Serbian Textbooks in Cyrillic Script
Let's practice reading Serbian Cyrillic Script together! In each of my textbooks for learning Serbian, you will be able to hear me reading both in the Latin Alphabet and in Cyrillic Script.
Reading Cyrillic is easier than it looks
Serbian Cyrillic has thirty letters and each one has exactly one sound, always the same. There is no spelling to memorise, no silent letters and no exceptions — once you know the alphabet you can read any Serbian word correctly, including one you have never seen.
About a third of the letters look and sound roughly like their Latin counterparts, another third look familiar but sound different — Р is r, С is s, В is v, Н is n — and the rest are genuinely new. That middle group is where beginners slip, so it is worth an extra ten minutes.
The same sentence in both alphabets
| Latinica | Ћирилица | English |
|---|---|---|
| Čitam naglas svaki dan po pet minuta. | Читам наглас сваки дан по пет минута. | I read aloud for five minutes every day. |
| Ćirilica se uči brže nego što izgleda. | Ћирилица се учи брже него што изгледа. | Cyrillic is learned faster than it seems. |
| Ova reč se piše kao što se izgovara. | Ова реч се пише као што се изговара. | This word is written as it is pronounced. |
| Prepoznajem slova, sada mi treba brzina. | Препознајем слова, сада ми треба брзина. | I recognise the letters, now I need speed. |
| U knjizi su oba pisma jedno pored drugog. | У књизи су оба писма једно поред другог. | In the book both scripts are side by side. |
Listen and follow with your finger
Play the recording and follow the Cyrillic text with your finger, not your eyes alone. Hearing the sound at the exact moment you see the letter is what builds the link. After a week of ten minutes a day, the letters stop being a puzzle and become reading.
Write it in Cyrillic
Write each sentence in the Latin alphabet, then transliterate it into Cyrillic yourself — letter by letter, without looking at the key.
- I am reading a book in Serbian.
- The Cyrillic script is not difficult.
- Every letter has one sound.
- I practise for ten minutes.
- Read this sentence aloud.
Answers for the Cyrillic reading practice
| English | Latinica | Ћирилица |
|---|---|---|
| I am reading a book in Serbian. | Čitam knjigu na srpskom. | Читам књигу на српском. |
| The Cyrillic script is not difficult. | Ćirilica nije teška. | Ћирилица није тешка. |
| Every letter has one sound. | Svako slovo ima jedan glas. | Свако слово има један глас. |
| I practise for ten minutes. | Vežbam deset minuta. | Вежбам десет минута. |
| Read this sentence aloud. | Pročitaj ovu rečenicu naglas. | Прочитај ову реченицу наглас. |