Languages · Српски
Video Chat with Serbian Speakers
To practice Serbian with native speakers on Omlet, choose Serbia with the country filter and press Start. You'll be on a free 1-on-1 video chat with someone there, no sign-up needed, and real conversation is one of the best ways to get used to Serbian's lively rhythm and everyday expressions.
Serbian (српски / srpski) is the official language of Serbia and one of the official languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina; it also has official status in Kosovo and is spoken by communities across Europe and beyond. It's unusual in being written in two alphabets, Cyrillic and Latin, and both are in everyday use.
Omlet's interface is in English and it doesn't match people by language, so you practice by filtering by country or by asking whoever you meet. The phrases below are shown in Cyrillic and Latin, with an English-style pronunciation guide.
Where people speak Serbian
Serbian (Српски) is an official language in 3 countries and territories. To meet people from one of them, pick it with the country filter.
Useful Serbian phrases for video chat
Short, natural phrases you can use in your first minute on camera. The pronunciation is a simple English-style guide; stressed syllables are in capitals.
| English | Serbian | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Hi! | Здраво! / Zdravo! | ZDRAH-voh |
| Good day (formal hello) | Добар дан! / Dobar dan! | DOH-bar DAHN |
| How are you? | Како си? / Kako si? | KAH-koh see |
| My name is … | Зовем се … / Zovem se … | ZOH-vem seh |
| Nice to meet you. | Драго ми је. / Drago mi je. | DRAH-goh mee yeh |
| Where are you from? | Одакле си? / Odakle si? | OH-dahk-leh see |
| I'm learning Serbian. | Учим српски. / Učim srpski. | OO-cheem SRP-skee |
| Can you speak more slowly? | Можеш ли да говориш спорије? / Možeš li da govoriš sporije? | MOH-zhesh lee dah GOH-voh-reesh SPOH-ree-yeh |
| How do you say … in Serbian? | Како се каже … на српском? / Kako se kaže … na srpskom? | KAH-koh seh KAH-zheh … nah SRP-skom |
| What do you do for work? | Чиме се бавиш? / Čime se baviš? | CHEE-meh seh BAH-veesh |
| I don't understand. | Не разумем. / Ne razumem. | neh rah-ZOO-mem |
| What time is it there? | Колико је сати код тебе? / Koliko je sati kod tebe? | KOH-lee-koh yeh SAH-tee kod TEH-beh |
| Thanks for the chat! | Хвала на разговору! / Hvala na razgovoru! | HVAH-lah nah RAHZ-goh-voh-roo |
| See you! Bye! | Видимо се! Ћао! / Vidimo se! Ćao! | VEE-dee-moh seh! CHOW |
Tips for practicing Serbian on video chat
- Learn both alphabets early. Latin gets you chatting and typing right away, and Cyrillic is quicker to learn than it looks, because each letter always stands for the same sound.
- Read words exactly as they're written. Serbian spelling is phonetic, so there are no silent letters to memorize.
- Use ti with people your age and Vi with someone older or in a formal moment: Kako si? is casual, Kako ste? is polite.
- Watch for r acting as a vowel in words like srpski and prst (finger). Roll it slightly and don't add an extra vowel before it.
- When someone says Prijatno!, they're wishing you a pleasant time; you'll hear it when people part ways and before meals. A friendly reply is "Hvala, takođe" (thanks, you too).
Two alphabets, one language
Serbian is one of the few languages regularly written in two alphabets. Cyrillic (ћирилица) is the official script in Serbia, and Latin (latinica) is common on signs, in ads and especially online. Both have 30 letters, and each Cyrillic letter has exactly one Latin match, so you can convert any word letter by letter.
| Cyrillic | Latin | Sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| В в | V v | v in "very" |
| Н н | N n | n in "no" |
| Р р | R r | a lightly rolled r |
| С с | S s | s in "see" |
| Х х | H h | h, a little throaty |
| Ц ц | C c | ts in "cats" |
| Ј ј | J j | y in "yes" |
| Ч ч / Ћ ћ | Č č / Ć ć | ch (harder / softer) |
| Џ џ / Ђ ђ | Dž dž / Đ đ | j in "jam" (harder / softer) |
| Ш ш / Ж ж | Š š / Ž ž | sh / the s in "measure" |
| Љ љ / Њ њ | Lj lj / Nj nj | lli in "million" / ny in "canyon" |
The first rows are the classic traps: letters that look Latin but sound different. Once those click, reading Cyrillic is mostly a matter of practice.
Ask your partner which alphabet they'd rather use in the text chat. Many people type in Latin online, but you can always ask them to write a word in Cyrillic so you can practice reading it.
Ekavian Serbian and its neighbors
Most people in Serbia use the ekavian pronunciation, which you'll see in words like mleko (milk), lepo (nice) and vreme (time, weather). Serbian speakers in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro mostly use the ijekavian forms mlijeko, lijepo and vrijeme. Both are standard Serbian.
Serbian is closely related to Bosnian, Croatian and Montenegrin, and their speakers understand each other easily. Each has its own standard with some differences in vocabulary and spelling; Serbian, for example, usually says hleb for bread and voz for train. If you meet someone from elsewhere in the region, you'll still be able to chat comfortably.
Serbian also tends to use da plus a verb where some neighbors use an infinitive, as in Možeš li da govoriš sporije? (Can you speak more slowly?).
A short first chat in Serbian
- Open with "Zdravo! Ja sam …" (Hi! I'm …) and add "Učim srpski."
- Ask "Odakle si?" and follow up with "Kako je tamo?" (What's it like there?).
- Talk about food (ćevapi, pljeskavica, ajvar), music, sport or a favorite place in their city.
- When you miss a word, ask "Kako se kaže … na srpskom?" and have them type it in the text chat.
- End with "Hvala na razgovoru! Vidimo se!" before you press Next.
For ideas on sharing practice time fairly, read our language exchange tips, or see how language exchange on video chat works on Omlet.
Practice Serbian with the country filter
Omlet's interface is in English only, and it doesn't match people by language or translate anything. There are two easy ways to find Serbian speakers:
- Use the country filter. Press Country, pick a country where Serbian is spoken (for example Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina or Kosovo), then press Start.
- Ask whoever you meet. On Worldwide matching, a quick "Do you speak Serbian?" costs nothing to try.
The country filter's first day is free (you add a card to start, and can cancel in Settings before the charge). After that it's $3 one time for that device and browser, with no subscription. It can make matching slower when fewer people from that country are online; if a match takes a while, try another country or switch back to Worldwide.
Say you're practicing Serbian in your first sentence and ask your partner to slow down or correct you. It's a normal request.