Serbian 101 · Basics
Nine phrases you'll use every day — and one question you have to answer before you open your mouth.
English lost this distinction centuries ago; Serbian kept it, and it runs through everything. Ti is one person you're close to — a friend, a child, a cousin, anyone your own age in a relaxed setting. Vi is either several people, or one person you're being respectful to: a stranger, an older person, a doctor, a shopkeeper.
Get it wrong in the polite direction and you sound a little formal. Get it wrong in the other direction and you sound rude — so when you're unsure, use Vi. An older Serb will often tell you to switch: možemo na ti, we can be on ti terms. That's an invitation, and it's a nice moment.
Only two greetings actually change shape: kako si becomes kako ste. The rest are safe with anyone.
Reč po reč
Serbian on the left, how it sounds in the middle, meaning on the right. Stress falls on the first syllable in every one of these.
| Serbian | Sounds like | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Dobro jutro | DOH-broh YOO-troh | Good morning — until about 10 |
| Dobar dan | DOH-bar DAHN | Good day — the safe one, all day long |
| Dobro veče | DOH-broh VEH-cheh | Good evening |
| Zdravo | ZDRAH-voh | Hello and goodbye |
| Ćao | CHOW | Hi / bye — friends only |
| Doviđenja | doh-vee-JEH-nya | Goodbye, the proper one |
| Kako si? | KAH-koh see | How are you? — ti |
| Kako ste? | KAH-koh steh | How are you? — Vi |
| Dobro, hvala | DOH-broh HVAH-lah | Fine, thanks |
Zdravo works at both ends of a conversation, like the Italian ciao — and it comes from zdravlje, health. You are literally wishing someone good health as you arrive and again as you leave.
Ćao is the Italian ciao, borrowed and kept. It's warm and casual, and it would be odd said to your new boss on the first morning.
Dobar dan is the one to reach for when the time of day is ambiguous or you simply can't remember which is which. Nobody has ever been offended by dobar dan.
And hvala — thank you — deserves its own note: hvala alone is enough, hvala lepo is warmer, and hvala vam adds the person you're thanking, in the dative. You'll meet that case properly later.
Play it
Two ways in — a matching game, and a lane-chase where your pawn is either TI or VI.
Match the greeting
Igraj ovde, bez odlaska
Greetings fall across four lanes. Your pawn is TI or VI — catch the ones that match you, dodge the rest.
Print it
Four PDFs for the table, the classroom, or a rainy afternoon.
Two exercises on greetings — one at 101 level, one where you choose between formal and informal.
Greetings, Exercise 7 →Serbian 101
Thirty letters, thirty sounds, and not a single silent one.
BasicsCounting, prices, phone numbers, and the ages you'll be asked about.
GrammarThe first verb, the short and long forms, and the word order that follows.
VocabularyWhere gender first becomes visible — crven, crvena, crveno.
GrammarMoj, moja, moje — possessives that agree with what's owned.
GrammarThe dictionary form, and the case every other case is measured against.