Serbian for Beginners

Serbian is a South Slavic language spoken by about 12 million people. It’s the official language of Serbia and one of the official languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro.

Two alphabets

Serbian is unique in using two alphabets interchangeably: Cyrillic and Latin. Both are equally official. In everyday life, Latin script is more common in urban areas, while Cyrillic is used in official documents and some media.

The good news? Serbian is almost perfectly phonetic in both scripts. Each letter represents exactly one sound.

Pronunciation

Serbian pronunciation is remarkably consistent. Unlike English, there are no silent letters and very few exceptions to pronunciation rules. What you see is what you say.

Grammar overview

Serbian has seven grammatical cases, three genders, and a verb aspect system. This sounds intimidating, but patterns emerge quickly with consistent practice.

Where to start

Focus on the Latin alphabet first, learn basic greetings, and build your vocabulary with spaced repetition. Govorly structures all of this for you automatically.