Serbian Basics

Š — like English 'sh'

Š = 'sh' sound

Literal: The letter Š is pronounced like 'sh' in 'ship'

Note: Written with a háček — a small caron above the letter

Č — like English 'ch'

Č = 'ch' sound

Literal: The letter Č is pronounced like 'ch' in 'church'

Ž — like 's' in 'pleasure'

Ž = 'zh' sound

Literal: The letter Ž is pronounced like 's' in 'pleasure'

J — like English 'y' in 'yes'

J = 'y' sound

Literal: The letter J is pronounced like 'y' in 'yes'

Note: Not like English J! Serbian J = Y sound

Govorim srpski

I speak Serbian

Literal: (I) speak Serbian

Note: Pronoun 'I' is dropped — the verb ending already shows the person

Sviđa mi se Beograd

I like Belgrade

Literal: Pleases to-me itself Belgrade

Note: 'Sviđa mi se' is a reflexive construction — literally 'pleases to-me itself'

Imam stan

I have an apartment

Literal: (I) have apartment

Note: Serbian uses a simple 'have' verb — no 'at me there is' like Russian

Treba mi pasoš

I need a passport

Literal: Needed to-me passport

Note: 'Treba mi' — universal construction meaning 'I need'

Ne razumem

I don't understand

Literal: Not (I) understand

Note: Simply add 'ne' before the verb

Nisam Srbin

I am not Serbian

Literal: Not-am Serb

Note: 'Nisam' — merged negative form of 'to be' (I am not)

Nemam auto

I don't have a car

Literal: Not-have car

Note: 'Nemam' — merged negative form of 'to have' (I don't have)

Nije skupo

It's not expensive

Literal: Not-is expensive

Note: 'Nije' — 3rd person negative of 'to be' (it is not)

Da li govorite ruski?

Do you speak Russian?

Literal: Yes whether (you) speak Russian?

Note: 'Da li' — universal way to form a yes/no question

Gde je banka?

Where is the bank?

Literal: Where is bank?

Note: Question words: gde (where), ko (who), šta (what), kada (when)

Koliko ovo košta?

How much does this cost?

Literal: How-much this costs?

Note: 'Koliko' — how much/how many

Da li se ovde sme pušiti?

Is smoking allowed here?

Literal: Yes whether itself here is-allowed to-smoke?

Note: 'Da li se sme' — is it allowed (impersonal form)