треба ми лекар
“треба ми лекар” (treba mi lekar) — I need a doctor in Serbian. Phrase, level A1, topic — phrases that save you. Impersonal treba: the needed thing stands plain, and the person who needs it stands in the to-whom form. In a live sentence: “Лоше ми је, треба ми лекар” — I feel faint, I need a doctor. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters т, р, е, б, а, м, и, л, е, к, а, р.
In short
| Written in Serbian | треба ми лекар |
| Read in Latin letters | treba mi lekar |
| Translation | I need a doctor |
| Part of speech | phrase |
| Level | A1 |
- треба ми лекарtreba mi lekarI need a doctor
Why it looks that way
Impersonal treba: the needed thing stands plain, and the person who needs it stands in the to-whom form.
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.
- Лоше ми је, треба ми лекарLoše mi je, treba mi lekarI feel faint, I need a doctor
Nearby words: phrases that save you
“I don't understand”, “say that again”, “slower, please”, “help”. They are learned first for a reason: they bring back a conversation that has already gone wrong.
- не разумемne razumemI do not understandFrom razumeti, "to understand". Negation is one solid block: ne is glued straight onto the verb, with no helper verb involved.
- полакоpolakoslowlyAlso "easy does it" — the national answer to hurry and panic alike. Said twice, polako polako, it is practically a philosophy.
- поновите, молимponovite, molimrepeat, pleaseThe polite imperative. More conversational: mozete li ponovo? — "can you say it again?" A molim in front adds politeness.
- говорите ли енглески?govorite li engleski?do you speak English?The li particle after the verb is what makes it a question: Govorite li engleski? comes out word for word as "speak you English?".
- помоћ!pomoć!help!The soft ć again, closer to "ty" than "ch". The same root in hitna pomoc — "urgent help" — the name of the ambulance service.
- изгубио сам сеizgubio sam seI am lostA woman says izgubila sam se: the past tense in Serbian agrees with the speaker's gender, so the ending changes with who speaks.
- не радиne radidoes not workRaditi is both "to work" and "to do" — and it works for appliances too: bojler ne radi — "the boiler is out".
- покварило сеpokvarilo seit brokePast tense with se, and the helper je vanishes here: not "pokvarilo se je" but simply pokvarilo se.
- позовите мајстораpozovite majstoracall a repairmanMajstor is anyone with tools: a plumber, an electrician, a furniture man.
- када ћете доћи?kada ćete doći?when will you come?The future through ću/ćeš/će: ćete doći — "you will come". The will-word is glued into one form.
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “phrases that save you”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “I need a doctor” in Serbian?
Impersonal treba: the needed thing stands plain, and the person who needs it stands in the to-whom form.
- How do you say “does not work” in Serbian?
Raditi is both "to work" and "to do" — and it works for appliances too: bojler ne radi — "the boiler is out".
- How do you say “repeat, please” in Serbian?
The polite imperative. More conversational: mozete li ponovo? — "can you say it again?" A molim in front adds politeness.
- How do you say “when will you come?” in Serbian?
The future through ću/ćeš/će: ćete doći — "you will come". The will-word is glued into one form.
- How do you say “I am lost” in Serbian?
A woman says izgubila sam se: the past tense in Serbian agrees with the speaker's gender, so the ending changes with who speaks.
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 “I need a doctor” in Serbian?
«треба ми лекар», read “treba mi lekar”. In a live sentence: “Лоше ми је, треба ми лекар” — I feel faint, I need a doctor. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Phrase, level A1, from the set “phrases that save you”; written with the characters т, р, е, б, а, м, и, л, е, к, а, р.
How is “треба ми лекар” written in Latin letters?
treba mi lekar. 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?
Impersonal treba: the needed thing stands plain, and the person who needs it stands in the to-whom form. 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.