Learning Serbian /Croatian/Bosnian

the main difference between serbian vs. croatian bosnian and montenegrin, the one that's obvious even to people who've been learning the language for a week, is that one is ekavski and the other is ijekavski. Croatian also has ikavski in Dalmatia.

beyond that, you get into nuances. Croatian has three major dialects, kajkavski, štokavski, and čakavski. and each dialect has vocabulary associated with them that aren't used in the other dialects.

Croatian also has some fairly recent vocabulary changes that make it stand out more.

Croatian months are also different, they use the old slavic forms while the others use names that are similar to the English ones.

There are vocabulary differences in all of them, words that are used in only certain regions.

In addition to this, within each language, you'll find considerable variety and dialects. The Serbian spoken near the border to Bulgaria is different from the Serbian spoken near the border to Macedonia and both are different from the Serbian spoken in Belgrade or the villages in Vojvodina near the Hungarian border. There is more difference in the Serbian spoken in Niš vs the Serbian spoken in Novi Sad than there is between Serbian and Croatian.

Native speakers of all four languages can understand each other just fine, especially when they speak the standard forms and when they explain regional words that the other speaker may not know. You could argue that they are all the same language, or one language with four names. I can speak three or four different dialects of English, and while I do keep them separate in my head, I still think of them all as English. I understand countless other dialects of English, even a few which my mother says aren't mutually intelligable with the English most people speak.

In Croatian, you can say "Trebam jednu cigaru" for "I need a cigarette" and "Trebaš mi" for "I need you".

In Serbian and Bosnian, you have to say "Treba mi jedna cigara" and "trebam" is incorrect.

In Croatian and Bosnian: "pjevat ću dok suze me ne zabole". In Montenegrin "pjevaću dok suze me ne zabole" and Serbian "pevaću dok suze me ne zabole"

In Croatian and Bosnian, the infinitive form is shortened "mogla sam vježbat jezik" (I could practice the language. inmontenegrin, an apostrophe would be written "Mogla sam vježbat' jezik" and in Serbian it would either be "mogla sam vežbati jezik" or "mogla sam da vežbam jezik".

The infinitive form "mogu plivati" (I can swim) is more often seen in Croatian, where as the form "mogu da plivam" is used more often in Serbian and Bosnian uses both (all of them use both, but Bosnian uses both more often than Serbian and Croatian).

The main differences between Croatian and Bosnian are:

accent. The words are pronounced differently. After ten months of study, I've finally started to hear it.
vocabulary: croatian uses some words that Bosnian doesn't and visa versa.
A few word forms.

Sometimes an h is added in Bosnian:
Bosnian: lahko, mehko, kahva
Croatian: lako, meko, kava
Serbian: lako, meko, kafa

Vocabularywise, sometimes the word is the same in Bosnian and Serbian, othertimes, it's the same in Bosnian and Croatian. tačka (Bosnian, Serbian), točka (Croatian). općina (Bosnian Croatian), opština (Serbian). etc. paradajz (Bosnian, Serbian), rajčica (Croatian)

Croatian: Volim ju (I love her)
Bosnian, Serbian: Volim je (I love her)

Some months are different between Bosnian and Serbian: jun/juni, jul/juli, avgust/august



If Bosnian it isn't a language, you'd have to decide whether it's a dialect of Croatian or Serbian, when really it's as different from either as they are from each other. And it's the same for Montenegrin, really. Since none of them are all that different, Montenegrin is different enough from Serbian to be a language in and of itself, if Croatian and Bosnian are also their own languages. Each language also has more internal variation than the standard variants of each language have from each other. So you can argue that they're all one, or you can argue that they're all four, but you can't make a convincing argument for 2 or 3.

Hello,

I’ve a little problem with a verb. Can you explain me that?

In English : to take away:

Sve odnese : took away everything
Odnela je srecu :She took away happiness

I suppose it is the verb "odneti" as infinitive

but in an other text I have found :
Ako te odvedu : If they take you away

It is the same translation… and why is it not : Ako te odnedu (present)
Irregular verb I suppose…

Thank you

Originally Posted by Sasskia

Hello,

I’ve a little problem with a verb. Can you explain me that?

In English : to take away:

Sve odnese : took away everything
Odnela je srecu :She took away happiness

I suppose it is the verb "odneti" as infinitive

but in an other text I have found :
Ako te odvedu : If they take you away

It is the same translation… and why is it not : Ako te odnedu (present)
Irregular verb I suppose…

Thank you

It's a different verb: "odvesti"
Btw. if you want too use the verb "odneti" in this sentence it would be: "Ako te odnesu"
Both verbs have the same meaning in English: "take away",but "odneti" is commonly used when you are taking away something and "odvesti" when you are taking away someone(person).Of course "odneti" could refer to a person and in that case meaning is "carry away someone"."Odvesti" on the other hand always refers to a person(or animal).

@pthalo

Very nice observation.
But take my advice and don't get any further into that kind of discussion.Or this topic could be litered with politics in no time.

Good point, dok.

Originally Posted by dok77

It's a different verb: "odvesti"

Both verbs have the same meaning in English: "take away.
Both verbs have the same meaning in English: "take away",but "odneti" is commonly used when you are taking away something and "odvesti" when you are taking away someone(person)

Thank you dok77.
I 'm a little bit stupid. In french we've got the same difference
odneti : refer to something : emporter
odvesti : refer to a person : emmener

English language is not so rich...

Zdravo! Kako ste svi?

i was born in the U.S.A but i speak montenegrian because my whole entire family is from montenegro and came to america. I go during the summer and you really pick up the language

Its cool you guys are teaching people how to speak. In school no one has ever heard montenegrian/serbian and they act like its something totally weird and are always surprised when i speak to my parents and everything. Anyways just wanted to say hi to everyone!

Mašala!
Donnaanddavidx3 dobrodošao! I believe that Americans know the most famous American architect - F.L. Right - his wife was Montenegrian. And another famous American architect is married to Montenegrian woman (I hope that Crnogorka is "Montenegrian").

hey Ina! Ja sam Mela. Kako si?

I'm pretty sure the students dont know those people but the teachers probably do.

Originally Posted by Adrienne

Well I'll try to help you as much possible to learn some basics.. I dont want to scare you but it takes a lot of time to learn perfect serbian but you dont need that

Btw. I have a site that might help you learn serbian better: http://www.serbianschool.com/

i would also like to learn it)
i have sent u an private message.
for me doesent look so hard... i am also from this part of ....europe... but.. it is different so, i would be glad to receive your answer asasp:P
Greets

I always wonder, unless you're raised with this language, how can you learn it? I'm sure it can be done, but I can't imagine trying to learn it from scratch and not being raised with it. Thank goodness it was my first language.
Though I forgot some of the grammar through time and have recently started to put it together again. (Ya know what I mean? The endings and conjugations can be different in any language, but especially in this one)

Originally Posted by Acrylic

I always wonder, unless you're raised with this language, how can you learn it? I'm sure it can be done, but I can't imagine trying to learn it from scratch and not being raised with it. Thank goodness it was my first language.
Though I forgot some of the grammar through time and have recently started to put it together again. (Ya know what I mean? The endings and conjugations can be different in any language, but especially in this one)

Imagine, you are learning english... with good practice, u can speak, and with better practice u can speak fluently... same with serbian..) nothing wrong, nothing special... for, Adrienne i hope you will read your message soon and answer me) it is a meter of dead and life

greets

Originally Posted by Vlada

The thing is that Bosnian language doesn't really exist (bez uvrede Bošnjaci ali tako je) so I don't know if you can find something for learning.
But you could learn Croatian either Serbian to speak with people from Bosnia and after you will see the differences...
Good luck!
I dobro došli na forum all new people

I also don't consider bosnian as language, for me it's mixture of serbian and croatian with lot of borrowed words from turkish
I'm not some language expert, but it's just my humble opinion

Originally Posted by masarra

1 - How do you use imperative in Serbian? For instance, I know love me is "voli me" but couldn't that also be "he/she/it loves me".. ?
2 - How do you use plural?
3 - For future tense does "Cu" come before or after the verb?
4 - Also how does past tense work? Soooo confusing! hehe
5 - What does "bas" mean?
6 - How do you say "I (don't) like..."

1 - could't understand the question
2 - there are 3 forms of plural as usual. single: 1.JA(I) 2.TI(you) 3.ON(he) plural: 1.MI(we)
2.VI(you) 3.ONI(they) it's not changeable,simply put the desired form in front of the verb ex. JA želim(I want),TI želiš(YOU want),MI želimo(WE want)
you can notice that the verb is changing JA želiM,TI želiŠ,MI želiMO...but we'll leave this for later
3 - first of all remember that ĆU is changeable and defines your will.if you're saying
you WILL-the help verb WILL is not changing in either form but... ex. ja ĆU(i WILL),on ĆE(he WILL),ti ĆEŠ(you WILL)-(Š is pronouncible like first two letters in SHEEP)-you can see that ĆU is changeable.in future tense ĆU ALWAYS comes before the verb!
4 - yes,you are right it is very complicated and my english with gramatic words is very poor and it's giving me no chance to explain you this tense
5 - BAS means BASS like BASS guitar
6 - you can say it using key word 'VOLIM' (literarly means LOVE,not LIKE) ex.ne VOLIM to (I don't LIKE that) but you can also use the word SVIĐA-it's a very similar meaning as VOLIM but in serbian it has a diference in other situations.now,it's a tougher way for you because the letter Đ is hard to pronounce ex.it's pronouncing like first letter in JAMES but much softer get it? ex for SVIĐA 'ne sviĐaš mi se'-I don't LIKE you 'on mi se sviĐa'-I LIKE him...and so on
hope you got it

i think he wanted to know what baš means. i see it all the time too and none of my dictionarys have it in them, but i think it means something like exactly

if she ment BAŠ the explanation you gave is the most acurate, but the word has many different meanings too. ex you can use STVARNO-really 'STVARNO mi se sviđaš' (I REALLY like you) you can replace STVARNO with BAŠ 'BAŠ mi se svidjaš' and the meaning hasn't changed.

Baš = exactly like that (in that way or in that quantity), really (like that) or if it explains position in space - exactly there, just right there

baš tog dana - that very day
baš tako - just like that
baš do ivice - just by the edge

thanks ina, that word always used to throw me off big time.

Hello
Anyone who can help me with some serbian?

Originally Posted by zlied

Hello
Anyone who can help me with some serbian?

What do you think, why we are here?

Brojevi - Numbers
1 jedan – one
2 dva – two
3 tri – three
4 četiri – four
5 pet – five
6 šest – six
7 sedam – seven
8 osam – eight
9 devet – nine
10 deset - ten
11 jedanaest - eleven
12 dvanaest - twelve
13 trinaest – thirteen
14 četrnaest – fourteen
15 petnaest – fifteen
16 šesnaest – sixteen
17 sedamnaest – seventeen
18 osamnast – eignteen
19 dvetnaest – nineteen
20 dvadeset – twenty
21 dvadeset jedan – twenty one
22 dvadeset dva – twenty two
30 trideset - thirty
31 trideset jedan – thirty one
40 četrdeset – forty
50 pedeset – fifty
60 šezdeset – sixty
70 sedamdeset – seventy
80 osamdeset – eighty
90 devedeset – ninety
100 sto (stotinu) – one hundred