tata
The Croatian word for daddy is tata.
tata is an informal and usually childish way to say father.
Meaning: (informal, usually childish) father (noun)
Which one should you use?
While tata is an affectionate term for daddy, otac is the formal term for father used in official or serious contexts.
How does it change in a sentence?
The word tata is the nominative singular form used when the word is the subject of a sentence. The plural form is tate. The form tati is used in the dative or locative singular, such as when you are giving something to daddy or talking about being with him.
Did you know?
- While tata is affectionate, using the formal otac in a casual family setting can signal that a person is angry or that the conversation has become very serious.
- In many Slavic languages, including Croatian, the word for 'daddy' is often used as a playful or affectionate nickname for a husband by a wife, not just by children.
- The word tata is a linguistic universal known as a 'nursery word', as the 't' sound is one of the easiest for infants to produce across many unrelated world languages.
Examples in context
- Dobar dan, tata!Hello, daddy!
- Hvala, tatica!Thank you, daddy!
- Gdje si, tatašiću?Where are you, daddy?
- Tata, gledaj ovo!Daddy, look at this!
- Gdje je moj tata?Where is my daddy?
- Tata mi je super.My daddy is great.
Example conversation
Ivana is talking to her brother Marko about their father.
- IvanaMarko, jesi li vidio gdje je tata?Marko, did you see where daddy is?
- MarkoMislim da je tata u garaži.I think daddy is in the garage.
- IvanaHajdemo ga zajedno potražiti.Let's go look for him together.
- MarkoMože, idemo brzo!Okay, let's go quickly!
