столњак
“столњак” (stolnjak) — a tablecloth in Serbian. Noun, level A2, topic — home and things. The nj before ak: stol-njak. In a live sentence: “Ставили смо бели столњак за славу” — We spread a white tablecloth for the slava. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters с, т, о, л, њ, а, к. One of 193 words in the set “home and things” in the Serbian course.
In short
| Written in Serbian | столњак |
| Read in Latin letters | stolnjak |
| Translation | a tablecloth |
| Part of speech | noun |
| Level | A2 |
- столњакstolnjaka tablecloth
How to pronounce it
The nj before ak: stol-njak.
Why it looks that way
From sto, the table: a table-cloth. A napkin is salveta, and krpa is a rag.
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.
- Ставили смо бели столњак за славуStavili smo beli stolnjak za slavuWe spread a white tablecloth for the slava
Nearby words: home and things
Room, key, water, electricity. You will need them on your first day in a rented flat.
- кућаkućahouseWatch the spelling — it is "house", nothing to do with cooking. An apartment is stan, its own little trap.
- покваренpokvarenbrokenBroken down and spoiled alike: pokvaren lift, but also pokvareno meso — "spoiled meat".
- смештајsmeštajaccommodationLodging in general. An apartment is stan, a house is kuća; smeštaj is the word in the ads.
- собаsobaroomA one-room apartment is jednosoban stan; a two-room one, dvosoban — the room count lives in the adjective.
- кухињаkuhinjakitchenA soft nja at the end: ku-hi-nja, not "kuhinia".
- купатилоkupatilobathroomFrom kupati se, "to bathe". A separate toilet room is toalet or, colloquially, ve-ce.
- балконbalkonbalconyJust like the English word. A glazed loggia is also called balkon — no separate word.
- спратspratfloor (of a building)A counting trap: the ground level is prizemlje, and prvi sprat — the "first floor" — is what English calls the second.
- лифтliftelevatorThe word is familiar; the phrase is new: lift ne radi — "the elevator is out of order".
- степеницеstepenicestairsAlways plural, from stepen, "a step". Idem stepenicama — "I am going by the stairs".
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “home and things”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “a tablecloth” in Serbian?
From sto, the table: a table-cloth. A napkin is salveta, and krpa is a rag.
- How do you say “balcony” in Serbian?
Just like the English word. A glazed loggia is also called balkon — no separate word.
- How do you say “accommodation” in Serbian?
Lodging in general. An apartment is stan, a house is kuća; smeštaj is the word in the ads.
- How do you say “stairs” in Serbian?
Always plural, from stepen, "a step". Idem stepenicama — "I am going by the stairs".
- How do you say “bathroom” in Serbian?
From kupati se, "to bathe". A separate toilet room is toalet or, colloquially, ve-ce.
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 “a tablecloth” in Serbian?
«столњак», read “stolnjak”. The nj before ak: stol-njak. In a live sentence: “Ставили смо бели столњак за славу” — We spread a white tablecloth for the slava. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Noun, level A2, from the set “home and things”; written with the characters с, т, о, л, њ, а, к.
How is “столњак” written in Latin letters?
stolnjak. 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?
From sto, the table: a table-cloth. A napkin is salveta, and krpa is a rag. 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.