| Croatian | Note |
|---|---|
| plav | Latin |
| modar | Latin |
In Croatian, plav is used to mean blue-coloured. Notably, while English uses a different word for hair, plav is also the word used to describe someone with blonde hair.
Which one should you use?
While both words mean blue, plav is the standard term used for the color of the sky or sea and for blonde hair. In contrast, modar is a more traditional or poetic term for blue, which is often found in literature or specific regional contexts but is less common in everyday modern speech.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
Adjectives in Croatian must agree with the gender of the noun they describe. For example, when describing a masculine noun like car, you would use plavi (as in plavi auto). The feminine form is plava, and the neuter form is plavo, which is used for nouns like nebo (sky) or more (sea).
Did you know?
- In a medical context, modar is often used to describe a bruise or skin that has turned blue due to lack of oxygen.
- The word plav shares a common ancestor with the English word 'fallow', used to describe pale or yellowish-brown colors. This connects the concept of 'blue' to an ancient root meaning 'pale' or 'grey'.
Examples in context
- Nebo je bilo plavo.The sky was blue.This sentence is useful for seeing the use of plav regarding the sky.Tatoeba #11994402 by Adelpa, translation #2342526 by Hybrid
- More je bilo plavo.The sea was blue.This sentence is useful for seeing the use of plav regarding the sea.Tatoeba #11995729 by Adelpa, translation #11995876 by shekitten
- Zašto je nebo plavo?Why is the sky blue?This sentence is useful for seeing the use of plav in a question about the sky.Tatoeba #11928615 by Adelpa, translation #2595655 by WestofEden
- Uvijek sam volio plavu boju neba.I have always loved the blue color of the sky.
- 6 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Ivan and Ana are choosing curtains for a bedroom.
- IvanImamo li te plave zavjese?Do we have those blue curtains?
- AnaImamo samo tamno plave.We only have dark blue ones.
- IvanMožeš li ih pokazati?Can you show them to me?
- AnaNaravno, pogledaj ove ovdje.Of course, look at these here.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “blue” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries modar, plav, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
