People and family in Serbian
143 words Serbian words on the topic “people and family”: пријатељ — friend, породица — family, мајка — mother, отац — father. 143 words can be played from recordings.
143 words on the topic
- пријатељprijateljfriendA strong word in Serbian — this is a true friend, not an acquaintance. Acquaintances get other words.
- породицаporodicafamilyBuilt on the root of "kin": the people you are born and married into.
- мајкаmajkamotherOne letter off the English "motor" of a boat — do not let the look mislead you; this is mom. A T-shirt is majica, one letter longer.
- отацotacfatherThe fleeting a drops in the cases: otac — oca — ocu. Within the family people say tata.
- детеdetechildThe plural is a surprise: deca — and it is feminine singular in form. One child, but the plural word runs the show.
- продавацprodavacvendorThe fleeting a survives only in this form: prodavac, but prodavca, prodavcu.
- купацkupaccustomerFrom kupiti, "to buy". The grand old word for a merchant shares the root, but here it is simply the buyer.
- комшијаkomšijaneighborMasculine despite the -a ending, and it declines like a feminine noun. The neighbor woman is komšinica.
- газда станаgazda stanalandlordGazda — the owner, the boss; stan — the apartment. You address him as gospodine, "sir".
- лекарlekardoctorFrom lek. People say doktor too, but the papers always read lekar.
- шефšefbossNot only in the kitchen: sef is any superior, from the French chef.
- колегаkolegacolleagueMasculine on -a, like komšija. A woman colleague is koleginica.
- човекčovekpersonThe plural breaks the rule: not "coveci" but ljudi. A word to memorize separately, once and for all.
- мушкарацmuškaracmanThe fleeting a survives only in this form: muskarac, but muskarca, muskarcu — just like prodavac and kupac.
- женаženawomanOne word where English keeps two: žena is "woman" and "wife". The neighboring word decides: moja žena — my wife; jedna žena — some woman.
- младићmladićyoung manFrom the familiar mlad, "young". In speech moj mladić already means "my boyfriend".
- девојкаdevojkagirlThe same word is moja devojka — "my girlfriend". The little one is devojčica, which the course has already met.
- старацstaracold manFrom the familiar star, with the fleeting a behaving as in muskarac: starca, starcu. To his face, politely: stariji čovek — "an older man".
- незнанацneznanacstrangerne- + the word for "an acquaintance": literally "an un-known one". In speech people more often describe: neki nepoznat čovek.
- гомилаgomilacrowdGomila ljudi — a crowd of people; without ljudi the same word is just "a pile". The crush and the squeeze is another word: gužva.
- странацstranacforeignerFleeting a: stranac, but stranca.
- рецепционерrecepcionerreceptionistThe woman is recepcionerka. The Serbian administrator is about paperwork in an office, not this job.
- рибарribarfishermanFrom riba, taught in unit three. Fishing as a pastime is pecanje, not "ribolov" in everyday speech.
- косаkosahairA look-alike: kosa is the hair, singular in form. Kosa mi je duga — "my hair is long".
- високvisoktallAbout height and about prices: visoka cena. The comparative is visi.
- низакnizaklowFleeting a: nizak, but niska, nisko.
- младmladyoungExactly the word you expect. Mladic — "a young man"; mlada — "the bride".
- брадаbradabeardOne word for the beard and the chin — two senses, one noun.
- брковиbrkovimustacheA plural with an inserted -ov-: brk gives brkovi. One single mustache hair is brk.
- мршавmršavskinnyA syllabic r: mr-shav, no vowel in the first beat.
- дебеоdebeofatThree syllables: de-be-o. Feminine debela, neuter debelo.
- симпатичанsimpatičanlikableMore "pleasant, nice" than beautiful. About looks people say lep.
- изгледizgledappearanceFrom izgledati, "to look". Kako izgleda? — "what does he look like?"
- добарdobarkindFleeting a: dobar, but dobra, dobro.
- весеоveseocheerfulThree syllables: ve-se-o. Feminine vesela.
- паметанpametansmartFrom pamet, "wit, sense". A cousin of the Slavic memory words, but the meaning has traveled.
- заоzaomeanTwo syllables: za-o. Feminine zla, neuter zlo.
- смиренsmirencalmFrom smiriti se, "to settle". Miran also means calm — the quiet kind.
- љубазанljubazancourteousFleeting a: ljubazan, but ljubazna.
- лењlenjlazyThe nj is one soft sound: lenj. Feminine lenja.
- храбарhrabarbraveFleeting a: hrabar, but hrabra.
- поштенpoštenhonestFrom postovanje, "respect". Posten covek — "a decent, honest person".
- карактерkaraktercharacterSerbian has its own word, narav, but the Greek borrowing wins in speech.
- конобарkonobarwaiterFrom konoba, "a tavern". The waitress is konobarica.
- коврџавkovrdžavcurlyThe dz is a firm j as in jam: ko-vr-dzhav. Do not mix with the soft dj.
- ћелавćelavbaldThe soft ch, softer than in church, the tongue pressed to the palate: che-lav.
- седsedgray-hairedIt only looks related to sedeti, to sit. Prosedeo je means he has gone gray; seda kosa gray hair.
- висинаvisinaa persons heightThere is no separate word for height: the same visina as of a house or a mountain. People usually ask with the verb: koliko si visok?
- витакvitakslimVitak is slim, a compliment. Mrsav is skinny and sounds like a reproach, and a mrsav rezultat is a meager result.
- средње висинеsrednje visineof average heightThe genitive of a feature, with no preposition: covek srednje visine, like covek plave kose. English puts it the same way here.
- дарежљивdarežljivgenerousThe zh plus lj together: da-re-zhljiv, the lj is the soft ly.
- стрпљивstrpljivpatient (able to wait)Strpljenje is patience, strpi se means hold on. And trpeti without s is to endure pain or put up with something bad.
- вреданvredanhardworkingThe most hurtful trap of the unit: vredan means hardworking and valuable, never harmful. Harmful is stetan, a harmful person zloban.
- поузданpouzdandependableFrom pouzdati se u nekoga, to rely on someone. About machines too: pouzdan auto.
- скроманskromanmodestMatches English in both senses: a skroman rucak is a modest meal. Fleeting a: skromna, skromni.
- друштвенdruštvensociableTwo meanings at once: a sociable person and public in general, drustvene mreze are social networks. About a person people also say otvoren.
- брижанbrižancaringFrom briga, care. Do not mix with brizljiv, which means thorough and careful in work.
- озбиљанozbiljanseriousOzbiljno? means Seriously? and is the most common line of surprise. Shvatiti ozbiljno is to take seriously.
- васпитанvaspitanwell-manneredVaspitanje is the upbringing at home, obrazovanje the education at school. Nevaspitan is ill-mannered, a strong accusation.
- смисао за хуморsmisao za humora sense of humorHere Serbian does not say osecaj, a feeling, but smisao, a knack, an understanding. Nema smisla on its own means there is no point.
- шкртškrtstingyA syllable with no vowel: skrt, the r sounds like a vowel. The feminine is skrta.
- тврдоглавtvrdoglavstubbornLiterally hard-headed, built from tvrd and glava, with no mockery in it.
- грубgrubrudeBoth senses, as in English: rough cloth and rude words. Grubo receno means roughly speaking.
- дрзакdrzakpushyThe feminine loses the a and switches z to s: drska devojka. Drznuti se is to dare, drskost the nerve.
- лукавlukavcunningNot connected with the onion, though it looks that way. Lukavstvo is cunning; about a child people say fondly lukav kao lisica, sly as a fox.
- брбљивbrbljivchattyFrom brbljati, to chatter. Brbljivac is a chatterbox, and brbljanje the patter.
- расејанrasejanabsent-mindedBuilt the same way as the English word: rasejati is to disperse. About light too: rasejana svetlost.
- плаховитplahovithot-temperedAbout temperament people also say prek and nagle naravi. Plah on its own is timid, and plahovit is the opposite, explosive.
- равнодушанravnodušanindifferentBuilt letter for letter like the English phrase: ravna dusa, a flat soul. Ravnodusnost is indifference; nije mi svejedno, I do care.
- навикаnavikaa habitNavika is a personal habit, obicaj a custom of a people. Navici se na nesto is to get used to.
- другарицаdrugaricaa female friendA school trap: drugarica is both a girlfriend and the way you address a primary school teacher. A close girlfriend is prijateljica.
- познаникpoznanikan acquaintanceFrom poznavati, to know someone. The feminine is poznanica. Poznat, though, means famous, not acquainted.
- таленатtalenata talentFleeting a: talenat, but talenta, talenti. A gifted person is talentovan.
- родити сеroditi seto be bornWithout se the verb means to give birth, and also to yield, about a harvest: rodilo je voce. Past: rodio sam se, rodila sam se.
- детињствоdetinjstvochildhoodThe nj plus stv together: de-tinj-stvo.
- младостmladostyouthOne word for youth and young age: there is no separate one. Young people as a crowd are omladina.
- одрасли животodrasli životadult lifeZivot is life, while the belly is stomak; the old trap, but on this pair it is especially visible. Odrastao is grown up, adult.
- генерацијаgeneracijaa generationThe Latin word instead of the Slavic one: pokolenje exists but sounds bookish and rare. Classmates are generacija: moja generacija u skoli.
- родни градrodni grada hometownRodni means native by birthplace: rodni grad, rodni kraj. Native by blood is rodjeni: rodjeni brat, and these are different words.
- живети пет година у земљиživeti pet godina u zemljito live in the country for five yearsZemlja is the country, the ground underfoot and the soil in a pot. After pet comes the genitive plural: pet godina, not pet godine.
- сећањеsećanjea memoryA verbal noun in nje from secati se. With seci, to cut, it only shares the look on paper: there a plain ch, here the soft one.
- стара фотографијаstara fotografijaan old photographIn speech people rather say slika, the same word as picture and image. Fotografija is neutral, fotka is quite familiar.
- судбинаsudbinafateThe same root as suditi, to judge. Sudjeno mi je means it was fated; sudbonosan fateful.
- почети нови животpočeti novi životto start a new lifePoceti is to start, pocetak the start, pocetnik a beginner: one nest. The present tense is a surprise: pocnem, pocnes.
- засновати породицуzasnovati porodicuto start a familySerbian founds the family rather than starts it: starting means something quite different, to seduce or start an engine. Porodica is the family, familija the wider kin.
- богатbogatrichSame word, and it works figuratively the same way: bogat ukus, bogata ponuda. Bogatstvo is wealth.
- сиромашанsiromašanpoorFleeting a: siromasan, but siromasna, siromasni.
- цимерcimera roommateFrom the German Zimmer, a room. The feminine is cimerka. Komsiya is the neighbor in the house and stairwell, not in the room.
- друг из детињстваdrug iz detinjstvaa childhood friendThe preposition is iz, not od. A childhood girlfriend is drugarica iz detinjstva; prijatelj sounds more grown-up than drug.
- познатpoznatfamousFrom poznavati, to know. Cuven and slavan are stronger: renowned. Poznanik is simply an acquaintance.
- снажанsnažanpowerfulFleeting a: snazan, but snazna, snazni.
- разуманrazumansensibleFleeting a: razuman, but razumna, razumno.
- добротаdobrotakindnessThe suffix ota turns an adjective into an abstract noun: dobar, dobrota; lep, lepota; topao, toplota.
- самоконтролаsamokontrolaself-controlThe card izdrzljivost is already taken by stamina, that is about the body. Self-control as the skill not to snap is samokontrola or samosavladavanje.
- стрпљењеstrpljenjepatienceThe pl is the soft ly after the p: str-plye-nye.
- себичностsebičnostselfishnessFrom sebe. The adjective sebitan is selfish. The word egoizam also exists but sounds bookish.
- лењостlenjostlazinessThe nj is one soft sound: le-nyost.
- тврдоглавостtvrdoglavoststubbornnessBuilt from tvrd and glava, hard-headedness. Tvrdoglav stubborn, and the word is rather praised than scolded.
- радозналостradoznalostcuriosityBuilt from rado, gladly, and znati, to know: a zest for knowing. Radoznao curious, without judgment.
- поштењеpoštenjedecencyThe nj is one soft sound: po-shte-nye.
- сналажљивостsnalažljivostresourcefulnessThe zhl is the soft ly after the zh: sna-la-zhlji-vost.
- немарностnemarnostcarelessnessFrom mariti, to care, to mind: ne marim means I do not care. Nemaran careless, neglectful.
- одлучанodlučandecisiveFleeting a: odlucan, but odlucna, odlucno.
- стидљивstidljivshyThe lj is one soft sound: sti-dljiv.
- осетљивosetljivtouchyThe first meaning is sensitive: osetljiva koza, osetljiva tema. About a person in conversation it means exactly touchy. Insulting is uvredljiv, a different word.
- попустљивpopustljiveasygoingFrom popustiti, to give in. About a parent it means soft, allowing everything, and that is already a reproach.
- ситничавsitničavfussyFrom sitnica, a trifle. A word with a double bottom: both attentive to details and nitpicking over trifles, and the second more often.
- самољубивsamoljubivvainThe lj is one soft sound: sa-mo-lju-biv.
- предусретљивpredusretljiveager to helpFrom izaci u susret, to go to meet, and the familiar u susret from the unit about direction. Literally one who steps toward you in advance.
- повученpovučenwithdrawnFrom povuci se, to retreat into oneself, to step back. Literally pulled back: a person who keeps to the side.
- директанdirektanbluntFleeting a: direktan, but direktna, direktno.
- непредвидивnepredvidivunpredictableFrom predvideti, to foresee, with the prefix ne-. The adverb predvidljivo, predictably, was in the past unit.
- послушатиposlušatito obeyThe card slusati, to listen, already stood, and the same word means to mind: dete ne slusa. The prefixed poslusati is clearer: to obey once.
- хвалити сеhvaliti seto bragThe card hvaliti, to commend, already stood: with se the same verb means to praise yourself. Hvalisavac is a braggart.
- оговаратиogovaratito gossipIt takes the accusative: people gossip not about someone but someone: ogovaraju komsiye. A piece of gossip is trac, a gossip tracara.
- претварати сеpretvarati seto pretendA dangerous pair: the perfective pretvoriti se means to turn into, while the imperfective pretvarati se means to pretend. The card praviti se, to act as if, already stood and means almost the same.
- уздржати сеuzdržati seto hold backIt takes od with the genitive: uzdrzati se od komentara. Uzdrzhan restrained.
- нашалити сеnašaliti seto play a jokeFrom sala, a joke. It takes na racun with the genitive: nasalio se na moj racun, he played a joke on me.
- слагатиslagatito fibWithout se, to tell a lie: slagao me je. With se the same verb means to get along and to agree, slazemo se dobro, and the card ne slazem se already stood. One short word changes the sense.
- прислушкиватиprisluškivatito eavesdropFrom slusati with the prefix pri-. The same word about phone tapping: prisluskivanje telefona.
- наметати сеnametati seto impose yourselfFrom metati, to lay, to place: literally to lay yourself onto someone. Without se, to impose: nametu nam svoje uslove.
- држати речdržati rečto keep your wordLiterally the same. The familiar rec is a word. There is also odrzati obecanje, to keep a promise.
- заслужитиzaslužitito earnFrom sluziti, to serve. Zasluzeno deserved, zasluga a merit. Making money is quite different, zaraditi.
- прекоритиprekoritito reproachFrom kor, a reproach, a censure. Softer than prekoriti sounds zameriti nekome, to hold it against someone.
- похвалитиpohvalitito praiseThe prefixed pair of the familiar hvaliti. The noun pohvala is praise; pohvalnica a certificate of merit.
- осудитиosuditito pass judgmentBoth morally and in court: osudili su ga na dve godine. The root is the same as in sud, and you know sud also as a judgment.
- изневеритиizneveritito let downFrom vera, trust: to betray trust. The card verovati, to trust, already stood. Giving someone a lift is quite different, odvesti.
- с намеромs nameromon purposeThe card namerno is already taken by deliberately, and Serbian does not tell them apart. S namerom is the same sense in the instrumental: uradio je to s namerom.
- из глупостиiz glupostiout of foolishnessSerbian says iz gluposti, not po. The same build: iz neznanja, iz navike, iz straha.
- у најбољој намериu najboljoj nameriwith the best of intentionsLiterally in the best intention. The superlative with the prefix naj: bolji, najbolji.
- то није лепоto nije lepothat is not niceLiterally that is not pretty. About an act, not a look: Serbian judges behavior with the same words as appearance.
- није он то из зле намереnije on to iz zle namerehe meant no harmLiterally not-he that out-of evil intention. The negative link nije opens the phrase and the subject follows it, the usual Serbian order in a rebuttal.
- поверењеpoverenjetrustThe nj is one soft sound: po-ve-re-nye.
- завистzavistenvyFeminine on a consonant: ta zavist. Zavideti nekome is to envy someone, with the dative.
- сажаљењеsažaljenjepityThe zhal is the soft ly: sa-zha-lje-nye.
- утицајuticajinfluenceFrom uticati, to influence, with the preposition na: utiche na decu. The card uticaj coveka from the climate unit is the same word.
- угледugledprestigeFrom gledati: how people look at you. Both a reputation and a standing; ugledan covek is a respected one. Bossy authority is autoritet, a different thing.
- узајамноuzajamnomutuallyFrom uzajmiti, to borrow: what people take from each other. In answer to a compliment Serbs simply say i ja vama, not uzajamno.
- равноправноravnopravnoas equalsThe adverb from ravnopravan. About numbers and results people say differently, izjednacheno, and that card was in the unit about quantity.
- слагати сеslagati seto hit it offThe very slagati that two lessons later means to fib, but with se. Dobro se slazemo, we get along well. One short word flips the sense to the opposite.
- држати се по страниdržati se po stranito stay out of itThe familiar strana, a side. There is also ne mesati se, not to interfere; drzati se po strani sounds softer, without judgment.
- људиljudipeopleThe irregular plural of covek ("human being") — the word itself never appears in the plural. In speech ljudi can also mean "the men" specifically.
- удвојеudvojethe two of usWritten solid and case-free: bili smo udvoje — "we were just the two of us". Utroje is "the three of us"; the counter dvoje counts people, it does not answer "how".
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.
- Мој најбољи пријатељ живи у НишуMoj najbolji prijatelj živi u NišuMy best friend lives in Nis
- Цела породица долази за празникCela porodica dolazi za praznikThe whole family is coming for the holiday
- Моја мајка кува најбољу супуMoja majka kuva najbolju supuMy mother makes the best soup
- Мој отац ради као возачMoj otac radi kao vozačMy father works as a driver
- Дете спава, будите тишиDete spava, budite tišiThe child is sleeping, please be quiet
- Продавац ми је дао кусурProdavac mi je dao kusurThe vendor gave me my change
What is worth knowing about these words
пријатељ (prijatelj) — friend. A strong word in Serbian — this is a true friend, not an acquaintance. Acquaintances get other words.
породица (porodica) — family. Built on the root of "kin": the people you are born and married into.
мајка (majka) — mother. One letter off the English "motor" of a boat — do not let the look mislead you; this is mom. A T-shirt is majica, one letter longer.
отац (otac) — father. The fleeting a drops in the cases: otac — oca — ocu. Within the family people say tata.
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 пријатељ (prijatelj) — friend.
- What is this word?
It is комшија (komšija) — neighbor.
- What is this word?
It is жена (žena) — woman.
- What is this word?
It is рецепционер (recepcioner) — receptionist.
- What is this word?
It is бркови (brkovi) — mustache.
Now the other way around: recall the spelling from the meaning. That is harder, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “friend” in Serbian?
A strong word in Serbian — this is a true friend, not an acquaintance. Acquaintances get other words.
- How do you say “neighbor” in Serbian?
Masculine despite the -a ending, and it declines like a feminine noun. The neighbor woman is komšinica.
- How do you say “woman” in Serbian?
One word where English keeps two: žena is "woman" and "wife". The neighboring word decides: moja žena — my wife; jedna žena — some woman.
- How do you say “receptionist” in Serbian?
The woman is recepcionerka. The Serbian administrator is about paperwork in an office, not this job.
- How do you say “mustache” in Serbian?
A plural with an inserted -ov-: brk gives brkovi. One single mustache hair is brk.
How to learn the set instead of just reading it
Mum, friend, child, neighbour. The first thing people ask you about, and the first thing you tell about yourself.
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 “friend” in Serbian?
«пријатељ», read “prijatelj”. A strong word in Serbian — this is a true friend, not an acquaintance. Acquaintances get other words. It is one of 143 words in the set “people and family” — the rest are in the table above.
How many family words do you need to start?
A dozen is enough. The set of 143 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, 143 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.