бити
“бити” (biti) — to be in Serbian. Verb, level A0, topic — basic words. In the present it is almost always unstressed and lands second in the sentence: Ja sam tu — "I am here", Mi smo kod kuće — "we are at home". The full jesam is for short answers: Jesi li tu? — Jesam. In a live sentence: “Ја сам ту” — I am here. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters б, и, т, и.
In short
| Written in Serbian | бити |
| Read in Latin letters | biti |
| Translation | to be |
| Part of speech | verb |
| Level | A0 |
- битиbitito be
Why it looks that way
In the present it is almost always unstressed and lands second in the sentence: Ja sam tu — "I am here", Mi smo kod kuće — "we are at home". The full jesam is for short answers: Jesi li tu? — Jesam.
A word with a story stays in memory longer than one learned as a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.
In a live sentence
A single word almost never appears alone in conversation. A sentence shows where it fits and what stands next to it.
- Ја сам туJa sam tuI am here
- Ми смо код кућеMi smo kod kućeWe are at home
- Он је добарOn je dobarHe is good
Nearby words: basic words
Yes, no, good, bad, very. The small change of a language — and no sentence assembles without it.
- даdayesAlso the linker before verbs: hocu da idem — "I want to go". Serbian almost never uses the infinitive after a main verb; da plus the present does the job.
- неnenoOne word for the answer "no" and for negating any verb: ne razumem — "I do not understand". No helper verb, just put ne in front.
- доброdobrofineThe standard answer to kako si: dobro sam — "I am fine". Well-being, approval, acceptable plans — one word covers them all.
- лошеlošebadlyš sounds like "sh" in "ship". The plain opposite of dobro — use it for how you feel or how things went.
- одличноodličnoexcellentThe adverb from odlican, "excellent". In Serbian schools odlican is also the top grade — the straight-A word.
- иiandAlso an emphatic "even": i on je došao — "even he came". Position in the sentence tells the two jobs apart.
- алиalibutOpens the second clause, as in English. After a negative, Serbian switches to nego: nije čaj, nego kafa — "not tea but coffee".
- половинаpolovinahalfThe short form pola is more frequent: pola kile, pola sata.
- не треба миne treba miI do not need itImpersonal treba: the needed thing stands in the plain form — ne treba mi kesa — "I do not need a bag".
- још једанjoš jedanone moreWith feminine nouns: još jedna; neuter: još jedno. The order phrase that never stops being useful.
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “basic words”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “to be” in Serbian?
In the present it is almost always unstressed and lands second in the sentence: Ja sam tu — "I am here", Mi smo kod kuće — "we are at home". The full jesam is for short answers: Jesi li tu? — Jesam.
- How do you say “but” in Serbian?
Opens the second clause, as in English. After a negative, Serbian switches to nego: nije čaj, nego kafa — "not tea but coffee".
- How do you say “fine” in Serbian?
The standard answer to kako si: dobro sam — "I am fine". Well-being, approval, acceptable plans — one word covers them all.
- How do you say “one more” in Serbian?
With feminine nouns: još jedna; neuter: još jedno. The order phrase that never stops being useful.
- How do you say “and” in Serbian?
Also an emphatic "even": i on je došao — "even he came". Position in the sentence tells the two jobs apart.
How not to forget this word
Reading a word and remembering it are different jobs. A day later, little survives of a single reading — and that is not bad memory, that is how memory works.
- This has been tested on foreign words too. The difference shows up most when you test yourself a few days later rather than straight away.checked many timesKim & Webb, 2022, Language Learning 72(2) · 48 experiments, 3,411 participants, 98 comparisons.
- 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.
- An answer you worked out yourself sticks better than one handed to you.checked many timesBertsch et al., 2007, Memory & Cognition 35(2) · 86 studies, 445 comparisons, d = 0.40.
Frequently asked
How do you say “to be” in Serbian?
«бити», read “biti”. In a live sentence: “Ја сам ту” — I am here. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Verb, level A0, from the set “basic words”; written with the characters б, и, т, и.
How is “бити” written in Latin letters?
biti. This is a practical spelling — you need it to read aloud and be understood, not to meet an academic standard.
Why does this word look the way it does?
In the present it is almost always unstressed and lands second in the sentence: Ja sam tu — "I am here", Mi smo kod kuće — "we are at home". The full jesam is for short answers: Jesi li tu? — Jesam. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.
Can I hear how it sounds?
Yes, right on this page: click the word and it will play. The sound works on any phone, and nothing needs to be installed.