baka
/bǎːka/Latin, feminine
The Croatian word for grandma is baka.
baka is used to mean grandmother in an informal or familiar way. You can address your grandma using her first name after baka.
Meaning: grandmother (informal) (noun)
Which one should you use?
Bakica is an informal variant of baka that emphasizes familiarity.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
baka is a familiar term. Bakica is an informal variant.
How does it change in a sentence?
baka is a feminine noun.
How do you pronounce it?
/bǎːka/
Did you know?
- The word baka shares a linguistic ancestor with the English word 'babushka', which was borrowed into English from Russian.
- In Croatian folklore, the figure of the 'baba' is often a much more fearsome or magical character than the sweet, modern 'baka' suggests.
- While English uses 'grandma' for both maternal and paternal sides, Croatian families sometimes use different nicknames to distinguish between the two sets of grandmothers.
Examples in context
- Dobro jutro, bakoGood morning, grandma
- Nana, kako si?Grandma, how are you?
- Moja baka živi u gradu.My grandma lives in the city.
- Baka je ispekla ukusne kolače.Grandma baked delicious cakes.
Example conversation
Two siblings are talking about their weekend plans.
- PetraIdeš li sutra kod bake?Are you going to grandma's tomorrow?
- LukaDa, baka me zove na ručak.Yes, grandma is inviting me for lunch.
- PetraMožeš li me odvesti tamo?Can you drive me there?
- LukaNaravno, Petra, možemo zajedno.Of course, Petra, we can go together.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “grandma” translations and entries baka, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries baka, CC BY-SA 4.0.
