Asking the way in Serbian
18 words Serbian words on the topic “asking the way”: где је? — where is..., овде — here, тамо — there, десно — to the right. 18 words can be played from recordings.
18 words on the topic
- где је?gde je?where is...Literally "where is": the linking je is compulsory where English manages without it. For plurals the link changes: gde su? — "where are...?".
- овдеovdehereBosnia and Montenegro say ovdje. The pair to know: onde — "over there", a bit farther than tamo.
- тамоtamothereCovers both "there" as a place and "there" as a direction — one word where English needs two. Tamo-amo means "back and forth".
- десноdesnoto the rightFrom desnica, the right hand. English keeps the same ancient idea in "dexterous" and "dexterity" — the right side as the skillful side.
- левоlevoto the leftGives levak, "a left-hander". Next to it the great trap: pravo is not "right" — it is "straight ahead".
- правоpravostraight aheadThe course's headline trap: pravo means STRAIGHT. For the right-hand side you need desno — check before you turn.
- близуblizuclose byBoth an adverb and a preposition with the genitive: blizu stanice — "close to the station". The comparative is blize — "closer".
- далекоdalekofarStress on the first syllable — DA-leko. With a preposition: daleko od centra — "far from the center".
- како да дођем доkako da dođem dohow do I get to...Literally "how do I walk up to": Serbian builds it with da plus the present tense. Do demands the genitive after it.
- доћи доdoći doto get toStici do, taught earlier, is about vehicles arriving; doci do covers arriving on foot and "getting to" in general — also with the genitive.
- на другој страниna drugoj stranion the other sideLocative after na: strana gives strani. For movement it would be the other case — na drugu stranu, "to the other side".
- на два коракаna dva korakatwo steps awaySerbian takes na where English says "at a distance of". After dva the noun takes its special counting form: koraka.
- иза кривинеiza krivinearound the bendIza is "behind" about position, with the genitive. Krivina is the bend of the road; skretanje is the turn you make.
- лево одlevo odto the left ofLevo alone is the direction "left"; to say "to the left of" you need od plus the genitive.
- десно одdesno odto the right ofThe partner of levo od. Drop od and you get a direction of movement, not a location.
- на срединиna srediniin the middleSredina is already known; na with the locative turns it into a set phrase. The bookish variant is usred with the genitive.
- следеће скретањеsledeće skretanjethe next turnEkavian sledece; ijekavian sljedeće. Skretanje comes from skrenuti, "to turn off".
- успутusputon the wayWritten solid and behaving like an adverb. Second job: an aside — "by the way".
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.
- Где је станица?Gde je stanica?Where is the station?
- Овде је забрањено паркирањеOvde je zabranjeno parkiranjeParking is not allowed here
- Апотека је тамо, иза углаApoteka je tamo, iza uglaThe pharmacy is there, around the corner
- На семафору скрените десноNa semaforu skrenite desnoTurn right at the traffic light
- Идите лево, па онда правоIdite levo, pa onda pravoGo left, then straight
- Идите право до раскрсницеIdite pravo do raskrsniceGo straight ahead to the intersection
What is worth knowing about these words
где је? (gde je?) — where is.... Literally "where is": the linking je is compulsory where English manages without it. For plurals the link changes: gde su? — "where are...?".
овде (ovde) — here. Bosnia and Montenegro say ovdje. The pair to know: onde — "over there", a bit farther than tamo.
тамо (tamo) — there. Covers both "there" as a place and "there" as a direction — one word where English needs two. Tamo-amo means "back and forth".
десно (desno) — to the right. From desnica, the right hand. English keeps the same ancient idea in "dexterous" and "dexterity" — the right side as the skillful side.
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 где је? (gde je?) — where is....
- What is this word?
It is далеко (daleko) — far.
- What is this word?
It is десно од (desno od) — to the right of.
- What is this word?
It is десно (desno) — to the right.
- What is this word?
It is на другој страни (na drugoj strani) — on the other side.
Now the other way around: recall the spelling from the meaning. That is harder, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “where is...” in Serbian?
Literally "where is": the linking je is compulsory where English manages without it. For plurals the link changes: gde su? — "where are...?".
- How do you say “far” in Serbian?
Stress on the first syllable — DA-leko. With a preposition: daleko od centra — "far from the center".
- How do you say “to the right of” in Serbian?
The partner of levo od. Drop od and you get a direction of movement, not a location.
- How do you say “to the right” in Serbian?
From desnica, the right hand. English keeps the same ancient idea in "dexterous" and "dexterity" — the right side as the skillful side.
- How do you say “on the other side” in Serbian?
Locative after na: strana gives strani. For movement it would be the other case — na drugu stranu, "to the other side".
How to learn the set instead of just reading it
Right, left, straight on, how far. You ask the way rarely — and always at the moment when there is no time to work it out.
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 “where is...” in Serbian?
«где је?», read “gde je?”. Literally "where is": the linking je is compulsory where English manages without it. For plurals the link changes: gde su? — "where are...?". It is one of 18 words in the set “asking the way” — the rest are in the table above.
How many direction words do you need to start?
A dozen is enough. The set of 18 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, 18 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.