Ways to say it
| Croatian | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Sretan Božić | Latin | |
| Srećan Božić | Latin | |
| Hristos se rodi | [ˈxɾistos se ˈɾôdiː] (narrow) | Latin |
| vaistinu se rodi | Latin |
Sretan Božić is a standard way to offer good wishes during the Christmas season. You can also use the longer phrase Želim Vam sretan Božić to say "I wish you a Merry Christmas".
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase Sretan Božić is composed of the adjective sretan, which means happy or lucky and the noun Božić, which means Christmas.
Which one should you use?
Sretan Božić is the standard Croatian form. In contrast, Srećan Božić is a variant used primarily in Bosnian and Serbian contexts.
Is it said differently in some regions?
Srećan Božić is the variant used primarily in Bosnian and Serbian contexts, whereas Sretan Božić is the standard Croatian form.
How does it change in a sentence?
In the phrase Sretan Božić, the adjective sretan is in the masculine singular nominative form to agree with the masculine noun Božić.
Did you know?
- In Orthodox traditions, the greeting Hristos se rodi is part of a call-and-response. The first person says 'Christ is born', and the other must reply vaistinu se rodi, meaning 'truly he is born'.
- The word Božić is actually a diminutive of bog, meaning 'God'. It literally translates to 'little God', referring to the infant Jesus.
- Depending on the region, people may celebrate Božić on December 25 or January 7, depending on whether they follow the Gregorian or Julian calendar.
Examples in context
- Sretan Božić!Merry Christmas!This is useful for expressing the greeting Sretan Božić.Tatoeba #960474 by akvo, translation #1723 by brauliobezerra
- Sretan Božić svima vama!Merry Christmas to all of you!
Example conversation
Petra and Marko are greeting each other during a holiday visit.
- PetraHej Marko, Sretan Božić!Hey Marko, Merry Christmas!
- MarkoHvala Petra, i tebi Sretan Božić.Thanks Petra, Merry Christmas to you too.
- PetraI uživaj u večeri s obitelji.And enjoy the evening with your family.
- MarkoHvala puno, vidimo se uskoro.Thanks a lot, see you soon.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “merry Christmas” translations and entries Sretan Božić, Srećan Božić, Hristos se rodi, vaistinu se rodi, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries Božić, Hristos, Hristos se rodi, se, vaistinu se rodi, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
