Health vocabulary starts with body parts and complaints. The word glava means "head," and the very common construction boli me... means "it hurts me": boli me glava (My head hurts) and boli me grlo (My throat hurts). A doctor is liječnik (masculine) or liječnica (feminine), often found in a ljekarna (pharmacy) for a lijek (medicine), as in uzimam lijek dvaput dnevno (I take the medicine twice a day). To say you are ill, use bolestan sam (masculine) or bolesna sam (feminine): bolestan sam, ostajem kod kuće and bolesna sam već tri dana both mean "I am ill." Reporting progress uses osjećam se bolje (I feel better), and a doctor's appointment is a termin, as in imam termin u deset (I have an appointment at ten). A larger facility for emergencies is a bolnica (hospital), seen in odveli su ga u bolnicu (They took him to hospital).
The workplace has its own cluster of nouns. Posao means work or job (tražim novi posao — I am looking for a new job), the workplace is an ured (radim u uredu — I work in an office), and a meeting is a sastanak (sastanak je u ponedjeljak — The meeting is on Monday). Your colleagues are kolega or kolegica, and the salary is plaća, as in plaća stiže petnaestog (The salary arrives on the fifteenth). Time off is godišnji odmor, used in idem na godišnji odmor u srpnju (I am going on holiday in July). To say you are busy, use zauzet sam (masculine) or zauzeta sam (feminine), as in danas sam jako zauzet. Useful action verbs in this context include početi (to begin), used in posao počinje u osam (Work begins at eight), and završiti (to finish), as in završio sam projekt (I finished the project).
Communication is built around a set of high-frequency verbs. Pomoći means "to help": možeš li mi pomoći? is "Can you help me?" Pokušati is "to try," as in pokušat ću ponovno (I will try again). Čekati is "to wait," used in čekam te pred kinom (I am waiting for you in front of the cinema). Upoznati introduces someone: drago mi je što smo se upoznali means "Nice to have met you." To arrange a meeting, use naći se, as in nađimo se u šest (Let us meet at six). Talking on the phone is nazvati (nazvat ću te večeras — I will call you tonight), replying is odgovoriti (nije odgovorio na poruku — He did not answer the message), asking is pitati (smijem li nešto pitati? — May I ask something?), and thinking is misliti (mislim da je to dobra ideja — I think that is a good idea).
Two verbs both translate as "to know," but with different scopes. Znati refers to facts and skills: znam gdje je means "I know where it is," and znam odgovor means "I know the answer." Poznavati refers to being acquainted with a person or familiar with a place: poznajem ga godinama means "I have known him for years." The two can appear in the same sentence, as in znam odgovor, ali ne poznajem njega (I know the answer, but I do not know him). Expressed needs use treba mi or trebam, as in treba mi pomoć (I need help), and an urgent departure uses moram ići sad, as in žao mi je, moram ići sad (I am sorry, I have to go now).