Se: one particle, four different jobs
The word se turns up more often than any other word in Serbian, and it holds several jobs at once. For example: “Нервира ме бука, али трудим се да ћутим” — The noise is getting on my nerves, but I am trying to keep quiet. A rule from the Serbian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
The word se turns up more often than any other word in Serbian, and it holds several jobs at once.
The action turning back on its doer, and "each other" along with it: oblačim se, brijem se, pomirili smo se, vidimo se. Nothing to think about here.
A flip of meaning — the sly corner. Nervirati is to annoy somebody, nervirati se is to fret. Hvaliti is to praise another, hvaliti se is to boast. Such pairs are learned as pairs.
No actor at all: Ovde se ne puši, kako se kaže?, telefon se ne puni. And one rule of place: se stands second in the sentence, not beside its own verb — Nerviram se, never "Se nerviram".
Table
| the job | example | in English | what to watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| reflexivity | brijem se | I shave | matches English -self |
| meaning shift | nerviram se | I am fretting | without se — I annoy others |
| meaning shift | hvalimo se | we boast | without se — we praise someone |
| each other | čujemo se | we will be in touch | two people needed |
| each other | vidimo se | see you | a goodbye |
| actor-free | kako se kaže? | how does one say? | no actor at all |
| actor-free | ne puni se | it is not charging | instead of a passive |
| position in the phrase | vratio se | he came back | se eats the helper je |
By example
- Нервира ме бука, али трудим се да ћутимNervira me buka, ali trudim se da ćutimThe noise is getting on my nerves, but I am trying to keep quiet
- Посвађали смо се у уторак и помирили се у четвртакPosvađali smo se u utorak i pomirili se u četvrtakWe quarreled on Tuesday and made up on Thursday
- Ово се не може поправити, мора да се замени деоOvo se ne može popraviti, mora da se zameni deoThis cannot be repaired, the part has to be replaced
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
Se: how does it work in Serbian?
The word se turns up more often than any other word in Serbian, and it holds several jobs at once.
What does it look like in an example sentence Serbian?
“Нервира ме бука, али трудим се да ћутим” (Nervira me buka, ali trudim se da ćutim) — The noise is getting on my nerves, but I am trying to keep quiet. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.