Tic Tac Toe Serbian - Useful Phrases
Useful Phrases in Serbian
In this video lesson we are learning some most important phrases which will help us to keep speaking in Serbian:
- Šta znači ... ? = What does ... mean?
- Kako se kaže ...? = How do you say ...?
- Ne razumem = I don't understand
- Razumem = I understand
- Znam = I know
- Ne znam = I don't know
Exercises with Useful Phrases
You can also have fun printing the fun sheets I have created for you.
The phrases that keep a conversation alive
The most valuable phrases for a beginner are not greetings — they are the ones that let you stay in the conversation when you have understood only half of it. Šta znači…?, Kako se kaže…?, Ne razumem, Možete li da ponovite? Every one of them buys you another turn instead of ending the exchange.
Notice that Kako se kaže uses the impersonal se — literally how does one say — and that Šta znači takes the word in the nominative: Šta znači „prijatno“? Learn them as fixed blocks; nobody analyses them in the middle of a conversation.
Phrases for staying in the conversation
| Latinica | Ћирилица | English |
|---|---|---|
| Izvinite, možete li da ponovite? | Извините, можете ли да поновите? | Excuse me, could you repeat that? |
| Kako se to kaže na srpskom? | Како се то каже на српском? | How do you say that in Serbian? |
| Ne razumem, govorite malo sporije. | Не разумем, говорите мало спорије. | I do not understand, speak a little more slowly. |
| Šta znači reč „prijatno“? | Шта значи реч &бдqуо;пријатно&лдqуо;? | What does the word prijatno mean? |
| Znam tu reč, ali sam je zaboravila. | Знам ту реч, али сам је заборавила. | I know that word, but I have forgotten it. |
Practise them before you need them
These phrases are useless if you have to build them under pressure. Say each one aloud twenty times over a week until it comes out as a single block. The next time you get stuck in a real conversation, the phrase will be there and the conversation will continue.
Keep the conversation going
Write these phrases in Serbian and then say each one out loud twice, as one block. Latin and Cyrillic.
- I do not know that word.
- Could you write it down?
- What does this sentence mean?
- I understand now, thank you.
- Speak more slowly, please.
Answers for the useful phrases
| English | Latinica | Ћирилица |
|---|---|---|
| I do not know that word. | Ne znam tu reč. | Не знам ту реч. |
| Could you write it down? | Možete li to da napišete? | Можете ли то да напишете? |
| What does this sentence mean? | Šta znači ova rečenica? | Шта значи ова реченица? |
| I understand now, thank you. | Sada razumem, hvala. | Сада разумем, хвала. |
| Speak more slowly, please. | Govorite sporije, molim vas. | Говорите спорије, молим вас. |