канцеларија
“канцеларија” (kancelarija) — office in Serbian. Noun, level A1, topic — buildings and premises. The same word as the old chancery — but in Serbian it is a plain office, without irony. In a live sentence: “Канцеларија је на другом спрату” — The office is on the second floor. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters к, а, н, ц, е, л, а, р, и, ј, а.
In short
| Written in Serbian | канцеларија |
| Read in Latin letters | kancelarija |
| Translation | office |
| Part of speech | noun |
| Level | A1 |
- канцеларијаkancelarijaoffice
Why it looks that way
The same word as the old chancery — but in Serbian it is a plain office, without irony.
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.
- Канцеларија је на другом спратуKancelarija je na drugom spratuThe office is on the second floor
Nearby words: buildings and premises
Where to go and what is done there. These words are read off a sign more often than they are spoken.
- ресторанrestoranrestaurantA Serb will call an ordinary eating place a kafana or a kafic; restoran sounds grander than the English word does.
- продавницаprodavnicashopFrom prodavati, "to sell". The corner shop is prodavnica or, colloquially, radnja — two names, same shelves.
- станицаstanicastationOne word for the railway station and the bus stop; the adjective in front decides: zeleznicka stanica, autobuska stanica.
- пијацаpijacamarketFrom Italian piazza — the market really does take the square. One word, market and plaza at once.
- банкаbankabankA false friend to note: banka is the bank. The glass jar is tegla — the household never confuses the two.
- апотекаapotekapharmacyThe all-night one is dezurna apoteka — the "on-duty" pharmacy. The person behind the counter is a farmaceut.
- маркетmarketgrocery storeThe most colloquial word for a corner food shop: idem u market — "I am off to the store". The official name is prodavnica prehrane.
- болницаbolnicahospitalFrom bol, "pain". The walk-in clinic is dom zdravlja — a separate institution.
- универзитетuniverzitetuniversityThrough a z: u-ni-ver-zi-tet.
- школаškolaschoolThe elementary one is osnovna skola; the high school is srednja skola.
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “buildings and premises”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “office” in Serbian?
The same word as the old chancery — but in Serbian it is a plain office, without irony.
- How do you say “grocery store” in Serbian?
The most colloquial word for a corner food shop: idem u market — "I am off to the store". The official name is prodavnica prehrane.
- 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 do you say “school” in Serbian?
The elementary one is osnovna skola; the high school is srednja skola.
- How do you say “pharmacy” in Serbian?
The all-night one is dezurna apoteka — the "on-duty" pharmacy. The person behind the counter is a farmaceut.
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 “office” in Serbian?
«канцеларија», read “kancelarija”. In a live sentence: “Канцеларија је на другом спрату” — The office is on the second floor. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Noun, level A1, from the set “buildings and premises”; written with the characters к, а, н, ц, е, л, а, р, и, ј, а.
How is “канцеларија” written in Latin letters?
kancelarija. 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?
The same word as the old chancery — but in Serbian it is a plain office, without irony. 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.