Everyday life and routine in Serbian
12 words Serbian words on the topic “everyday life and routine”: посао — job, радити — to work, пробудити се — to wake up, устати — to get up. 12 words can be played from recordings.
12 words on the topic
- посаоposaojobNothing diplomatic about it — it is "work, a job". It changes oddly: posao gives posla, the a vanishing.
- радитиraditito workIts second job is "to do": šta radiš? — literally "what do you do?" — the everyday "how are you doing?".
- пробудити сеprobuditi seto wake upWithout se it means "to wake someone else up" — the particle flips the roles.
- устатиustatito get upPresent: ustanem. Waking and getting up are two different deeds with two different verbs.
- умити сеumiti seto wash upFace only. Washing the whole body is okupati se; washing dishes is prati.
- чешљати сеčešljati seto comb one's hairFrom češalj, "a comb". The letter lj is one soft sound, not two letters' worth.
- бријати сеbrijati seto shaveWithout se — "to shave someone". Present: brijem se.
- обући сеobući seto get dressedPresent: obučem se. The trap: obučiti with a plain u is "to teach" — a completely different job.
- свући сеsvući seto get undressedThe partner of obući se, built with the same prefix logic: s- takes off what ob- put on.
- сестиsestito sit downPresent: sednem. The trap: sedeti, without the n, is "to sit" — a state, not an action.
- лећиlećito lie downA short infinitive; the present is legnem. Ležati is "to lie" — the state after the action.
- одмарати сеodmarati seto take a restThe vacation word is odmor, same root. Watch it: odmor is also the school recess between classes.
How it sounds in a sentence
A word list is a blank. Conversation is made of sentences, and these are the ones the words fit into most often.
- Нашао сам нови посаоNašao sam novi posaoI found a new job
- Радим од девет до петRadim od devet do petI work from nine to five
- Будим се у седамBudim se u sedamI wake up at seven
- Устајем пола сата каснијеUstajem pola sata kasnijeI get up in half an hour
- Умивам се хладном водомUmivam se hladnom vodomI wash up with cold water
- Чешља се испред огледалаČešlja se ispred ogledalaShe combs her hair in front of the mirror
What is worth knowing about these words
посао (posao) — job. Nothing diplomatic about it — it is "work, a job". It changes oddly: posao gives posla, the a vanishing.
радити (raditi) — to work. Its second job is "to do": šta radiš? — literally "what do you do?" — the everyday "how are you doing?".
пробудити се (probuditi se) — to wake up. Without se it means "to wake someone else up" — the particle flips the roles.
устати (ustati) — to get up. Present: ustanem. Waking and getting up are two different deeds with two different verbs.
Test yourself
First by ear — the way you will meet the word in conversation. Click the speaker and pick the translation.
- What is this word?
It is посао (posao) — job.
- What is this word?
It is обући се (obući se) — to get dressed.
- What is this word?
It is пробудити се (probuditi se) — to wake up.
- What is this word?
It is сести (sesti) — to sit down.
- What is this word?
It is умити се (umiti se) — to wash up.
Now the other way around: recall the spelling from the meaning. That is harder, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “job” in Serbian?
Nothing diplomatic about it — it is "work, a job". It changes oddly: posao gives posla, the a vanishing.
- How do you say “to get dressed” in Serbian?
Present: obučem se. The trap: obučiti with a plain u is "to teach" — a completely different job.
- How do you say “to wake up” in Serbian?
Without se it means "to wake someone else up" — the particle flips the roles.
- How do you say “to sit down” in Serbian?
Present: sednem. The trap: sedeti, without the n, is "to sit" — a state, not an action.
- How do you say “to wash up” in Serbian?
Face only. Washing the whole body is okupati se; washing dishes is prati.
How to learn the set instead of just reading it
Work, home, rest, errands. The words the answer to “how are things?” is made of.
A list is read in a minute and forgotten in a day. What works: hide the translation, try to recall, get it wrong — and come back to the same words tomorrow.
- Recalling beats re-reading. Covering the translation and trying to remember it does more than reading it ten more times.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · 188 experiments, 272 comparisons. g = 0.61; against plain re-reading 0.51, against passive review 0.93.
- This holds not only in experiments but in ordinary classrooms, with real students.checked many timesMawson & Kang, 2025, Behavioral Sciences 15(6):771 · 22 studies, d = 0.54 (confidence interval 0.31–0.77). The authors warn that individual studies disagree widely.
Frequently asked
How do you say “job” in Serbian?
«посао», read “posao”. Nothing diplomatic about it — it is "work, a job". It changes oddly: posao gives posla, the a vanishing. It is one of 12 words in the set “everyday life and routine” — the rest are in the table above.
How many everyday words do you need to start?
A dozen is enough. The set of 12 words on this page covers nearly every everyday case on the topic — but it is best taken a few at a time, not all at once.
Is there audio?
Yes, 12 words on this page can be played — click the speaker next to the word. The sound works on any phone, and nothing needs to be installed.