Ways to say it
| Croatian |
|---|
| pijan |
| пијан |
pijan is an adjective used to describe someone who is intoxicated after drinking too much alcohol. For a more formal or descriptive way to say one is in an alcoholic state, you might use the phrase biti u alkoholiziranom stanju. If you want to use slang to describe someone who is totally drunk or wasted, you can use napljugan.
Which one should you use?
While the adjective pijan describes the temporary state of being drunk, the related noun pijanac refers to a person who is a habitual drunkard.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The adjective must change its ending to agree with the gender and number of the person or object being described. Use pijana for a woman, pijano for a child or a neuter noun and pijani for a group of men or a mixed group.
Did you know?
- If someone is not just drunk but completely incapacitated, you might hear the slang term mrtav, which literally translates to 'dead'.
- The word pijan is a cognate of the Russian пьяный and Polish pijany, showing a shared linguistic root across the Slavic world.
- In some coastal regions of Croatia, local dialects may use different nautical-influenced terms to describe being 'sea-drunk' or dizzy from motion.
Examples in context
- Bio je pijan na poslovnom sastankuHe was drunk at the business meeting
- Upravljao je vozilom dok je bio u alkoholiziranom stanjuHe was driving while being in an alcoholic state
- Popio je par pića i sada je pripitHe had a few drinks and now he's tipsy
- On je jako pijan.He is very drunk.
- Neću voziti jer sam pijan.I won't drive because I am drunk.
- Vidim da si pijan.I see that you are drunk.
Example conversation
Luka and Petra are talking about a friend at a party.
- LukaPogledaj ga, on je potpuno pijan.Look at him, he is completely drunk.
- PetraDa, previše je pio večeras.Yes, he drank too much tonight.
- LukaMožda bi trebao ići kući.Maybe he should go home.
- PetraSlažem se, on ne može voziti.I agree, he cannot drive.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “drunk” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
