Transport in Serbian
13 words Serbian words on the topic “transport”: аутобус — bus, такси — taxi, станица — station, стајалиште — stop. 13 words can be played from recordings.
13 words on the topic
- аутобусautobusbusThrough au, not av — Serbian reads every letter it writes: AU-to-bus. The spelling tells you exactly how to say it.
- таксиtaksitaxiUnlike the English noun, it declines: cekam taksi — "I am waiting for a taxi", but idem taksijem — "I am going by taxi". The case does the work.
- станицаstanicastationOne word for the railway station and the bus stop; the adjective in front decides: zeleznicka stanica, autobuska stanica.
- стајалиштеstajalištestopStanica, taught earlier, is the station; the place where a bus stands for a minute is stajaliste, from stajati, "to stand".
- путникputnikpassengerFrom put, "road". One word for the passenger and the traveler — Serbian does not split them.
- седиштеsedišteseatEkavian sediste; ijekavian sjediste. A second meaning: the headquarters of a firm.
- рукохватrukohvathandrailRuka plus hvatati: the thing you grab with a hand. Stress on the first syllable.
- контролорkontrolorticket inspectorWith -or, not "-yor": Serbian takes the Latin suffix. The feminine is kontrolorka.
- цена вожњеcena vožnjefareLiterally "the price of the ride". Voznja comes from voziti with the z softening to zh. Ijekavian: cijena voznje.
- пренатрпанprenatrpanpackedTwo prefixes on trpati, "to stuff": pre- and na-. Feminine: prenatrpana.
- слободно местоslobodno mestofree seatSlobodan drops its fleeting a in the neuter: slobodno. Ekavian mesto; ijekavian mjesto.
- аутомат за картеautomat za karteticket machineZa plus the plural object case: karte. The machine itself is automat, no extra suffixes.
- кашњењеkašnjenjedelayFrom kasniti, with the softening of n to nj and the devoicing in the middle. Both the transport delay and your own lateness.
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.
- Аутобус број два иде до центраAutobus broj dva ide do centraThe number two bus goes to the center
- Позовите ми такси, молим васPozovite mi taksi, molim vasCall me a taxi, please
- Железничка станица је иза паркаŽeleznička stanica je iza parkaThe railway station is behind the park
- Силазим на следећем стајалиштуSilazim na sledećem stajalištuI get off at the next stop
- Путник без карте плаћа казнуPutnik bez karte plaća kaznuA passenger without a ticket pays a fine
- Седиште поред мене је празноSedište pored mene je praznoThe seat next to me is empty
What is worth knowing about these words
аутобус (autobus) — bus. Through au, not av — Serbian reads every letter it writes: AU-to-bus. The spelling tells you exactly how to say it.
такси (taksi) — taxi. Unlike the English noun, it declines: cekam taksi — "I am waiting for a taxi", but idem taksijem — "I am going by taxi". The case does the work.
станица (stanica) — station. One word for the railway station and the bus stop; the adjective in front decides: zeleznicka stanica, autobuska stanica.
стајалиште (stajalište) — stop. Stanica, taught earlier, is the station; the place where a bus stands for a minute is stajaliste, from stajati, "to stand".
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 аутобус (autobus) — bus.
- What is this word?
It is контролор (kontrolor) — ticket inspector.
- What is this word?
It is такси (taksi) — taxi.
- What is this word?
It is цена вожње (cena vožnje) — fare.
- What is this word?
It is станица (stanica) — station.
Now the other way around: recall the spelling from the meaning. That is harder, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “bus” in Serbian?
Through au, not av — Serbian reads every letter it writes: AU-to-bus. The spelling tells you exactly how to say it.
- How do you say “ticket inspector” in Serbian?
With -or, not "-yor": Serbian takes the Latin suffix. The feminine is kontrolorka.
- How do you say “taxi” in Serbian?
Unlike the English noun, it declines: cekam taksi — "I am waiting for a taxi", but idem taksijem — "I am going by taxi". The case does the work.
- How do you say “fare” in Serbian?
Literally "the price of the ride". Voznja comes from voziti with the z softening to zh. Ijekavian: cijena voznje.
- How do you say “station” in Serbian?
One word for the railway station and the bus stop; the adjective in front decides: zeleznicka stanica, autobuska stanica.
How to learn the set instead of just reading it
Bus, metro, taxi, stop, station. These are words you need to recognize in writing — off a departure board and off a sign.
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 “bus” in Serbian?
«аутобус», read “autobus”. Through au, not av — Serbian reads every letter it writes: AU-to-bus. The spelling tells you exactly how to say it. It is one of 13 words in the set “transport” — the rest are in the table above.
How many transport words do you need to start?
A dozen is enough. The set of 13 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, 13 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.