Greetings and goodbyes in Serbian
9 words Serbian words on the topic “greetings and goodbyes”: здраво — hello, добар дан — good afternoon, добро јутро — good morning, добро вече — good evening. 9 words can be played from recordings.
9 words on the topic
- здравоzdravohelloWorks for meeting people and parting alike, like Italian ciao. With strangers lead with dobar dan instead.
- добар данdobar dangood afternoonThe neutral, polite greeting. With someone you do not know, open with this rather than zdravo.
- добро јутроdobro jutrogood morningThe letter j is the English "y" sound, so jutro sounds like "you-tro". Morning hours only; after that switch to dobar dan.
- добро вечеdobro večegood eveningc-with-a-circle (č) is a firm "ch" as in "church", while c-with-an-acute (ć) is softer, closer to "ty". The two letters look alike and sound distinct.
- довиђењаdoviđenjagoodbyeLiterally "until seeing". The letter d-with-stroke (đ) is a soft "dj" — like the "d" of "during" said with a buzz, close to the "j" of British "juice".
- ћаоćaobyeBorrowed from Italian ciao and just as informal. The letter c is a softer "ch" than in "church" — tongue closer to the teeth.
- како си?kako si?how are you?Si is literally "you are": the verb "to be" is a small ending here, not a separate word. For friends and peers.
- како сте?kako ste?how are you (formal)?The polite plural form, your "how do you do". Ste is the you-form of "to be".
- лаку ноћlaku noćgood nightLiterally "an easy night" — a parting wish, never a greeting.
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.
- Здраво, комшија, како си?Zdravo, komšija, kako si?Hello, neighbor, how are you?
- Добар дан, изволите?Dobar dan, izvolite?Good afternoon, what can I get you?
- Добро јутро, како сте спавали?Dobro jutro, kako ste spavali?Good morning, how did you sleep?
- Добро вече, сто за двоје, молимDobro veče, sto za dvoje, molimGood evening, a table for two, please
- Довиђења, видимо се сутраDoviđenja, vidimo se sutraGoodbye, see you tomorrow
- Ћао, идем кућиĆao, idem kućiBye, I am going home
What is worth knowing about these words
здраво (zdravo) — hello. Works for meeting people and parting alike, like Italian ciao. With strangers lead with dobar dan instead.
добар дан (dobar dan) — good afternoon. The neutral, polite greeting. With someone you do not know, open with this rather than zdravo.
добро јутро (dobro jutro) — good morning. The letter j is the English "y" sound, so jutro sounds like "you-tro". Morning hours only; after that switch to dobar dan.
добро вече (dobro veče) — good evening. c-with-a-circle (č) is a firm "ch" as in "church", while c-with-an-acute (ć) is softer, closer to "ty". The two letters look alike and sound distinct.
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 здраво (zdravo) — hello.
- What is this word?
It is како сте? (kako ste?) — how are you (formal)?.
- What is this word?
It is ћао (ćao) — bye.
- What is this word?
It is добро вече (dobro veče) — good evening.
- What is this word?
It is добар дан (dobar dan) — good afternoon.
Now the other way around: recall the spelling from the meaning. That is harder, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “hello” in Serbian?
Works for meeting people and parting alike, like Italian ciao. With strangers lead with dobar dan instead.
- How do you say “how are you (formal)?” in Serbian?
The polite plural form, your "how do you do". Ste is the you-form of "to be".
- How do you say “bye” in Serbian?
Borrowed from Italian ciao and just as informal. The letter c is a softer "ch" than in "church" — tongue closer to the teeth.
- How do you say “good evening” in Serbian?
c-with-a-circle (č) is a firm "ch" as in "church", while c-with-an-acute (ć) is softer, closer to "ty". The two letters look alike and sound distinct.
- How do you say “good afternoon” in Serbian?
The neutral, polite greeting. With someone you do not know, open with this rather than zdravo.
How to learn the set instead of just reading it
Every conversation starts here, and so does every first impression: say hello in the local language and you stop being a stranger in about a second.
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 “hello” in Serbian?
«здраво», read “zdravo”. Works for meeting people and parting alike, like Italian ciao. With strangers lead with dobar dan instead. It is one of 9 words in the set “greetings and goodbyes” — the rest are in the table above.
How many greetings do you need to start?
A dozen is enough. The set of 9 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, 9 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.