то је било давно
“то је било давно” (to je bilo davno) — it was long ago in Serbian. Phrase, level A2, topic — time, days and hours. Davno without already; if emphasis is needed, odavno is added, since time out of mind. The word order is free: davno je to bilo sounds warmer. In a live sentence: “То је било давно, нико се више не љути” — It was long ago, nobody is angry anymore. You can hear how it sounds right here.
In short
| Written in Serbian | то је било давно |
| Read in Latin letters | to je bilo davno |
| Translation | it was long ago |
| Part of speech | phrase |
| Level | A2 |
- то је било давноto je bilo davnoit was long ago
Why it looks that way
Davno without already; if emphasis is needed, odavno is added, since time out of mind. The word order is free: davno je to bilo sounds warmer.
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.
- То је било давно, нико се више не љутиTo je bilo davno, niko se više ne ljutiIt was long ago, nobody is angry anymore
Nearby words: time, days and hours
Today, tomorrow, in the morning, at six. You cannot arrange to meet without these — let alone understand the answer.
- сатsathourAlso the watch on your wrist: dva sata — "two hours" and "two o'clock" alike; rucni sat is a wristwatch. One word, three time jobs.
- данdandayThe plural splits: dani in free use, but after numbers dana — pet dana, "five days". Danas is literally "of this day".
- данасdanastodayDan ("day") plus the old ending -as: "in this day". The same building block hides in other time words you will meet.
- сутраsutratomorrowRelated to jutro, "morning", by origin, but it means only "tomorrow" — jutro stays morning.
- јучеjučeyesterdayThere is also jucer — the same word, a touch more bookish. The day before yesterday is prekjuče.
- вечеvečeeveningNeuter, declining like vreme: uveče, do večeri. Do not confuse with vec — "already" — a stress mark apart.
- ноћnoćnightFeminine on a consonant: u noći, preko noći — "overnight". Noćas means "tonight, in the night just passed".
- времеvremeweatherOne word for weather and for time: kakvo je vreme? asks about the sky; nemam vremena about the clock.
- у колико сати?u koliko sati?at what time?Literally "at how many hours". Sati is the plural of sat.
- већ је касноveć je kasnoit is already lateVec is "already". Do not cross it with vece (the evening) — one letter, one vowel length, two words.
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “time, days and hours”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “it was long ago” in Serbian?
Davno without already; if emphasis is needed, odavno is added, since time out of mind. The word order is free: davno je to bilo sounds warmer.
- How do you say “night” in Serbian?
Feminine on a consonant: u noći, preko noći — "overnight". Noćas means "tonight, in the night just passed".
- How do you say “today” in Serbian?
Dan ("day") plus the old ending -as: "in this day". The same building block hides in other time words you will meet.
- How do you say “it is already late” in Serbian?
Vec is "already". Do not cross it with vece (the evening) — one letter, one vowel length, two words.
- How do you say “evening” in Serbian?
Neuter, declining like vreme: uveče, do večeri. Do not confuse with vec — "already" — a stress mark 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 “it was long ago” in Serbian?
«то је било давно», read “to je bilo davno”. In a live sentence: “То је било давно, нико се више не љути” — It was long ago, nobody is angry anymore. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Phrase, level A2, from the set “time, days and hours”; written with the characters т, о, ј, е, б, и, л, о, д, а, в, н.
How is “то је било давно” written in Latin letters?
to je bilo davno. 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?
Davno without already; if emphasis is needed, odavno is added, since time out of mind. The word order is free: davno je to bilo sounds warmer. 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.