нема на чему
“нема на чему” (nema na čemu) — you are welcome in Serbian. Phrase, level A0, topic — polite words. 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". In a live sentence: “Нема на чему, драго ми је да сам помогао” — You are welcome, I was glad to help. You can hear how it sounds right here.
In short
| Written in Serbian | нема на чему |
| Read in Latin letters | nema na čemu |
| Translation | you are welcome |
| Part of speech | phrase |
| Level | A0 |
- нема на чемуnema na čemuyou are welcome
Why it looks that way
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".
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.
- Нема на чему, драго ми је да сам помогаоnema na čemu, drago mi je da sam pomogaoYou are welcome, I was glad to help
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.
- молимmolimplease (for requests)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.
- 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".
- 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 “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 “everything is fine” in Serbian?
Literally "it is in order", from red — queue and order in one word. Also "deal, agreed, all right then".
- How do you say “excuse me” in Serbian?
Looks familiar and means exactly what you hope — the rare freebie. Use it to stop a stranger or squeeze past.
- How do you say “how are you (formal)?” in Serbian?
The polite plural form, your "how do you do". Ste is the you-form of "to be".
- 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 “you are welcome” in Serbian?
«нема на чему», read “nema na čemu”. In a live sentence: “Нема на чему, драго ми је да сам помогао” — You are welcome, I was glad to help. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Phrase, level A0, from the set “polite words”; written with the characters н, е, м, а, н, а, ч, е, м, у.
How is “нема на чему” written in Latin letters?
nema na 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 "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". 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.