LingoflySerbian and Slovenian: how they differ
Both are Slavic, both are in the former Yugoslavia, and a person choosing a country to move to often chooses the language along with it. In short: choose by the country, not by difficulty: the difference between them is smaller than the difference between “learning the language of the city I live in” and “learning a language in general”.
Side by side
| Serbian | Slovenian | |
|---|---|---|
| Family | Indo-European family, Slavic group | Indo-European family, Slavic group |
| Script | two equal alphabets: Vukovica (Cyrillic) and Gajevica (Latin) | the Gajevica Latin alphabet with č, š, ž |
| Speakers | about 9–12 million speakers, depending on how you count (Ethnologue) | about 2.5 million speakers (Ethnologue) |
| Official in | Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro | Slovenia |
| The hardest part | cases that do not match English prepositions, and “false friends” at every step | the dual number — a third form beside singular and plural |
| What comes easily | spelled the way it sounds, loanwords you already know | spelled by the rules, compact grammar, no articles |
Point by point
Script
Serbian has two alphabets: Cyrillic (Vukovica), official under the Constitution, and Latin (Gajica), which is used just as much in everyday life; you can see both on neighbouring signs. Slovenian is written only in Latin script.
Grammar
Slovenian has the dual number — a separate form for “two”, a third beside the singular and plural. Serbian does not. Both have cases, and in both the endings have to be learned from scratch.
Which is easier to start
Slovenian: the Latin script costs you nothing, and its grammar is more compact — the dual number is the extra work. Serbian starts with a new script to learn, but then reads exactly as it is written.
“False friends”
There are many in both, and they are more dangerous than unfamiliar words: you will ask again about an unfamiliar word, but not about one you understood wrongly.
Which to choose
Choose by the country, not by difficulty: the difference between them is smaller than the difference between “learning the language of the city I live in” and “learning a language in general”.
Frequently asked
Which is easier: Serbian or Slovenian?
Comparing them by difficulty is almost pointless: each has its own hard part. Serbian: cases that do not match English prepositions, and “false friends” at every step. Slovenian: the dual number — a third form beside singular and plural. Choose by the country, not by difficulty: the difference between them is smaller than the difference between “learning the language of the city I live in” and “learning a language in general”.
Are Serbian and Slovenian similar languages?
Serbian has two alphabets: Cyrillic (Vukovica), official under the Constitution, and Latin (Gajica), which is used just as much in everyday life; you can see both on neighbouring signs. Slovenian is written only in Latin script.