молим
“молим” (molim) — please (for requests) in Serbian. Adverb, level A0, topic — polite words. Literally "I ask". One word with three jobs: "please" in a request, "you are welcome" in reply to hvala, and "pardon?" when you did not hear. In a live sentence: “Молим вас, једну кафу” — One coffee, please. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters м, о, л, и, м. One of 9 words in the set “polite words” in the Serbian course.
In short
| Written in Serbian | молим |
| Read in Latin letters | molim |
| Translation | please (for requests) |
| Part of speech | adverb |
| Level | A0 |
- молимmolimplease (for requests)
Why it looks that way
Literally "I ask". One word with three jobs: "please" in a request, "you are welcome" in reply to hvala, and "pardon?" when you did not hear.
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.
- Молим вас, једну кафуMolim vas, jednu kafuOne coffee, please
Nearby words: polite words
“Thank you”, “please” and “sorry” carry you while the rest of the words are still missing: with them even a gesture reads as a request rather than a demand.
- хвалаhvalathank youYou will say it a hundred times a day. The replies are molim or nema na cemu — both are taught right here in this unit.
- 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".
- виviyou (formal or plural)Serbs capitalize polite Vi in writing. One word for a group and for one respected stranger — the same double duty English "you" does.
- извинитеizviniteexcuse meLooks familiar and means exactly what you hope — the rare freebie. Use it to stop a stranger or squeeze past.
- сачекајте минутsačekajte minutwait a minuteThe polite plural imperative. To a friend: sačekaj.
- у реду јеu redu jeeverything is fineLiterally "it is in order", from red — queue and order in one word. Also "deal, agreed, all right then".
- нема на чемуnema na čemuyou are welcomeLiterally "there is nothing on it" — nothing to thank for. The answer to hvala can also be molim, or the folksy nije nista, "it is nothing".
- изволитеizvolitehere you areSaid when handing something over or inviting someone in; to a friend it drops to izvoli. The course's molim is "please" in a request and "not at all" — izvolite is the "please" of the outstretched hand.
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “polite words”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “please (for requests)” in Serbian?
Literally "I ask". One word with three jobs: "please" in a request, "you are welcome" in reply to hvala, and "pardon?" when you did not hear.
- How do you say “you are welcome” in Serbian?
Literally "there is nothing on it" — nothing to thank for. The answer to hvala can also be molim, or the folksy nije nista, "it is nothing".
- How do you say “wait a minute” in Serbian?
The polite plural imperative. To a friend: sačekaj.
- How do you say “you (formal or plural)” in Serbian?
Serbs capitalize polite Vi in writing. One word for a group and for one respected stranger — the same double duty English "you" does.
- How do you say “thank you” in Serbian?
You will say it a hundred times a day. The replies are molim or nema na cemu — both are taught right here in this unit.
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 “please (for requests)” in Serbian?
«молим», read “molim”. In a live sentence: “Молим вас, једну кафу” — One coffee, please. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Adverb, level A0, from the set “polite words”; written with the characters м, о, л, и, м.
How is “молим” written in Latin letters?
molim. 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 "I ask". One word with three jobs: "please" in a request, "you are welcome" in reply to hvala, and "pardon?" when you did not hear. 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.