Dvoje dece and petorica: Serbian counts people in four rows
Serbian does not count people the way it counts things. There are four rows of numbers, and choosing between them is obligatory: "dva ljudi" is heard at once as a foreigner's slip. For example: “У стану живе двоје деце и троје одраслих” — Two children and three adults live in the apartment. A rule from the Serbian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Serbian does not count people the way it counts things. There are four rows of numbers, and choosing between them is obligatory: "dva ljudi" is heard at once as a foreigner's slip.
Plain numbers serve things, and men when their being men is not the point: dva čoveka, pet ljudi. Women have a two of their own: dve žene, dve koleginice.
The collectives dvoje, troje, četvoro are for mixed company and for children. Dvoje studenata is a young man and a young woman; dva studenta is two young men. Dvoje dece is two children.
And dvojica, trojica, petorica are men as a group: petorica radnika, dvojica su došla. The word itself is feminine while it means men, which surprises everybody.
Table
| who we count | the form | example | in English |
|---|---|---|---|
| things, men | dva, tri, pet | dva stola, pet ljudi | two tables, five people |
| women | dve, tri, pet | dve žene, pet žena | two women, five women |
| a mixed group | dvoje, troje | dvoje studenata | two students (he and she) |
| children, younglings | dvoje, troje | dvoje dece | two children |
| men as a group | dvojica, petorica | petorica radnika | five workmen |
| both (m. and n.) | oba | oba brata | both brothers |
| both (f.) | obe | obe sestre | both sisters |
| he and she | oboje | oboje su došli | the two of them came |
By example
- У стану живе двоје деце и троје одраслихU stanu žive dvoje dece i troje odraslihTwo children and three adults live in the apartment
- Двојица радника су остала до касно, а две колегинице су отишлеDvojica radnika su ostala do kasno, a dve koleginice su otišleTwo workmen stayed late, and two colleagues went home
- Обоје су волонтери, а оба брата су у војсциOboje su volonteri, a oba brata su u vojsciBoth of them are volunteers, and both brothers are in the army
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
Dvoje dece and petorica: how does it work in Serbian?
Serbian does not count people the way it counts things. There are four rows of numbers, and choosing between them is obligatory: "dva ljudi" is heard at once as a foreigner's slip.
What does it look like in an example sentence Serbian?
“У стану живе двоје деце и троје одраслих” (U stanu žive dvoje dece i troje odraslih) — Two children and three adults live in the apartment. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.