Learn Serbian

Learning Serbian with exercises, video lessons and online courses

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Monday, February 17, 2020

Serbian 501 - Money Collocations


Common Money Collocations in Serbian

In this lesson we are expanding our vocabulary by learning the collocations about money. Let me list the verbs in both imperfective and perfective aspect, which commonly collocate with the word money (novac or pare)

  • Trošiti - potrošiti novac: to spend money
  • Pozajmljivati - pozajmiti  novac: to borrow/lend money
  • Davati - dati  novac: to give money
  • Štedeti - uštedeti  novac: to save money
  • Bacati - baciti  novac: to throw money away
  • Zarađivati - zaraditi  novac: to earn money
  • Dobijati - dobiti  novac: to get money
  • Skupljati - skupiti  novac: to raise money 

Practicing Money Collocations in Serbian

The common examples are in the following exercise: 


For more video lessons and exercises, check out my Patreon page. Thanks for supporting me!

Tuesday, February 04, 2020

Textbooks for Learning Serbian - Where are Kids?

My latest textbook is finally visible on Amazon :) I have created a video lesson for you, based on the first few pages. This is just an introduction in which you can practice one of the most commonly confused language chunks in Serbian:
  • I am going to ...  = idem u + accusative case e.g. idem u park - idem u prirodu
  • I am in / at = ja sam u/na + locative case e.g. ja sam u parku - ja sam u prirodi




As you can see, the page numbers are here and there, so you can learn the following phrases:

  • U gornjem desnom uglu = at the top right corner
  • U donjem levom uglu = at the bottom left corner
  • Na sredini = in the middle
This book also has all the letters (slova) of the Cyrillic alphabet hidden in it - all you have to do is look carefully. Once it was published it took me ages to find a few letters, they are hidden soooo well! The most important thing is that all 30 letters are in the book!

  • Koliko ste našli slova? 
  • Gde ste ih našli?
  • Koje slovo je bilo najteže naći?

Tuesday, January 21, 2020

Serbian 301 - Adjectives in Locative

Before we start working on Serbian adjective suffixes in the Locative case, let's listen to this beautiful song, where you'll get acquainted with one of the suffixes and learn it without thinking much about grammar:

U Novom Sadu,
u Novom Sadu hej
u Novom Sadu hej
ostadoh kraj tebe
(2x)


Ref. 2x
Oj Jelena oj Jelice
zagrli me, polubi me


Kraj tamburaša
i dobrog vina hej
u Novom Sadu hej
ostadoh zbog tebe
(2x)


Ref. 2x


Čim zora svane
i sunce grane hej
u Novom Sadu hej
šaljem ti poljubce.
(2x)


Ref. 2x


U Novom Sadu
u Novom Sadu hej
ostaću kraj tebe
moj slatki Anđele
(2x)
Ref. 2x

Now, let's try to do the following exercise:

Saturday, January 11, 2020

Exercises with Songs in Serbian - Serbian 701

Exercises with Songs in Serbian


What about practicing Serbian with this lovely, ancient song by Radmila Karaklajić? I think I was in love with this song at the age of three or four :D It helped me learn Serbian for sure, but also it would always cheer me up.  I hope it does the same for you.



Practicing Serbian with Songs

Make sure you change the speed in the settings (down on the right) - the perfect would be 0.75, but you can also opt for 0.5. 


Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Serbian 101 - International Vocabulary

Serbian 101 - International Vocabulary


This is a fun game for real beginners in Serbian. There is a list of international words which are commonly used in the Serbian language and I made a memory game with it. Have fun playing the game and asking each other questions:

1. "Kako se kaže ... na srpskom?" = How do you say ... in Serbian?
2. Šta znači ...? = What does ... mean?

 International Vocabulary

  • Telefon = telephone
  • Kafa = coffee
  • Auto = automobile (car)
  • Mobilni = mobile/cell phone
  • Taksi = taxi
  • Monitor = monitor
  • Kompjuter = computer 
  • Mikrofon = microphone
  • Đus = juice
  • Pica = pizza

Game with International Vocabulary in Serbian


Exercises with International Vocabulary in Serbian





Test with International Vocabulary in Serbian





Sunday, December 22, 2019

Listening Comprehension - Videos with Serbian Subtitles and Exercises

Videos with Serbian Subtitles and Exercises

Because there is such a lack of videos in Serbian with subtitles, I'll do my best to choose good ones, add the subtitles & translation and turn them into great learning resources. Let me start by sharing this fun video about Lepa Brena, a famous Serbian singer.  


Listening Comprehension - Text about Lepa Brena

Lepa Brena, Fahreta Živojinović, poznatija kao Lepa Brena,  jugoslovenko-srpska je folk, pop-folk i pop pevačica, poreklom iz Bosne i Hercegovine.  Njena popularnost u Jugoslaviji rasla je veoma brzo već od pojavljivanja u filmu "Tesna koža" postaje prepoznatljivo lice, veoma prisutno u medijima. Njen  šut u glavu, a potom i pad pamti cela Jugoslavija... i još jedan pad, i nećete verovati, još jedan. 

Google Translation with Mistakes in Bold

Lepa Brena, Fahreta Zivojinovic, known as Lepa Brena, is a Yugoslav-Serbian folk, pop-folk and pop singer, originally from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Her popularity in Yugoslavia grew very quickly already appeared in the movie "Tight Skin" becoming recognizable ears, very present in the media. Her shot to the head and then the fall is remembered by the whole of Yugoslavia ... and another pad, I won't believe it, another one.

Google Translation Corrected
Lepa Brena, Fahreta Zivojinovic, known as Lepa Brena, is a Yugoslav-Serbian folk, pop-folk and pop singer, originally from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Her popularity in Yugoslavia grew very quickly and since her appearance in the movie "Tight Skin" she became a recognizable face, very present in the media. Her kick to the head and then an epic fall is remembered by the whole of Yugoslavia ... and another fall, you won't believe it, and yet another one.

Video Lesson with Serbian Subtitles - Exercise





Video Lesson with Serbian Subtitles - Vocabulary 



Saturday, November 30, 2019

Serbian Reading Comprehension - Highly Advanced

Serbian Reading Comprehension 

Ovo je jedna vrlo vežba za koju vam nije dovoljno samo dobro poznavanje srpskog jezika, već i izuzetno izoštreni kriterijumi kritičnog mišljenja. Tema je veoma ozbiljna - brazilski orah.

Serbian Reading Comprehension - Highly Advanced


Pročitajte kratke tekstove na istu temu sa nekoliko sajtova i odgovorite na pitanja ispod.

TEKST A (izvor: BastaBalkana )



TEKST B (izvor: Mondo)



Advanced Serbian Exercise
TEKST C (izvor: B92)


Serbian reading comprehension


TEKST D (izvor:Ženars )



Serbian Reading Comprehension - Critical Thinking


  1. O kojoj biljci se radi?
  2. Zašto je ona korisna?
  3. Zašto je štetna?
  4. Koliki je maksimalan preporučen unos?
  5. Zašto ne treba jesti više od preporučene doze?
  6. Koji tekst vam najviše uliva poverenje?
  7. Koju preporuku biste poslušali i zašto?

Serbian Reading Comprehension - Your opinion

Zadatak - napišite kratak izveštaj na ovu temu navodeći činjenice i izvore i donesite sopstveni zaključak o preporučenoj dozi indijskog oraha.


Advanced Serbian - Srpski kao drugi jezik

Gde je ključ? Где је кључ? - Učimo srpski sa Marinom
Gde je ključ? ...
Where is the Key?-...
By Marina Petrović
Photo book