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?

Very popular "Državni posao" series are perfect for highly advanced Serbian lessons. One can learn a lot of common Serbian phrases and expressions.  The fun part is to detect mistakes made by famous Đorđe Čvarkov, Dragan Torbica and Boškić (e.g. "lapsitops" instead of "laptop" or "Jututu" instead of "Jutjub").

Let's watch just the first three minutes and try to do the following tasks:

Task 1: Tick the phrases you hear

• Do juče se nisam brinuo
• To je samo fol
• Digneš narod na noge 
• Prazne duše
• Bez i zrna energije, bez i zrna poleta
• I ne bi se digli
• Pogledajte šta nam rade
• Za mnogo manje sitnice
• Nikom ništa
• Mož' misliti
• Čime se ti baviš
• Ukinuli seriju
• To je neka mutna radnja
• Ako nisu umešali prste 
• Imao (seriju) pa nemao
• Nije to bilo koja serija
• Neko će odgovarati
• Nema milosti

a. Da li je Dragan Torbica mislio da je ukidanje serije istina ili ne?
b. Da li Đorđe Čvarkov misli da je narod u depresiji, ili pun energije?
c. Koje reči je Boškić čuo kada je ušao u kancelariju?
d. Na koje tekuće probleme je Boškić mislio kada je pričao o "dizanju naroda"?
e. Ko se čudi Boškiću?
f. Ko objašnjava u čemu je problem i kojim rečima?

If you're learning Serbian, you'll surely need these commonly used phrases (on a daily basis LOL):

• Ostaviti (nekoga) na miru = Leave (someone) alone (e.g. ostavi me na miru! = leave me alone)
• Poludeću = I'll go crazy
• Učiniću sve da + present tense = I'll do everything to...
• Možda i grešim = maybe I'm mistaken
• Samo nebo zna koliko + phrase = (only) heaven knows how much ...

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.

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) 

Here comes a brand new video lesson with the verb "koristiti" or "to use". This verb is commonly followed by the Accusative case and you can practise using both singular and plural form of the nouns while watching this video:














This sounds very simple until you want to make more complicated sentences or to say what is useful to you (šta TI koristi?) and similar. That's why my next post will cover collocations and phrases with this verb used in many different contexts, similar to the previous ones.

It's true that it might be difficult to understand some of the Serbian phrases if pronounced quite fast and somewhat incomprehensibly, but the real challenge is surely how to respond appropriately!

That's why I recorded a new video lesson for you, which can be used at all levels (click stop when you are out of your depth). You can use it in different ways:

• To check how well you can understand fast speech, simply listen to the phrases and try to jot them down, without watching the video below!
• If it is too easy, try to hear the phrase and then respond to it, as fast as you can, without clicking the pause button.
• If you are not sure if you understood the phrases, play the video while watching it. 
• Now, if you are sure what all the phrases mean, try to respond to them, even try to write down/practice with your language partner, how you'd continue the conversation. 
• Have fun!

A student of mine suggested I could integrate practising the Cyrillic script into the grammar test video lessons. Let's give it a try today with the following lesson which is a part of Serbian 102 course:


As usual, the answer key will be here tomorrow :) For more Serbian phrases in Cyrillic with really slow pronunciation check out this course.

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 :

• lyrics of the song (tekst pesme) with the pretty literal translation
• exercise with the song which I made for my students :)

Here comes another listening comprehension for more proficient Serbian language learners, based on the following video:


Feel free to pause the video and try to answer the following questions:

1. Koliko Mićko ima godina ?
2. Šta se Mićku zapali i pukne ?
3. Koliko časova hemije mu treba ?
4. Zašto profesor hemije ne može da pomogne Mićku ?
5. Šta profesorka hemije predlaže sve vreme ?
6. Da li on sam upotrebljava ono što pravi ?
7. Ko je nepoverljiv prema Mićku ?
8. Koliko profesora hemije je Mićko do sada pozvao ? 
9. Odakle Mićko više ne izlazi ?

1. ...jel' tu spadaju travnate površine ?
2. ... malo sam nagoreo
3. ... i ja sam posle miran dva dana
4. Završio sam ja s hemijom !
5. ...ja ne bih to više čačkao
6. ...jer kad sam video u kom pravcu sve ovo ide, pravo da Vam kažem, šta mi drugo preostaje ?

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:

• Various meanings of the verb "nositi"
• Idioms and phrases - part 1
• Idioms and phrases - part 2

• 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:

• 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

d) Pas laje, vetar nosi 

or

e) No, svako vredjanje najvise govori o onome ko vredja.Psi laju,vetar nosi... (the first comment under the text)

• Plati pa nosi (or more a more modern rhyming version: plati pa klati):

Here come the second part of the idioms and phrases with the verb "nositi":

• Koja kokoš mnogo kokodače, malo jaja nosi = he who talks much, does little; the ass that brays most, eats least

• Nositi svoj krst = to bear one's own share of suffering; to bear one's cross

Example 3: Ivan Ivanović: “Svako nosi svoj krst!” (from WannaBeMagazine)

• Nositi se mišlju = to intend to do something; to toy with an idea

Example 5: Pošto moja naknada za održavanje trudnoće i dalje kasni (5 meseci), ja se nosim mišlju da u sledećoj trudnoći žešće zloupotrebim sistem, jer ovo zaista nema smisla. Idući put ću da otvaram i zatvaram bolovanje do 30 dana sve do 28 dana pred porođaj -- onda niko neće moći da me vuče za nos kao sada.  (from BeBac forum)

Example 6: "Ne nosim se mišlju da su gradjani Krusevca rasisti.Nasim gradom slobodno se krecu prpadnici svih manjna pa i oni koji se razlikuju po boji..." (from a FaceBook page)

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

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.

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

• Idi gde te (oči vode i) noge nose
• Pas laje, vetar nosi
• Plati pa nosi
• Nositi breme

This part is preparing you to practise word order with the words with the reflexive/impersonal pronoun "se". This time I've chosen only the verbs which are widely used when you talking about important life phases, so all the sentences in the videos will be in the Simple Past:

• roditi se = to be born
• školovati se = to be schooled
• upisati se (u školu / na fakultet) = to enrol (a school / university)
• zaposliti se = to start working / to get a job
• preseliti se = to move (to another city / country)
• kvalifikovati se (za) = to get qualified (for)
• venčati se = to get married

After publishing yesterday's post it struck me that you might not  be aware of the  meaning of the phrase "ravno mi je sve".That's why I chose the word RAVAN = flat / even / equal as the topic of today's post:

• nekome je sve ravno ( do Kosova )= it's all the same ; it makes no difference

I've recently received a very practical question : how to call for help in Serbian and  what to say in case of  an accident / theft and similar. So, let me give you a few ideas for three different topics, which hopefully you won't need at all:

• Policija / milicija (police)

1. Policajac (police officer)
2. Advokat (lawyer)
3. Prestup (violation)
4. Prekršaj (offence)
5. Zovite policiju ! (call the police)

• Prolbemi

1. Novčanik (wallet)
2. Lopov (thief)
3. Provalnik (burglar)
4. Izgubljene stvari (lost property)
5. Ukrasti (to steal)
6. Izgubiti (to lose)
7. Zaboraviti (to forget)
8. Zaboravio sam ključ (I forgot my key)
9. Izgubio sam ključ (I lost my key)
10. Neko mi je ukrao pare / novac (Somebody stole my money)
11. Upomoć ! (Help)

If you are wondering how I choose the topics for everyday blog posts, the answer is very simple: they are based on the questions my students ask me in our online lessons.

One of the recent ones was to list phrases with the verb "faliti", which can mean "to miss", "not to have", "to lack", but in some idioms it cannot be translated in such a simplistic manner:

• Šta fali ? = So what ? or What's wrong with that ? This phrase is often used to strongly disagree with someone who has a different point of view. Let me make up a short dialogue: 

Ana:   Nemoj piti tu vodu !
Pera:  Što ? Šta joj fali ????

• Fali joj/mu daska u glavi ! = To have a screw loose in one's head or Not to have all their marbles. 

Na primer: Šta ovaj bunca ? - Ma pusti ga!  Očigledno mu fali daska u glavi !

• Neće ti faliti ni dlaka s glave ! = Not a hair on your head will be harmed ! 

Na primer: Ne smeju ti ništa dok sam ja uz tebe! Ne brini, neće ti faliti ni dlaka s glave !

If you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comment box below ;-)

If you ever wondered how to warn someone in Serbian, let me give you a list of phrases, starting from the most formal ones:
Formal and semi-formal warnings:

• Dozvoli da te upozorim da ne + present (2nd person Sg. - with 2nd p. Pl, start with "Dozvolite da Vas upozorim...)
• Ono što ja ne bih nikako uradila je da + present (1st person Sg.)
• Ako me pitaš za savet, nikako nemoj da + present (2nd person Sg. - with 2nd p. Pl, start with "Ako me pitate za savet, nikako nemojTE da...)

If you need all these phrases written both in the Cyrillic and Latin script, pronounced slowly, check  Serbian phrases link.

In order to the following exercise easily, I'd suggest you flick through the previous posts on the topic of the Dative case in Serbian:

• verbs of movement
• an exercise with the verbs of movement
• a short explanation with examples

One of my favourite parts of a language lesson is when my students can speak in Serbian on their own. That's why I enjoy creating digital teaching materials to help them with visual prompts. Here comes one of my recent videos in the speaking practice series covering the topic of weather.

If you are not sure what vocabulary to use, here comes the list of the previous posts with:

• phrases with translation
• listening exercise 
• the video with pronunciation

So you can feel more confident to speak in Serbian while watching the video:



As you can see in the background there's a photo of a season, so you can make more complicated sentences like:

• U jesen obično pada kiša i tmurno je.
• U proleće retko pada sneg (because you can see the snow slide against the spring background). Obično je sunčano i ponekad je kišovito.

While there are so many useful tools to check your spelling / grammar / vocabulary / idioms / pronunciation ... for the English language, there are just a few such tools for Serbian (I listed them in the sidebar to the right and I (ir)regularly send them to all the Serbian Activator subscribers).

One of the most useful things a student need, starting from the pre-intermediate level is to know verb collocations. That's why I'll try to connect the verbs and nouns from the previous posts and write a list of the most common collocations for the verb "to see" (videti):

• Verbs and phrases commonly used after "to see"

• Words before "to see"

• Adverbs collocated with "to see"

1. + (ne)jasno (if a + is before the word, it means that the verb "videti" comes before that word. For example : videti + (ne)jasno = + (ne)jasno)
2. jedva + 
3. odjednom + (commonly in the past tense: odjednom sam video)
4. tačno + 
5. + kristalno-jasno
6. slabo +