чему
“чему” (čemu) — what for in Serbian. Adverb, level A1, topic — basic words. Literally "to what": it asks about purpose, while zašto asks about cause. In live speech purpose is usually asked with zašto too; čemu sounds short and sharp — the start of an objection, not of a chat. In a live sentence: “Чему толика журба?” — What is all this hurry for? You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters ч, е, м, у.
In short
| Written in Serbian | чему |
| Read in Latin letters | čemu |
| Translation | what for |
| Part of speech | adverb |
| Level | A1 |
- чемуčemuwhat for
Why it looks that way
Literally "to what": it asks about purpose, while zašto asks about cause. In live speech purpose is usually asked with zašto too; čemu sounds short and sharp — the start of an objection, not of a chat.
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.
- Чему толика журба?Čemu tolika žurba?What is all this hurry for?
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 “what for” in Serbian?
Literally "to what": it asks about purpose, while zašto asks about cause. In live speech purpose is usually asked with zašto too; čemu sounds short and sharp — the start of an objection, not of a chat.
- 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 “what for” in Serbian?
«чему», read “čemu”. In a live sentence: “Чему толика журба?” — What is all this hurry for? You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Adverb, level A1, from the set “basic words”; written with the characters ч, е, м, у.
How is “чему” written in Latin letters?
čemu. 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?
Literally "to what": it asks about purpose, while zašto asks about cause. In live speech purpose is usually asked with zašto too; čemu sounds short and sharp — the start of an objection, not of a chat. 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.