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Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Learn about Serbian Verbs with Children's Songs

Serbian for children , Serbian for kids
Learn about Serbian Verbs with Children's Songs
Another great song which all the devojčice i dečaci sing is "Ivin voz" by Dragan Laković . It's also perfect to introduce a complex lexical system of the Serbian verb (which mirrors English phrasal verbs as well as perfectve /imperfective aspects ) :



The Cyrillic script version:
Ћиху, Ћиху, ћиху-ху...

 Из куће је излетео на улицу Ива
сав задихан захуктао к'о локомотива.

 Видели га другови, па за њим и они
потрчали, захуктали к'о прави вагони.

 Ћиху, Ћиху, ћиху-ху...

 Сад улицом тако јури та чудна колона
то воз Ивин путује са седам вагона.

 The Latin script version:
Ćihu, Ćihu, ćihu-hu...

Iz kuće je izleteo na ulicu Iva
sav zadihan zahuktao k'o lokomotiva.

Videli ga drugovi, pa za njim i oni
potrčali, zahuktali k'o pravi vagoni.

Ćihu, Ćihu, ćihu-hu...

Sad ulicom tako juri ta čudna kolona
to voz Ivin putuje sa sedam vagona.
Interesting verb lexicology:

  • leteti = to fly, IZleteti = to fly out of 
  • huktati = to make a sound like a to train (figuratively: to complain) , ZAhuktati se  = to gather speed (for a train, or when doing something)
  • trčati = to run, POtrčati = to start running
An exercise covering this topic can be found on this SerbianLesson.com page.


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Monday, September 23, 2013

Describing People in Serbian - Age

describing people , Serbian language 365
Describing People in Serbian - Age
In part one of this short series of blog posts on how to describe a person in Serbian, I'll cover just how to describe someone's age, and give you lots of sample sentences, so you can try to describe people in the photo below, focusing on their age ( and a little bit on clothes ):

Godište = Age

  • beba  = baby
  • dete =  child
  • dete koje je tek prohodalo = toddler
  • dečko = boy
  • devojčica = girl
  • tinejdžer = teenager 
  • mladić = young man (short "a")
  • devojka = young woman 
  • omladina = youth
  • čovek u zrelim godinama = middle-aged man
  • žena u zrelim godinama = middle-aged woman 
  • stariji čovek / žena = elderly man/ woman
  • ... ima dvadeset pet godina =... is 25 
  • ...ima tridesetak godina = ... is thirty something
  • ...ima oko četrdeset godina = ... is about forty
  • ...ima pedeset i kusur = ... is fifty odd.
  • ... je u (svojim) ranim / kasnim dvadesetim = ... is in (her /his) early / late twenties

Primeri = Examples
Na ovoj slici vidim puno ljudi koji su različitog godišta. S desne strane vidim devojčicu u  ružičastoj suknji i majici, a pored nje je srednjovečni čovek  sa kapom. Ispred njih sedi žena plave kose i proćelavi muškarac, koji deluju kao par u zrelim godinama. Pored njih, s leve strane su dve žene u kasnim dvadesetim. Jedna ima belu majicu bez rukava i crne bermude, a druga nosi ljubičastu majicu bez rukava i plave pantalone. Iza njih s leve strane sedi žena u crvenoj majici kratkih rukava koja ima pedesetak godina i  iza nje je verovatno njen suprug, koji je isto stariji čovek. Pored nje sedi  dečko koji ima oko devet ili deset godina. Oni su na nekom slavlju ili događaju i uglavnom su tu deca ili ljudi u zrelim godinama. Ne vidim uopšte tinejdžere.
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Saturday, September 21, 2013

Best Sites for Learning Serbian

Serbian language 365 , sites for learning Serbian
Best Sites for Learning Serbian
In order to persevere with learning the Serbian language you have to be proactive in finding fun and quality material on the internet. In the morning you can work on more demanding materials, such as :

and in the evenings always flick through some easy, fun and relaxing stuff :
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Thursday, September 19, 2013

The Meaning of the Verb "slagati se " in Serbian

reflexive verbs in Serbian , Serbian language 365
The Meaning of the Verb "slagati se " in Serbian
Slažu se kao pas i mačka :)
The verb "slagati se" imperf.(with first "a" being long) /"složiti se" perf.  = to agree * can have a range of different meanings in Serbian and we're going to discuss them today, because I'll need it for my next lesson about Serbian history.

  • If two colours match, we say "slažu se". For example: Plava se slaže sa žutom, ali se ne slaže sa crvenom (slagati se = to match)
  • If a brother and sister get on/along with each other, we say "oni se slažu". For example: Baš imaš sreće, tvoj  brat i ti se dobro slažete. (You are rally lucky, your brother and you get along very well)
  • If you agree to go out with your friend, you will say: "slažem se". For example: Hoćeš li da idemo u restoran večeras ? Važi, slažem se! (Would you like to go to a restaurant tonight ? OK, I agree!)
  • If two people are at each other's throats, i.e." fight like cat(s) and dog(s)" you can similarly describe it in Serbian as "slažu se kao pas i mačka"!
The simple present tense conjugations of the verb SLAGATI:
(Sg) Slažem se - slažeš se - slaže se  (Pl) Slažemo se - slažete se - slažu se 

The past tense verb forms 
- Imperfective aspect: 
( _ denotes the auxiliary "to be" which shows which person is the sentence referring to)
(Sg) M slagao _ se, F slagala _ se, N slagalo _  se
(Pl) M slagali _ se , F slagale _ se, N slagala _ se
- Perfective aspect:

( _ denotes the auxiliary "to be" which shows which person is the sentence referring to)
(Sg) M složio _ se, F složila _ se, N složilo _  se
(Pl) M složili _ se , F složile _ se, N složila _ se


The simple future forms:
- Imperfective aspect: 
(Sg) Slagaću se - slagaćeš se - slagaće se
(Pl) Slagaćemo se - slagaćete se - slagaće se
- Perfective aspect:
(Sg) Složiću se - složićeš se - složiće se
(Pl) Složićemo se - složićeš se - složiće se

* You might also find the word "slagati" which means "to lie", but the stress pattern is different (with the first  "a" being short) and there is no reflexive " se".
** You might also find the word "slagati" with the same  stress pattern as "slagati se" (to agree), but without the reflexive "se". In that case, the verb "slagati" means "to stack things" or " to put things in order" 
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Monday, September 16, 2013

How to Pronounce Serbian "LJ" ?

lj , Serbian language 365
How to Pronounce Serbian "LJ" ?
For learners of Serbian as a foreign language often times it's difficult to pronounce the Serbian sound "LJ" or "Љ" correctly. That's because some students tend to pronounce "L" and then "J" separately. If you'd like to make your pronunciation of "lj" perfect, follow these steps:

  1. Try to say "L", as in English word "love". Where is your tongue ? Up or down ?
  2. Try to say "J", as in English word "yes". Where is your tongue ? Up or down ?
  3. Right, so you noticed that in "L" the tongue is up, just behind your upper  teeth, while with "J", the tongue is down. If you want to say "lj" correctly, the tongue mustn't move from the upward position downwards, because it's one sound.
  4. Now, keep your  tongue as if you want to pronounce "J" as in "yes", because it's the right tongue position for the perfect "lj", and at the same time try to pronounce "L", WITHOUT raising your tongue upwards. What happens ? Did you hear your first "lj" ? Now keep practising !
Keep your tongue low, as if you want to pronounce "J" (as in "yes") sound, but say "L" (as in "love")

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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
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