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Showing posts sorted by relevance for query serbian phrases. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query serbian phrases. Sort by date Show all posts

Monday, November 29, 2010

Listening Comprehension Exercise - Weather Phrases in Serbian

Jot down the Serbian phrases you hear:

Listen!

Sunday, January 22, 2017

How to Practice Serbian Pronouns in Instrumental

How to cope with all different forms of Serbian pronouns, in different cases and with all the different endings? Well, there are many different ways, starting with old-fashioned grammar learning;


to using them in phrases, without thinking about grammar at all. What I find really efficient, is to listen to Serbian songs and learn the pronouns in common phrases, by singing :)

Let me share with you the following song: Za Njom by S.A.R.S.



How to Practice Serbian Pronoun SHE in the Instrumental Case



Now that you have heard this song, sang along, and done the exercise, can you tell me which prepositions were there in front of "NJOM"?

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Learn Serbian Phrases with Beogradski Sindikat 1

I guess it is just the perfect time to learn a bunch of commonly used phrases and collocations in Serbian with a newly released song "Sistem te laže" by Beogradski sindikat.

I created a new kind of exercise, with dropdown suggested answers, so you don't need to write while listening to the song, but simply click on the option you hear. You can also try to do the exercise before listening to the song, in order to guess what's missing. 


Make sure you listen to the song once again, following the same lyrics in the Cyrillic script!

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Serbian Idioms and Phrases with Verb "nositi" - Part 3

This is the final part in the series of blog posts about the verb "nositi". The previous ones can be found on the following pages:

Today I am going to give you the explanations and various examples of the following phrases:

  • Što ga noge nose /  koliko me(te/ga/je/nas/vas/ih) noge nose = at full speed, as fast as possible = as fast as one's legs will carry one:

a) MREŽNI MARKETING, prevara ili ne - beži kud te noge nose !

or
b) Kakva greška ! Provocirao grupu navijača,  pa bežao kol'ko ga noge nose
  • Pas laje, vetar nosi = idle gossip should be disregarded = the dogs bark, but the caravan goes on; words and feathers the wind carries away; words are but wind
c) Pusti ti draga priče. Znas onu" PSI LAJU, KARAVANI PROLAZE !"?! Samo se ti smiri i slusaj lekare i sve ce biti u redu.
or
dPas laje, vetar nosi 
or
e) No, svako vredjanje najvise govori o onome ko vredja.Psi laju,vetar nosi... (the first comment under the text)
  • Idi gde te (oči vode i) noge nose = gubi mi se s očiju = idi mi s očiju (pej. nosi se) = get out of my sight, get lost, be off with you 
Examples from the internet sites:
fA FaceBook comment
or 
g) A folk song by Mira Škorić "Idi nek te noge nose" (lyrics)
  • Plati pa nosi (or more a more modern rhyming version: plati pa klati):
h) Naslov u tekstu o platnim karticama "Plati pa nosi"
or
 iTo su najobicniji lopovi. Svaka susa danas otvorila auto- skolu i kao poducava te. Plati pa se klati  (the penultimate comment)

And now the tasks for the more advanced /proficient learners of Serbian:

  1. Који од наведених примера комбинује две изреке, док носи значење само једне (на неки начин погрешно употребљено, али не омета разумевање) ?
  2. Који од наведених примера личи на превод енглеског идиома са истим значењем (што показује утицај енглеског због честих буквалних превода на медијима и Интернету )
  3.  Који од наведених примера је употребљен у букваном значењу, и уопште не носи идиоматско / пренесено значење ?

Tuesday, October 01, 2019

"Excuse me, where is..." - Serbian 101

One of the useful phrases when learning Serbian is IZIVINTE = ИЗВИНИТЕ = excuse me.

Excuse me, where is ... in Serbian


After this phrase, you have certainly attracted someone's attention, so you can ask a follow up question. Today we are practicing the phrase GDE JE = ГДЕ ЈЕ = where is?

How to pronounce IZVINITE, GDE JE in Serbian

  • Excuse me, where is the exit? = Izvinite, gde je izlaz? 

Let's practice the phrase "Excuse me, where is ..."  



After practicing with the Flashcards, you are ready to play and win :D





Thursday, October 05, 2017

Plural in Serbian - Video Exercise

Plural in Serbian

In this video exercise you can practice forming plural in Serbian and drilling it with the following phrases:

  • Da li je to banka?
  • Da li su to banke?
The explanation about the plural in Serbian can be found on the video or more detailed one, with exercises here.




More examples from the video:

The examples in the video are as follows:
1. banka - banke
2. prodavnica -. prodavnice
3. apoteka - apoteke
4. park - parkovi
5. trg - trgovi
6. muzej - muzeji
7. bioskop - bioskopi
8. pozorište - pozorišta
9. mesto - mesta

Friday, August 27, 2010

Public Signs in Serbian

Let's start from the most common ones:

улаз, ULAZ = entrance
излаз, IZLAZ = exit
улаз је слободан, ULAZ JE SLOBODAN = free admission
заузето, ZAUZETO = occupied
затворено, ZATVORENO = closed
отворено, OTVORENO = opened
дозвољено, DOZVOLJENO = allowed
забрањено,ZABRANJENO = forbidden
пушачи, PUŠAČI =  smokers
непушачи, NEPUŠAČI = non-smokers
мушки, MUŠKI (toalet) = gentlemen (toilet)
женски, ŽENSKI (toalet)= ladies
на продају, NA PRODAJU = for sale
соба за издавање, SOBA ZA IZDAVANJE = a room for rent
звонити, ZVONITI! = ring!
затварај врата, ZATVARAJ VRATA = close the door
не узнемиравај, NE UZNEMIRAVAJ = do not disturb
пази, PAZI! OPASNOST! = watch out! danger!
чувај се, ČUVAJ SE PSA = beware  of the dog!
стој, STOJ! = stand still!
тишина, TIŠINA = be silent
вуци, VUCI = pull
гурај, GURAJ = push
затвори врата, ZATVORI VRATA = close the door
не дирај, NE DIRAJ = do not touch! If you are never sure how to pronounce these words, you can hear the slow pronunciation in some of my videos on Youtube or Serbian Phrases Cyrillic version of the course.

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Easy Way to Learn Serbian Pronouns

In order to start speaking Serbian fluently, the best way to automatically recall the whole phrases and chunks of language is to listen to films and songs in Serbian (and  preferably sing along). For example, in the chorus of this song you can hear the following phrase over and over again:
Nije za nju, nije za nju ...za nju je ...
and I bet you won't make any mistakes in the future if you want simply to say:
  • ...for her = ...za nju
  • ... isn't for her = ... nije za nju 


On these pages you can find the :
...and don't forget to make the most of the first Serbian with Songs free e-book!

Sunday, February 09, 2014

How to Use to Use in Serbian :)

One of the ways to express that you "use" something or something is "useful" in Serbian is to learn all the speech parts of the verb #koristiti, which is connected with our previous post with Present Simple conjugations.

If you use it as a verb: KORISTITI, možete ga koristiti kroz različita vremena i oblike:
  • Present Simple conjugations: koristim- koristiš- koristi // koristimo-koristite-koriste (For example: Koji program koristiš za obradu slika? Koristim "Paint", ali mi se ne sviđa. Da li si video Miletove fotografije? On sigurno koristi nešto drugo!)
  • Radni glagolski pridev - the form used in Past Simple: koristio-koristila-koristilo//koristili-koristile-koristila (e.g. Ma i Mile je koristio "Paint", ali je išao na neki kurs gde su svi koristili "Korel", pa je i on naučio da radi u njemu... a i ja sa njim, tako da sada koristimo isti program.)
  • Trpni glagolski pridev - the form which equals the Past Participle in English, used either in the Passive or as an adjective: korišćen-korišćena-korišćeno//korišćeni-korišćene-korišćena (e.g. Šta je korišćeno pri izradi? ) as well as korišten-korištena-korišteno//korišteni-korištene-korištena
  • Always check this great Logos Conjugator when searching for Serbian verb conjugations!
If you use it as an adjective: KORIStAN. Here are a few examples
  • Ovaj savet je koristan = The advice is very useful.
  • Čuo sam veoma korisnu priču = I heard a very useful story:


If you use it as a noun: KORIST = benefit, or KORIŠĆENJE (upotreba) = use.

Here comes a list of clever thoughts (mudre misli) with this noun - check the link. Meni je najkorisnija i najzabavnija bila ova: (To me the most useful and funniest was this one)
Čovjeku koji je intelektualno viši od drugih, samoća pruža dvogubu korist; prvu, što je sam, i drugu, što nije s drugima :)))) 
Here are a few interesting common phrases and idioms with koristiti & korist:
  • Gde se dvojica svađaju, treći se koristi (verb=glagol) = two dogs strive for a bone, and a third runs away with it (similar to "zavadi pa vladaj" = divide and rule, which is more often used)
  • Izvući korist iz nečega =  to turn sometning to good account (Moj prijatelj iz svake situacije izvuče korist )
  • Raditi u korist nečega =in favour of someone, to someone's benefit/advantage (Sud je doneo presudu u našu korist) 
For more similar posts, check out the "Serbian Collocations" tag

Saturday, May 07, 2016

Aspect in Serbian with Verbs Describing House Chores

How to Practice Aspect in Serbian?

When talking about aspect in Serbian, I must admit it is best learnt by using the phrases in everyday situations. A good example is a set of the most frequently used verbs when talking about house chores:


Imperfective vs. Perfective Aspect in Serbian  

  • Prati / oprati sudove = to be washing / to wash the dishes
  • Raspremati / raspremiti = to be tidying up / to tidy up
  • Usisati / usisavati = to be hoovering / to hoover
  • Čistiti / (p)očistiti = to be cleaning / to clean
  • Brisati / obrisati = to be wiping / to wipe
  • Kuvati / skuvati = to be cooking / to cook
  • Pržiti / ispržiti = to be frying / to fry
  • Peći / ispeći = to be baking / to bake
  • Peglati / opeglati = to be ironing / to iron


Saturday, June 08, 2013

Conditionals in Serbian - Video Exercise

Monday, November 24, 2014

Short Serbian History - Part One

This year I have discovered three real gems for learning Serbian at higher levels:
As I have already written about Naša Snajka and Državni Posao, let me introduce you to  "Mala istorija Srbije" series which present Serbian tradition and history in a didactic and lively manner. For example, while watching the first episode you can learn:



  • until what time it is safe to greet someone saying "dobro jutro"
  • what "stalni gosti" usually drink
  • what "srpski političar" looks like
  • the connotation of the word "stoka"
  • who can save you on February 24th



Now, how can you learn Serbian while watching these videos?




  1. At first turn off the audio and describe what's going on
  2. When watching the video for the second time, do listen to it and ask as many questions as possible (of course, press pause in order to manage this!). So, the aim is to understand what's going on!
  3. Retell the story using the phrases and vocabulary used by Milena, Lane, Vlasta, Vasić and Žika
Have fun! 

Tuesday, September 29, 2020

Serbian 701 - ZA Prefix in Context

 Another fun lesson from Serbian 701 Online Course, based on the following video:

Serbian 701 - Speaking Practice


1. Firstly, you can simply watch the video without listening, trying to guess what might be happening by using the following phrases: 

    a. sigurno 
    b. verovatno 
    c. možda 

Serbian 701 - Listening Comprehension


2. Next, you can now watch the video again from the same second and try to figure out what each interviewee says about their favorite football team. O čemu pričaju?

    a. Za koji tim oni navijaju? 
    b. Odakle su?
    c. Kako su zavoleli ovaj tim?

ZA Prefix in Context


3. Finally, let's compare how the following verbs are used

    a. voleti - zavoleti 
Volim ovaj fudbalski tim. Zavolela sam ih kad sam bila prvi put na njihovoj utakmici. 
    b. čuditi se - začuditi se
Čudim se tvom izboru fudbalskog tima, posebno sam se začudila kad sam videla da tim nije iz Srbije.
    c. grejati se - zagrejati se 
Nikad se nismo grejali na plin, koristimo samo centralno grejanje. 
Kad si se zagrejao baš za tu kompjutersku igricu? 
    d. misliti - zamisliti
Nikad nisam mislio da ću navijati za Liverpul! Zamisli mene pre pet godina, nisam ni znao gde je Liverpul, ni šta je fudbal :D
    e. početi - započeti
Kada počinješ da se spremaš za utakmicu? Hajde, nemoj gnjaviti...kad nešto započneš, to i završi!

Sunday, December 13, 2020

Serbian 201 - Past Tense vs Present Tense


Our topic today is a lesson from Serbian 201 course. I added one more exercise to the course and I am sure you will enjoy practicing useful phrases through  various games:




Serbian 201 - Talking about Work, Vocabulary



Talking about Work, Game




Serbian 201, Work Vocabulary,  Quiz




Saturday, February 27, 2016

Most Common Phrases in Serbian

Common Phrases when Saying Goodnight


Here comes a fun commercial which is great for you to practice authentic language, especially the word "laku noć" = goodnight,  you'll see why :)



I couldn't resist creating a short exercise based on it! Simply pull the words listed above to the appropriate gaps.

Common Phrases Task - Saying Goodnight in Serbian


Tuesday, October 08, 2013

Serbian Idioms and Phrases with Verb "nositi" - Part 1

If you enjoyed reading the previous post about different meanings of the verb " nositi " in Serbian, I am sure you'll find this list of common phrases and idioms with the same verb quite interesting :

  • Vreme nosi svoje (breme) / sve u svoje vreme (а)= everything is good in its season
The examples are from the various internet sites:
Svako vreme nosi svoje breme koje ga karakteriše i identifikuje. To breme ga u isto vreme razlikuje i čini sličnim prethodnim epohama. Tako i dvadeset prvi vek, poput svojih prethodnika, donosi pregršt pitanja, problema i nedoumica, stavlja ih pred savremenog čoveka kao izazove, kao svojevrsne zadatke koje ovaj treba da reši.
ili
Vreme nosi svoje. Sedamdesetih godina ljudi su se najviše družili sa gitarom i ljudsko uho je bilo neverovatno naklonjeno zvuku tog angažovanog pesničkog izražavanja uz gitaru koja nije tražila nikakva elektronska pomagala.
  • Nositi glavu u torbi (б)= to live in constant danger, to tempt fate, to stick one's neck out. For example: 
Uprkos visokoj sigurnosti bolida Formule 1 i staza, piloti najbržeg cirkusa na svetu ne smatraju se bez razloga najhrabrijim sportistima današnjice koji, iz trke u trku, nose glavu u torbi.
ili
Oni nose glavu u torbi da bi mi bili sigurni. 
  • Zaklati gusku/koku koja nosi zlatna jaja (в) = to destroy a source of income, to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. For example:
Šta god da se priča, malo je verovatno da će kineski vodji ubiti "koku koja nosi zlatna jaja", odnosno odustati od 9,5 procenata godišnjeg ekonomskog rasta od 1979.
ili
...ova vlada ce nam dati svakome gusku koja nosi zlatna jaja samo da dobiju izbore,a ako dobiju ostaje nam samo perje od guske jer i guska i jaja odose...
  • Nositi zmiju u nedrima & Gajiti guju u nedrima (г) = to befriend a treacherous person, to nurse a viper in one's bosom. For example:
p.s. ovo na dobro ne može da ispadne ima iz istorije poznata epioda koja je sažeta u sintagmi "gajiti zmiju u nedrima Rima"! Taj datum ama baš ništa neće značiti, ja malo pratim medije, i trovanje naroda ponovo ušlo u 4 brzinu.
or
Above the title: "Zmija" u nedrima vlasti 

As you have noticed I added the examples ranging from current affairs articles, folk songs to ordinary people's comments, just to show that these idioms are frequently used. Since there is a list of eight more phrases with the verb "nositi", I'll divide this post into three parts in order to give you as many examples as possible.

Ако учите српски већ дуже време и већ сте на напредном нивоу, сигурно ће вам се свидети вежба да за сваки пример дате различито значење речи "носити" из претходног поста. На пример значење речи "носити", у примеру  а,  је исто као и у примеру б, док је различито од значења у примерима в и г :)

Part 2:
  • Ne zna se šta nosi dan, a šta no
  • Koja kokoš mnogo kokodače, malo jaja nosi
  • Nositi svoj krst
  • Nositi se mišlju
Part 3:
  • Idi gde te (oči vode i) noge nose
  • Pas laje, vetar nosi
  • Plati pa nosi
  • Nositi breme

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

How to pronounce letters in Serbian

While teaching Serbian to speakers of other languages, I noticed that different students have different pronunciation problems with certain Serbian sounds/phonemes. In order to practise together, let's make most of this lovely online learning tool, where you can simply listen to me and other students pronouncing certain words or phrases.

You will always be able to access the recordings from this site and to add your short replies. Let's practise together:

Intro :
* Introduce yourself like this:

Zdravo, ja sam ______. Ja sam _______. Imam _______godina. Živim u _________u/i.


(Hi, I am .... I am a ... I am ... I live in ...)

Pronunciation:

*Ć - ću, ćeš, će, ćemo, ćete, će (= will)

*Č - čekaj (wait) čuvaj se (take care) čitaj (read)


*Š - šutni (kick) šališ se? (are you kidding?) šta? (what?)

*C - cev (pipe), car (tzar) cvet (flower)


*S - sve (all), svet (world), sutra (tomorrow)


*Đ - đak (pupil, student), đavo (devil), Đorđe (name)

*DŽ -džaba (for free, worthless), džemper (jumper, cardigan), džin (giant)


*NJ - njiva (field), Anja (Anya), šaliti se (to make/tell jokes)


*LJ - ljuljaška (swing), ljubav (love), biljka (plant)

*H - hrčak (hamster), hleb (bread), hladno (cold)

Friday, June 17, 2011

Questions About Daily Routines - Phrases in Serbian

When = Kada
Daily routines in Serbian:

1. Kada se budiš ?
2. Kada se umivaš ?
3. Kada doručkuješ ?
4. Kada pereš zube ?
5. Kada se oblačiš ?
6. Kada ideš na posao / u školu ?
7. Kada se vraćaš sa posla / iz škole ?
8. Kada ručaš ?
9. Kada učiš srpski ?
10. Kada radiš domaći ?
11. Kada gledaš TV?
12. Kada večeraš ?
13. Kada se šetaš ?
14. Kada trčiš ?
15. Kada se viđaš sa prijateljima ?
16. Kada se tuširaš ?
17. Kada čitaš knjigu ?
18. Kada ideš da spavaš ?

* Additional Exercise about Daily Routines in Serbian

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Serbian Fun Expressions and Idioms

In one of my more advanced Serbian lessons there came up a few expressions which I wanted to share with you today. I will copy-paste a part of the text about Jeremija, with whom you can learn Serbian from the very start.  I'll list the tasks below this short excerpt:

Jeremija je bio veoma srećan tog jutra, jer je bio potpuno siguran da će dobiti povišicu na poslu. Njegov šef je u nekoliko navrata natuknuo Jeremiji da će od sledećeg meseca omastiti brk, kao i da je to potpuno zaslužio. Jeremija se pravio lud i uspešno se uzdržavao da ne vuče šefa za rukav i postavlja dodatna pitanja. Bio je svestan da sve što bude dobio jeste rezultat njegovog sopstvenog rada i da nije jednostavno palo s neba. Posebno mu je bilo milo što ovaj put nije morao da se kiti tuđim perjem. Njegova zasluga je bila očigledna. Kada je tog jutra stigao na posao i otvorio svoju kancelariju, imao je šta da vidi. Na stolu je stajao potpuno nov kompjuter i pored njega još noviji mobilni, a šef je sav sijao od sreće! "Šta sam ti rekao? Borio sam za tebe kao vučica... i izborio sam se! Najnoviji model? Hm? Šta kažeš?" Jeremija nije morao da se pretvara - na njegovom licu se videlo da su mu sve lađe potonule... Bio je 100% siguran da će dobiti veću platu, a sada mu je postalo jasno da je ostao kratkih rukava! Šta će mu sada Spomenka reći?
Right, now there are three tasks for you:
  1. The easiest task: Can you find the synonyms for these words in the text:
  • drago
  • aludirao
  • apsolutno
  • pravi
  • narednog
  • jako
  • blesav
  • totalno
  • puta
  • shvatio
  • sasvim
  • samo
     2. The more difficult task: which phrases and idioms mean:
  • down in the dumps/ in the doldrums
  • fight like a wolf
  • to be absolutely certain about something
  • keep asking for something
  • get a raise
  • take an advantage of something
  • to deck oneself in  borrowed finery
  • to get the worst of a bargain/ to come away empty-handed
     3. The most difficult task: what will Spomenka say to him when he arrives back home? Try to come      up with a suitable idiom or expression. Let me help you with a few ideas, and you try to guess                which ones are the most appropriate:
  • ko drugome jamu kopa sam u nju upada
  • svako nosi svoj krst
  • nema ti ravna
  • prvo skoči pa reci hop
  • nije zlato sve što sija
  • ko rano rani dve sreće grabi
  • doterao je cara do duvara
  • poklonu se u zube ne gleda



Thursday, February 22, 2018

Five Minute Serbian - B2 Level

Five Minute Serbian without grammar course I am currently creating is just the first one in the series.  During the past month I've created structure for 20 such courses covering different topics, and each covers various structures and commonly used phrases from A1 to C2 level. 
The first course is almost finished, and yesterday you could see the first two levels A1 and A2. Today, I want to share with you lesson 1 at B2 level. 
In this lesson you will learn the following structures:


  1. KADA VREME BUDE LEPO - WHEN THE WEATHER IS FINE
  2. KADA - WHEN
  3. KADA VREME BUDE LEPO, IĆI ĆU U ŠETNJU - WHEN THE WEATHER IS FINE, I’LL GO FOR A WALK
  4. AKO - IF
  5. AKO VREME BUDE LOŠE - IF THE WEATHER IS BAD
  6. AKO VREME BUDE LOŠE, IĆI ĆU AUTOM - IF THE WEATHER IS BAD, I’LL GO BY CAR
  7. VETROVITO - WINDY
  8. AKO BUDE VETROVITO, IĆI ĆU VOZOM - IF IT IS WINDY, I’LL GO TRAIN
  9. PRAVITI ROĐENDAN - TO THROW A BIRTHDAY PARTY
  10. AKO BUDEM PRAVILA ROĐENDAN - IF I THROW A BIRTHDAY PARTY fem. (I-fem.)
  11. AKO BUDEM PRAVIO ROĐENDAN - IF I THROW A BIRTHDAY PARTY (I-masc)
  12. AKO BUDEM PRAVILA ROĐENDAN, POZVAĆU TE - IF I fem. THROW A BIRTHDAY PARTY, I’LL INVITE YOU (you - sg)
  13. AKO BUDEM PRAVIO ROĐENDAN, POZVAĆU VAS - IF I masc. THROW A BIRTHDAY PARTY, I’LL INVITE YOU (you-pl)
  14. KAKO BI REKLI "... "? - HOW WOULD YOU SAY...?

Five Minute Serbian - B2

1. Video lesson  https://youtu.be/LVI-IdZyUpc  
2. Video lesson without my voice   https://youtu.be/GxGGXvIEz5I  
3. Quizlet exercises:
Hope you like it! Looking forward to your feedback :)

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