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Learning Serbian with exercises, video lessons and online courses

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Thursday, February 06, 2014

Verb Conjugations in Serbian - koristiti

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.

Monday, February 03, 2014

Revising Serbian Phrases

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!

Monday, January 27, 2014

Serbian Slava Sveti Sava

Friday, January 10, 2014

Serbian Pronunciation Practice with Đ and DŽ

If you started learning Serbian and you are confused as to what might be the difference between DŽ and Đ sounds, let me help you by taking you through these five steps:

Step 1
Which of these two sounds is softer to your ear ? 
Dž/dž (or Џ џ  in Cyrillic)

or 

Đ / đ (or in Cyrillic script: Ђ ђ)?

Step 2: If you don't hear ANY difference, let me tell you that the sound Đ is much softer than DŽ.
*You'll get this sound to be softer, i.e. produce Đ, by pressing the tongue onto the lower teeth. Repeat "đ" several times and feel the tongue low, behind the teeth, touching them.

*To get the harsh "DŽ" curl your tongue behind the upper teeth, slightly above them. You'll notice that the sound becomes less soft as you raise your tongue upwards. (even curling it backwards). Now repeat it several times.

Step 3: Try to contrast the soft Đ with harsh DŽ, paying attention to the tongue position and listening to yourself. Can you hear the difference ?

Now it's time to practise with minimal pairs and not-so-minimal pairs, because there aren't that many words with Đ and DŽ:

Step 4:
Listen and repeat:
  • đak              džak
  • leđa             odžak
  • đinđuva       dživdžan
  • ceđenje        karakondžula
  • đubre           dželat
  • đurđevak     džanarika
  • đakonije      džangrizalo
  • đavo            džem
  • đevrek         džemper

Step 5:
Encircle the word you hear me say:
  1. đubre     džak        đak           odžak
  2. đevrek   džaba       đavo         džem
  3. džoker   đon          džomba     đozluci
  4. džudo    đevrek     džukela     đuveč
  5. ceđenje  dživdžan  đinđuva    dželat  
For more pronunciation practice visit the previous blog posts tagged "pronunciation in Serbian"

Monday, January 06, 2014

Serbian Christmas Customs and Songs

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Happy Holidays !

Thursday, December 19, 2013

About St Nicholas and Krsna Slava in Serbian

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Let's Practice Serbian Cyrillic Script - Answer to Part 2

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Let's Practice Serbian Cyrillic Script - Part 2

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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