Last Updated: Dec 23, 2025
Here you will find the guidance for Croatian (Croatia), but you should also consider the guidance for all languages.
1. Capitalization
Capitalize only the first letter of a sentence and the names of people, products or places.
Always apply your language conventions rather than adhering to the English source.
When the writing of a word is tolerated with and without capitalization, choose its version without capitalization (e.g., page web, site internet).
Capitalize:
- Proper names: Proton Mail, Proton VPN, NetShield
- Command/Folder names and keywords (first word only): Otvori, Zatvori, Spremi promjene
- First word of a sentence, title or subtitle: Slijede informacije o novim ponudama.
- In UI items made up of 2 alternative commands separated by a slash, both are capitalized: Uvoz/Izvoz datoteke
Do not capitalize:
- Words like internet and web, except when they are the first word of a sentence
- Words after colon when in the same line: Anglicizam: posuđivanje riječi iz engleskog
- Languages: hrvatski (Note: nationalities remain capitalized: Hrvat)
- Names of days, months and seasons: ponedjeljak, siječanj, zima
2. Gender
We want to be as inclusive as possible, so we try to be neutral, but we use gender-specific nouns and verbs if remaining neutral goes against the writing best practices for a specific language.
Basic principles:
- Use the second-person plural (Vi) form of address to avoid specifying gender.
- When possible, avoid the use of masculine singular form to refer to someone whose gender is unknown.
- Don’t suggest the reader’s gender using specific grammatical forms. If you cannot use forms that are gender-free, rephrase the sentence.
| English | We avoid | We prefer |
|---|---|---|
| Are you sure you want to delete this calendar? | Jesi li siguran/sigurna da želiš izbrisati ovaj kalendar? | Jeste li sigurni da želite izbrisati ovaj kalendar? |
| If you are interested in Proton Mail… | Ako si zainteresiran/zainteresirana za Proton Mail… | Ako vas zanima Proton Mail… |
| I am not used to this tool. | Nisam navikao na ovaj alat. | Ovaj alat nije mi poznat. |
- You can use passive language to avoid gender-specific verbs, but only if it doesn’t hurt readability or make the sentence sound unnatural.
- Apply the masculine form when an adjective, verb, or another part of speech refers to multiple nouns with different genders.
- Rephrase when you are unable to find a gender-neutral way.
Note on Acronyms: The gender of an acronym is determined by the acronym itself (generally masculine), not the extended form. Example: EU (Europska unija) is masculine, even though “unija” is feminine. Exception: Acronyms pronounced as complete words (e.g., NASA) are feminine. UN (Ujedinjeni narodi) is treated as singular.
3. Abbreviations
Whenever possible, avoid using abbreviations.
Abbreviate text only when space is limited (mainly buttons, option names or strings with specific character limitations) or when readability needs improvement. Instead of abbreviating (e.g., 4 or 5 consecutive words), summarize a term or phrase in 2 or 3 words written in full.
General criteria for shortening words:
- Omit at least two letters.
- Truncate a word so that it ends with a consonant and place a period after it.
- When a word contains a double consonant, truncate it at the second one and place a period after it.
Examples:
- Transcription → Transkr.
- Collection → Kol.
Days abbreviations:
(In calendars/timetables, names of days are written without a period for visual purposes)
| English | Translation | Abbreviation |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | ponedjeljak | PON |
| Tuesday | utorak | UTO |
| Wednesday | srijeda | SRI |
| Thursday | četvrtak | ČET |
| Friday | petak | PET |
| Saturday | subota | SUB |
| Sunday | nedjelja | NED |
Months abbreviations:
| English | Translation | Abbreviation |
|---|---|---|
| January | siječanj | SIJ |
| February | veljača | VELJ |
| March | ožujak | OŽU |
| April | travanj | TRA |
| May | svibanj | SVI |
| June | lipanj | LIP |
| July | srpanj | SRP |
| August | kolovoz | KOL |
| September | rujan | RUJ |
| October | listopad | LIS |
| November | studeni | STU |
| December | prosinac | PRO |
When expressing dates, month names are declined: 14. siječnja (not 14. siječanj).
4. Acronyms
Common examples are VPN (Virtual Personal Network), DNS (Domain Name Server), HTML (Hypertext Markup Language), etc.
The most common acronyms and their translations are included in the glossary. Always refer to the glossary when localizing acronyms.
The gender and number of the acronym are determined by the acronym itself. They are usually masculine unless pronounced as a full word in feminine form.
Example: API (Application Programming Interface) is masculine even though “sučelje” is neuter.
Commonly used acronyms do not need explanations (DVD, LED, TV, etc.).
When an acronym is repeated several times in the same section, include its extended form in parentheses only for the first occurrence.
5. Pronouns
English, especially technical English, is more redundant than some other languages.
When translating, reduce redundancy by using pronouns. This should never reduce accuracy.
When translating technical or complex strings, ensure users can associate pronouns with their referents. Avoid the use of possessive pronouns when possible. Omit pronoun subjects such as “we” and “you.”
| English | We avoid | We prefer |
|---|---|---|
| Contacts successfully imported. The imported contacts will now appear in your contact list. | Kontakti su uspješno uvezeni. Uvezeni kontakti prikazat će se na vašem popisu kontakata. | Kontakti su uspješno uvezeni. Prikazat će se na vašem popisu kontakata. |
| Events successfully imported. The imported events will now appear in your calendar. | Događaji su uspješno uvezeni. Uvezeni događaji prikazat će se u vašem kalendaru. | Događaji su uspješno uvezeni. Prikazat će se u vašem kalendaru. |
6. Gerunds (“ing” ending)
Gerunds are used in English, such as in “Creating a report”.
Depending on the context, they can be translated using the infinitive (for an action or title) or using the expression for “in progress”.
| English | Context | We avoid | We prefer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Generating keys | Action or title | Generiranje ključeva | Generiraj ključeve |
| Generating keys | Processing | Generiranje ključeva | Generiranje ključeva je u tijeku |
| Importing | Action or title | Uvoženje | Uvezi |
| Importing | Processing | Uvoženje | Uvoz je u tijeku |
| Importing data from %1s to %2s | Action or title | Uvoženje podataka iz %1s u %2s. | Uvezi podatke iz %1s u %2s. |
| Importing data from %1s to %2s | Processing | Uvoženje podataka iz %1s u %2s. | Uvoz podataka iz %1s u %2s je u tijeku. |
7. Punctuation
If you need help, you can check this website.
8. Period
For the period at the end of a sentence (subject + verb), adapt to Croatian conventions: when the English source omits a period but Croatian requires one, add it.
Include a period at the end of each extended sentence in a bullet list if it has full meaning by itself.
Do not place periods at the end of titles, links, nominative phrases, buttons, and checkboxes unless they contain more than one sentence.
| English | We avoid | We prefer |
|---|---|---|
| This footer is added after your signature | Ovo je podnožje dodano nakon vašeg potpisa | Ovo je podnožje dodano nakon vašeg potpisa. |
| Impossible to load content. | Nije moguće učitati sadržaj | Nije moguće učitati sadržaj. |
| This message will expire in %s | Ova poruka ističe za %s | Ova poruka ističe za %s. |
| Signature verification error. | Pogreška pri provjeri potpisa. | Pogreška pri provjeri potpisa |
| Unknown error. | Nepoznata pogreška. | Nepoznata pogreška |
9. Exclamation mark
Exclamation marks are used to give emphasis.
As their use is less common than in English, use them sparingly. Replace an exclamation mark with a period if it reads more naturally, but never change a period into an exclamation mark.
| English | We avoid | We prefer |
|---|---|---|
| The PIN codes must match! | PIN kodovi moraju se podudarati! | PIN kodovi moraju se podudarati. |
| You have a new email! | Imate novu poruku e pošte! | Imate novu poruku e pošte. |
| Theme reset! Redirecting… | Resetiranje teme! Preusmjeravanje… | Tema se resetira. Preusmjeravanje je u tijeku… |
| Importing contacts complete! | Uvoz kontakata dovršen! | Uvoz kontakter je dovršen. |
10. Parentheses
Parentheses are used to clarify statements or provide additional information. Avoid them when possible and adapt the text to the context.
| English | We avoid | We prefer |
|---|---|---|
| Please choose a display name to finish setting up your account. (Other people will see this.) | Molimo da odaberete zaslonsko ime da biste dovršili uređivanje postavki računa (to će vidjeti i drugi). | Odaberite zaslonsko ime da biste dovršili uređivanje postavki računa, to će vidjeti i drugi. |
| We also support importing vCard. (UTF-8 encoding) | Također podržavamo uvoz vCard kartice. (UTF-8 šifriranje). | Također podržavamo uvoz vCard kartice (UTF-8 šifriranje). |
11. Comma
Do not place a comma before “i” and “ili” when the conjunction links two related terms.
| English | We avoid | We prefer |
|---|---|---|
| You can also add, delete, and edit them by clicking… | Možete ih i dodavati, brisati, i uređivati klikom na… | Možete ih i dodavati, brisati i uređivati klikom na… |
| Assign permissions to users, or groups | Dodijelite dozvole korisnicima, ili grupama. | Dodijelite dozvole korisnicima ili grupama. |
12. Colon and semicolon
Colons and semicolons are preceded by a non-breaking space.
Do not use a capital letter after a semicolon.
| English | We avoid | We prefer |
|---|---|---|
| Date: Old to new | Datum: Od starijeg prema novijem | Datum: od starijeg prema novijem |
| Download paused: Low battery | Preuzimanje je zaustavljeno: Niska razina baterije | Preuzimanje je zaustavljeno: niska razina baterije |
13. Em dash (—), en dash (–), hyphen (-)
Use commas, full stops, or parentheses instead of dashes where possible. Hyphens are not used for date ranges; use the en dash or “Od… do”.
| English | We avoid | We prefer |
|---|---|---|
| September 10 - 20 | 10.-20. rujna | Od 10. do 20. rujna / 10. – 20. rujna |
| Network range: 1280–1500 | …između 1280 - 1500. | …između 1280 i 1500. |
| Secure access… — Now available… | …iz drugih zemalja — sada… | …iz drugih zemalja (sada dostupan na Android TV-u). |
| 12 hours passed — ${ APP } will try… | …zadnje izmjene – aplikacija… | …zadnje izmjene. Aplikacija ${ APP } će… |
14. Quotation marks
Use these specific quotation marks: „example”.
Place the period outside the closing quotation mark.
| English | We avoid | We prefer |
|---|---|---|
| The “From:” address is invalid. | Adresa “Pošiljatelj:” nije valjana. | Adresa „Pošiljatelj:” nije valjana. |
| Are you sure? “%1$s” will be default. | …izbrisati ovaj kalendar? “%1$s” će… | …izbrisati ovaj kalendar? „%1$s” će… |
15. Ampersand (&)
Replace “&” with “i” unless it is part of a company/product name or a registered trademark.
16. Spacing and non-breaking spaces
Use non-breaking spaces to prevent improper separation of elements such as product names, numbers, or dates.
Include a non-breaking space between a number and a symbol (%, €, GB).
Keyboard shortcuts:
- Windows: Ctrl + Shift + Spacebar
- Mac: Ctrl + Option⌥ + Space bar
| English | Croatian | [non-breaking space] |
|---|---|---|
| First step: click | Prvi korak: kliknite | Prvi korak:[non-breaking space]kliknite |
| 30% | 30 % | 30[non-breaking space]% |
| 5€ | 5 € | 5[non-breaking space]€ |
| 1 GB | 1 GB | 1[non-breaking space]GB |
17. Numbers
Replace the period used as a decimal point in English with a comma in Croatian.
3.75 → 3,75
For numbers smaller than 1, always write a zero before the decimal comma.
.5 → 0,5
The period in software version numbers remains unchanged: Proton Mail v.3
Use a non-breaking space as a thousand separator. Never use separators in years.
15,000 and year 2015 → 15 000 i 2015. godina
Time and date:
- Hours and minutes are separated by a colon (24-hour format): at 9:25 P.M → u 21:25
- The date format is “dd/mm/yy”: 01-31-22 → 31/01/22
18. Currencies
Do not convert USD ($) or EUR (€) to local currency.
Place the symbol/code after the number, separated by a non-breaking space.
Example: Amount of €30 → Iznos od 30 € or Iznos od 30 EUR
19. Units of measurement
Use the metric system. Insert a non-breaking space between a number and the unit. Convert imperial units into metric.
| Category | Measurement unit | Translation | Abbreviation |
|---|---|---|---|
| LINEAR | Kilometer | Kilometar | km |
| Meter | Metar | m | |
| Centimeter | Centimetar | cm | |
| Millimeter | Millimetar | mm | |
| MASS | Ton | Tona | t |
| Kilogram | Kilogram | kg | |
| Pound | Funta | lb | |
| IMPERIAL | Inch | Inč | in |
| Feet | Stopa | ft | |
| Mile | Milja | mi | |
| Gallon | Galon | gal | |
| COMPUTING | Byte (B) | Bajt | B |
| Megabyte (MB) | Megabajt | MB | |
| Gigabyte (GB) | Gigabajt | GB | |
| Terabyte (TB) | Terabajt | TB |
20. Form of address
Use the second-person plural (Vi) form of address (formal).
Example: Open navigation → Otvorite navigaciju
21. English/US terms and formulations
Please
For simple instructions, omit it to keep sentences concise and natural.
Please try again later → Pokušajte ponovno kasnije.
And more
In lists, replace with “…” or “itd.”. In other cases, specify the subject concern.
…and many others → …itd.
Now
Do not translate literally for CTAs.
Get Proton VPN now → Nabavite Proton VPN
Successfully
Omit entirely.
Your account was successfully created → Vaš je Proton račun kreiran.
Failed
Avoid literal translation where possible.
Message decryption failed → Poruka se ne može dešifrirati.
Formulation: make sentences
Form complete sentences (subject + verb) for better readability.
Participation status updated → Status sudjelovanja je ažuriran.
22. Foreign words
Use search engine frequency to decide whether to keep an English term. Avoid overusing anglicisms. English terms do not take the ending “s” in the plural.
23. Localizing person names
Localize fictitious person names with generic Croatian names (e.g., Ana Horvat). Do not localize real person names.
24. Localizing domains and email addresses
Localize fictitious domain names and email addresses.
- user@ → korisnik@
- yourdomain.com → vašadomena.hr
- .com → .hr
| English | Translation |
|---|---|
| you**@yourcompany.com** | vi**@vašatvrtka.hr** |
| mistake**@[suspicious link removed]** | pogreška**@vašadomena.hr** |
Do not localize real email addresses or domain names.
25. Error/success/info messages
Structured sentences
Translate into structured sentences using active voice and proper punctuation.
| English | We avoid | We prefer |
|---|---|---|
| Error updating event | Pogreška pri ažuriranju događaja | Došlo je do pogreške pri ažuriranju događaja. |
| Attaching Photo Failed | Prilaganje fotografije nije uspjelo | Fotografija se ne može priložiti. |
| Contact saved | Kontakt spremljen | Kontakt je spremljen. |
Nominal phrases
Do not use a final period at the end of nominal phrases.
| English | We avoid | We prefer |
|---|---|---|
| Authentication error. | Pogreška pri provjeri autentičnosti. | Pogreška pri provjeri autentičnosti |
| Unknown error. | Nepoznata pogreška. | Nepoznata pogreška |
Full and clear negation
Use explicit negation to avoid ambiguity.
| English | We avoid | We prefer |
|---|---|---|
| Invalid email address | Neispravna adresa e-pošte | Adresa e-pošte nije ispravna. |
| No results found | Nema rezultata | Nije pronađen nijedan rezultat. |
26. Localizing CTA (Call To Action) buttons
- For neutral instructions or additional info, use 2nd person singular: Kopiraj poveznicu, Preuzmi, Izbriši.
- For “Get Proton” or “Create account”, use 2nd person plural: Nabavite Proton za poslovne korisnike, Kreirajte besplatan račun.
- For engaging buttons, use 2nd person plural: Obratite nam se, Kupite darovnu karticu.