LingoflyAsking the way in Serbian
18 words in Serbian on the topic “asking the way”: где је? (gde je) — where is..., овде (ovde) — here, тамо (tamo) — there, десно (desno) — to the right. 18 words can be played from recordings.
18 words on the topic
- где је?gde je?where is...Literally "where is": the linking je is compulsory where English manages without it. For plurals the link changes: gde su? — "where are...?".
- овдеovdehereBosnia and Montenegro say ovdje. The pair to know: onde — "over there", a bit farther than tamo.
- тамоtamothereCovers both "there" as a place and "there" as a direction — one word where English needs two. Tamo-amo means "back and forth".
- десноdesnoto the rightFrom desnica, the right hand. English keeps the same ancient idea in "dexterous" and "dexterity" — the right side as the skillful side.
- левоlevoto the leftGives levak, "a left-hander". Next to it the great trap: pravo is not "right" — it is "straight ahead".
- правоpravostraight aheadThe classic trap: pravo means STRAIGHT. For the right-hand side you need desno — check before you turn.
- близуblizuclose byBoth an adverb and a preposition with the of-form: blizu stanice — "close to the station". The comparative is bliže — "closer".
- далекоdalekofarNot stressed on the last syllable: dictionaries give dalèko, and in everyday speech dàleko is heard too. With a preposition: daleko od centra — "far from the center".
- како да дођем доkako da dođem dohow do I get to...Literally "how do I walk up to": Serbian builds it with da plus the present tense. Do demands the of-form after it.
- доћи доdoći doto get toDoći do is getting somewhere by any means, on foot included. The close stići do stresses that the goal was reached. Both take the of-form.
- на другој страниna drugoj stranion the other sideThe at-form after na: strana gives strani. For movement it would be the other case — na drugu stranu, "to the other side".
- на два коракаna dva korakatwo steps awaySerbian takes na where English says "at a distance of". After dva the noun takes its special counting form: koraka.
- иза кривинеiza krivinearound the bendIza is "behind" about position, with the of-form. Krivina is the bend of the road; skretanje is the turn you make.
- лево одlevo odto the left ofLevo alone is the direction "left"; to say "to the left of" you need od plus the of-form.
- десно одdesno odto the right ofThe partner of levo od. Drop od and you get a direction of movement, not a location.
- на срединиna srediniin the middleSredina is "the middle"; na with the at-form turns it into a set phrase. The bookish variant is usred with the of-form.
- следеће скретањеsledeće skretanjethe next turnEkavian sledeće; ijekavian sljedeće. Skretanje comes from skrenuti, "to turn off".
- успутusputon the wayWritten solid and behaving like an adverb. Second job: an aside — "by the way".
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How it sounds in a sentence
A word list is a blank. Conversation is made of sentences, and these are the ones the words fit into most often.
What is worth knowing about these words
где је? (gde je?) — where is... Literally "where is": the linking je is compulsory where English manages without it. For plurals the link changes: gde su? — "where are...?".
овде (ovde) — here. Bosnia and Montenegro say ovdje. The pair to know: onde — "over there", a bit farther than tamo.
тамо (tamo) — there. Covers both "there" as a place and "there" as a direction — one word where English needs two. Tamo-amo means "back and forth".
десно (desno) — to the right. From desnica, the right hand. English keeps the same ancient idea in "dexterous" and "dexterity" — the right side as the skillful side.
Test yourself
First by ear — the way you will meet the word in conversation. Click the speaker and pick the translation.
- What is this word?
It is где је? (gde je?) — where is...
- What is this word?
It is далеко (daleko) — far.
- What is this word?
It is десно од (desno od) — to the right of.
- What is this word?
It is десно (desno) — to the right.
- What is this word?
It is на другој страни (na drugoj strani) — on the other side.
Now the other way around: recall the spelling from the meaning. That is harder, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “where is...” in Serbian?
Literally "where is": the linking je is compulsory where English manages without it. For plurals the link changes: gde su? — "where are...?".
- How do you say “far” in Serbian?
Not stressed on the last syllable: dictionaries give dalèko, and in everyday speech dàleko is heard too. With a preposition: daleko od centra — "far from the center".
- How do you say “to the right of” in Serbian?
The partner of levo od. Drop od and you get a direction of movement, not a location.
- How do you say “to the right” in Serbian?
From desnica, the right hand. English keeps the same ancient idea in "dexterous" and "dexterity" — the right side as the skillful side.
- How do you say “on the other side” in Serbian?
The at-form after na: strana gives strani. For movement it would be the other case — na drugu stranu, "to the other side".
How to learn the set instead of just reading it
Right, left, straight on, how far. You ask the way rarely — and always at the moment when there is no time to work it out.
A list is read in a minute and forgotten in a day. What works: hide the translation, try to recall, get it wrong — and come back to the same words tomorrow.
- 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.
- Study spread over days wins not only in experiments but in ordinary classrooms, with real students.checked many timesMawson & Kang, 2025, Behavioral Sciences 15(6):771 · 22 studies, d = 0.54 (confidence interval 0.31–0.77). The authors warn that individual studies disagree widely.
Frequently asked
How do you say “where is...” in Serbian?
«где је?» (gde je), read “gde je?” Literally "where is": the linking je is compulsory where English manages without it. For plurals the link changes: gde su? — "where are...?". It is one of 18 words in the set “asking the way” — the rest are in the table above.
How many direction words do you need to start?
The whole set on this page is 18 words, but there is no need to start with all of it: the words you will need in the next few days are enough. Take them a few at a time — five to seven new ones per session.
Is there audio?
Yes, 18 words on this page can be played — click the speaker next to the word. The sound works on any phone, and nothing needs to be installed.