Gladak, ali glatka: the fleeting a and the muffling of consonants
Adjectives in -ak and -an change more than you expect in the feminine: gladak becomes glatka, redak becomes retka, nizak becomes niska. Two rules work together there. For example: “Сто је низак, а полица је ниска” — The table is low, and the shelf is low. A rule from the Serbian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Adjectives in -ak and -an change more than you expect in the feminine: gladak becomes glatka, redak becomes retka, nizak becomes niska. Two rules work together there.
First, the fleeting a. In the masculine an a sits between the last two consonants, and in every other form it drops out. Kratak, but kratka, kratko, kratki. Težak gives teška.
Second, the spelling follows the sound. In gladak → glatka the d before k has turned into t. The same happens in redak → retka and nizak → niska.
The comparative is built from the form without the a, and the last consonant softens. Gladak → glađi, redak → ređi, kratak → kraći. That softening cannot be computed, only learned.
Table
| masculine | feminine | neuter | comparative | in English |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| gladak | glatka | glatko | glađi | smooth |
| redak | retka | retko | ređi | sparse, thin |
| kratak | kratka | kratko | kraći | short |
| težak | teška | teško | teži | heavy |
| nizak | niska | nisko | niži | low |
| krhak | krhka | krhko | krhkiji | fragile |
| vlažan | vlažna | vlažno | vlažniji | damp |
| tesan | tesna | tesno | tesnji | tight |
By example
- Сто је низак, а полица је нискаSto je nizak, a polica je niskaThe table is low, and the shelf is low
- Пут је кратак, али је стаза још краћаPut je kratak, ali je staza još kraćaThe path is short, but the trail is even shorter
- Даска је глатка, а зид је храпавDaska je glatka, a zid je hrapavThe board is smooth, and the wall is rough
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
Gladak, ali glatka: how does it work in Serbian?
Adjectives in -ak and -an change more than you expect in the feminine: gladak becomes glatka, redak becomes retka, nizak becomes niska. Two rules work together there.
What does it look like in an example sentence Serbian?
“Сто је низак, а полица је ниска” (Sto je nizak, a polica je niska) — The table is low, and the shelf is low. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.