Pronouns in Serbian
26 words Serbian words on the topic “pronouns”: ја — I, ти — you (informal), ви — you (formal or plural), он — he. 26 words can be played from recordings.
26 words on the topic
- јаjaIOften dropped in speech: the verb ending already says who acts, so ja appears only for emphasis — like Italian io or Spanish yo.
- тиtiyou (informal)Usually dropped too, since the verb ending names the person. Keep it when contrasting: ja radim, a ti spavas — "I work and you sleep".
- виviyou (formal or plural)Serbs capitalize polite Vi in writing. One word for a group and for one respected stranger — the same double duty English "you" does.
- онonhePlural forms keep gender: oni for men or a mixed group, one for women, ona for things.
- онаonasheWatch the plural trap: ona is "she", but one is "they" about women, and a plural ona means "they" about things.
- миmiweStress splits the word: stressed MI is "we" (mi idemo), while the little unstressed mi means "to me" (drago mi je).
- ониonitheyFor men or a mixed group only; women are one, things are ona. The plural does not merge genders the way English "they" does.
- мојmojmyBehaves like an adjective: it agrees in gender and case — moja kuca "my house", mog brata "of my brother".
- твојtvojyour (informal)Declines exactly like moj. The polite pair vas/Vas is written with a capital V when addressing one person respectfully.
- нашnašourNot to be confused with nas, the "us" form of mi — a single letter s-with-hachek (š) separates "our" from "us".
- вашvašyour (formal or plural)Written Vas with a capital in polite letters and emails, matching polite Vi. Also simply "your" when talking to a group.
- његовnjegovhis, her, theirSerbian keeps the distinction his/her/their makes: njegov, njen, njihov — and all three still decline like adjectives.
- својsvojone's ownJust as compulsory as English "one's own": uzeo je svoj kofer — he took his OWN suitcase; njegov kofer would point at someone else's.
- самsammyselfSpelled like sam ("I am") — word order separates them: ja sam to uradio sam, "I did it myself", has both in one sentence.
- савsavthe wholeGenders: sav, sva, sve. The neuter sve is the one you hear most — sve vreme, "the whole time".
- свако одsvako odeach ofOd ("of, from") pulls the genitive after it: svako od nas, svako od njih — "each of us, each of them".
- било којиbilo kojianyLiterally "whichever may be". The second part does the declining: bilo koga, bilo cime — "anyone, with anything".
- овајovajthisThree steps, like in Spanish: ovaj by me, taj by you, onaj over there. Distance measured from the speaker.
- онајonajthatThe farthest of the three steps. Not to be confused with on, "he" — the difference is the tail.
- такавtakavsuchChanges with gender: takav, takva, takvo. In exclamations it gets a boost from toliko.
- другиdrugiotherThe same word means "second". And note: "friend" is prijatelj; drug is "comrade", with a Soviet aftertaste.
- никакавnikakavnot anyDemands a second negation at the verb: nemam nikakav problem — "I do not have any problem at all". Double negation is compulsory.
- некоnekosomeoneAbout a person only. It declines: nekoga, nekome.
- нештоneštosomething (a thing)About a thing, not a person. Before an adjective it means "somewhat": nešto skuplje — "a bit pricier".
- нико одniko odnone ofAlso with double negation: niko od njih ne govori — "none of them speak". Without the second ne the sentence is wrong.
- ништаništanothingThe verb next to it must carry ne: ništa ne razumem — "I understand nothing". Both nema na čemu and ništa serve as "you are welcome".
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.
- Ја сам из РусијеJa sam iz RusijeI am from Russia
- Ти говориш српски веома доброTi govoriš srpski veoma dobroYou speak Serbian very well
- Ви сте нови комшија?Vi ste novi komšija?Are you the new neighbor?
- Он ради у банциOn radi u banciHe works at a bank
- Она учи српски две годинеOna uči srpski dve godineShe has been learning Serbian for two years
- Ми живимо у БеоградуMi živimo u BeograduWe live in Belgrade
What is worth knowing about these words
ја (ja) — I. Often dropped in speech: the verb ending already says who acts, so ja appears only for emphasis — like Italian io or Spanish yo.
ти (ti) — you (informal). Usually dropped too, since the verb ending names the person. Keep it when contrasting: ja radim, a ti spavas — "I work and you sleep".
ви (vi) — you (formal or plural). Serbs capitalize polite Vi in writing. One word for a group and for one respected stranger — the same double duty English "you" does.
он (on) — he. Plural forms keep gender: oni for men or a mixed group, one for women, ona for things.
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 ја (ja) — I.
- What is this word?
It is мој (moj) — my.
- What is this word?
It is сав (sav) — the whole.
- What is this word?
It is никакав (nikakav) — not any.
- What is this word?
It is ви (vi) — you (formal or plural).
Now the other way around: recall the spelling from the meaning. That is harder, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “I” in Serbian?
Often dropped in speech: the verb ending already says who acts, so ja appears only for emphasis — like Italian io or Spanish yo.
- How do you say “my” in Serbian?
Behaves like an adjective: it agrees in gender and case — moja kuca "my house", mog brata "of my brother".
- How do you say “the whole” in Serbian?
Genders: sav, sva, sve. The neuter sve is the one you hear most — sve vreme, "the whole time".
- How do you say “not any” in Serbian?
Demands a second negation at the verb: nemam nikakav problem — "I do not have any problem at all". Double negation is compulsory.
- How do you say “you (formal or plural)” in Serbian?
Serbs capitalize polite Vi in writing. One word for a group and for one respected stranger — the same double duty English "you" does.
How to learn the set instead of just reading it
I, you, we, they. There is a handful of them, they turn up in every sentence, and politeness rides on them: most of these languages keep a formal “you” apart from a familiar one, and choosing the wrong one is noticed faster than a mispronounced word.
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 “I” in Serbian?
«ја», read “ja”. Often dropped in speech: the verb ending already says who acts, so ja appears only for emphasis — like Italian io or Spanish yo. It is one of 26 words in the set “pronouns” — the rest are in the table above.
How many pronouns do you need to start?
A dozen is enough. The set of 26 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, 26 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.