Although learning spelling or orthography in any language isn't any fun, I found a way to make it fun - by creating "Whack a mole" exercise, or "udari krticu" :)
How to Practice Orthography in Serbian
While the idea of this game is to hit a mole bearing the wrong answer, I noticed while learning German that this principle enforced the wrong answer in my mind. Therefore, for my students of Serbian, I created this game based on "hitting the right mole", which will draw your attention to the correct spelling. Once you figure one which ones are the correct ones, jot them down!
Where Serbian spelling actually catches people out
Serbian is written as it is spoken, which makes it far kinder than English — but that principle is exactly what creates the traps. Because you write what you hear, you have to know what you hear. The classic difficulties are je versus ije (vreme or vrijeme, depending on the variant), the negative particle written apart from the verb (ne znam) but joined in nemam, neću, nisam, and the future written pisaću in one word but ja ću pisati in three.
Then there is capitalisation, which follows different rules from English: months and days are lower case — ponedeljak, mart — and only the first word of a multi-word name is capitalised, so Novi Sad but Bosna i Hercegovina and Ujedinjene nacije.
Spelling decisions in real sentences
| Latinica | Ћирилица | English |
|---|---|---|
| Ne znam gde sam ostavila ključeve. | Не знам где сам оставила кључеве. | I do not know where I left the keys. |
| Pisaću ti čim stignem. | Писаћу ти чим стигнем. | I will write to you as soon as I arrive. |
| U ponedeljak putujemo u Novi Sad. | У понедељак путујемо у Нови Сад. | On Monday we are travelling to Novi Sad. |
| Nemam ništa protiv tog predloga. | Немам ништа против тог предлога. | I have nothing against that proposal. |
| Neću da žurim sa odlukom. | Нећу да журим са одлуком. | I do not want to rush the decision. |
Write it, then check it
Play the game first, then write the five sentences above from dictation — read them aloud into your phone, wait an hour, and transcribe your own recording. Spelling errors that survive a game usually surface the moment you have to produce the letters yourself.
Orthography check
Write these sentences in Serbian and pay particular attention to what is joined and what is written apart. Latin first, then Cyrillic.
- I do not have time today.
- We will travel in March.
- She does not want to wait.
- I will call you on Tuesday.
- They do not know the answer.
Answers for the orthography practice
| English | Latinica | Ћирилица |
|---|---|---|
| I do not have time today. | Nemam vremena danas. | Немам времена данас. |
| We will travel in March. | Putovaćemo u martu. | Путоваћемо у марту. |
| She does not want to wait. | Ona neće da čeka. | Она неће да чека. |
| I will call you on Tuesday. | Zvaću te u utorak. | Зваћу те у уторак. |
| They do not know the answer. | Oni ne znaju odgovor. | Они не знају одговор. |