zdravlju

Zdravlje is a noun in several South Slavic languages, most commonly Croatian, Bosnian, Serbian, and Montenegrin, that denotes the state of physical, mental, and social well-being. In medical, public health, and everyday language, zdravlje encompasses more than the absence of disease, aligning with international definitions of overall well-being.

The word root zdr- comes from Proto-Slavic and is shared with the adjective zdrav meaning healthy. Zdravlje forms a family of related terms such as zdrava hrana (healthy food) and zdrav život (healthy life). Grammatical inflection yields various cases; zdravlju is the dative and, in many forms, the locative singular of zdravlje, while zdravlje itself is the nominative and accusative form. This means that zdravlju can appear in expressions like u zdravlju (in health) or posvetio sam se zdravlju zajednice (I devoted myself to the health of the community).

Usage and variants: In contemporary discourse, zdravlje appears in clinical terminology, public health policy, and cultural expressions. The concept is closely linked to determinants of health such as lifestyle, environment, genetics, and access to care. Within these languages, discourse on zdravlje ranges from individual health behaviors to population-level health systems, reflecting both scientific and social dimensions.

See also: Health, Well-being, Public health, Medicine. In the context of grammar, zdravo and zdravlje are related forms, with zdravlju representing dative/locative contexts.