Time, days and hours in Serbian

137 words in Serbian on the topic “time, days and hours”: сат (sat) — hour, дан (dan) — day, данас (danas) — today, сутра (sutra) — tomorrow. 137 words can be played from recordings.

Updated September 1, 2026 · Lingofly

137 words on the topic

сат
sat
hour
Also the watch on your wrist: dva sata — "two hours" and "two o'clock" alike; ručni sat is a wristwatch. One word, three time jobs.
дан
dan
day
The plural splits: dani in free use, but after numbers dana — pet dana, "five days". Danas is literally "this day".
данас
danas
today
Dan ("day") plus -as: "in this day". The same -s sits in jutros, "this morning", and večeras, "this evening".
сутра
sutra
tomorrow
Related to jutro, "morning", by origin, but it means only "tomorrow" — jutro stays morning.
јуче
juče
yesterday
The variant jučer belongs further west, in Croatia; Belgrade says juče. The day before yesterday is prekjuče.
вече
veče
evening
Neuter, but its other cases use forms in -eri: do večeri. Uveče means "in the evening". Do not confuse it with već — "already".
ноћ
noć
night
Feminine on a consonant: u noći, preko noći — "overnight". Noćas means "tonight, in the night just passed".
време
vreme
weather
One 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 касно
već je kasno
it is already late
Već is "already". Do not cross it with veče, "the evening": that one has č and a final vowel.
доручак
doručak
breakfast
At a hotel you will hear doručak je uključen — "breakfast included". To breakfast is doručkovati.
ручак
ručak
lunch
The main meal of the day, usually after two. To lunch is ručati. The same root hides inside doručak.
вечера
večera
supper
From veče, "evening"; the verb is večerati. To make supper is spremiti večeru.
прво
prvo
to start with
It stands before the verb: prvo ćemo jesti, pa onda idemo. It also opens a narration instead of first of all; the continuation tells them apart: pa onda tells a story, kao drugo runs a list.
затим
zatim
afterwards
Bookish and neutral, it stands at the start of the part: prvo, zatim. In live speech the same spot is taken by pa onda or simply posle.
после тога
posle toga
after that
Posle takes the of-form: posle toga, posle ručka, posle posla. A trap: posle is both a preposition and an adverb, and kasnije means later.
најзад
najzad
finally
The payoff of a long wait; it stands at the start, and the short words follow right behind: Najzad smo stigli, not Najzad stigli smo. The synonym is konačno.
док
dok
while
One conjunction for both while and as long as: Dok on spava, ja radim. The comma is needed if the clause comes first. A trap: dok ne means until, and the negation is not doubled in translation.
истовремено
istovremeno
at the same time
An adverb, not a conjunction: you cannot tie two sentences with it, for that you need dok. It stands before the verb: istovremeno je zvonio telefon.
пре него што
pre nego što
before
Three words with a rigid inner order. After it the future is said in the present tense, as after ako and kad: pre nego što krenemo. In speech shortened to pre nego krenemo.
након што
nakon što
once (after)
The pair of pre nego što, but shorter: nakon što stignemo. Without što the preposition nakon works with the of-form: nakon ručka. In speech people often say kad or pošto.
чим
čim
as soon as
One word where English needs two, and after it the future is the present tense: Čim stignem, zvaću te. A trap: čime, with an e at the end, is the with-form of šta, the question with what.
од тада
od tada
since then
It points at a spot in the past and stands at the start: Od tada se nismo videli. And since, with a clause, is otkad or otkako: otkad je otišao.
увек
uvek
always
Usually before the verb. In the past tense both Uvek sam kasnio and Ja sam uvek kasnio work. Only the short sam cannot open the sentence: it holds the second place.
често
često
often
The comparative is irregular: češće, more often; najčešće, most often. Najčešće also works as as a rule.
ретко
retko
rarely
The comparison is ređe, najređe. A relative trap: redak means both rare and thin, retka supa is a thin soup.
понекад
ponekad
sometimes
Written as one word. Nearby live katkad and the long s vremena na vreme, the same sense, only longer.
никад
nikad
never
Double negation is compulsory: nikad ne idem; without ne the phrase is broken. The same for nigde ne, ništa ne, niko ne. The full form is nikada.
обично
obično
usually
From običan, ordinary: obično radim do pet. A trap: usually in the sense of plainly is jednostavno, not obično.
дуго
dugo
for a long while
A three-word trap: dugo is for a long time, dug a debt, dugačak long. Dugo čekam, but dugačak put and vratiti dug.
сваки пут
svaki put
every time
Two words, object form: svaki put kad dođem. Put means both an occasion and a road; occasions are counted with it: dva puta, mnogo puta.
с времена на време
s vremena na vreme
from time to time
A frozen phrase, the word order does not change. Literally from time onto time: the first word in the of-form, the second in the object form. Shorter, people say ponekad.
до сада
do sada
so far
The reference point is now: do sada nismo čuli ništa. The pair of od tada. Also written together, dosad; both are right.
одједном
odjednom
suddenly
It opens the story of the unexpected and pulls the short words along: Odjednom je nestalo struje. Written as one word; od jednom, in two, is a mistake.
унапред
unapred
in advance
Usage: platiti unapred, hvala unapred, thanks in advance. A trap: napred without u means forward, and unapređenje is a promotion at work.
на време
na vreme
on time
Two words and the object form only: stigli smo na vreme. A case trap: na vremenu with the at-form means in the course of it, not punctually.
хитно
hitno
urgently
From hitan, urgent: hitna pomoć, the ambulance; hitan slučaj, an emergency. Usage: hitno mi treba potvrda.
одмах
odmah
right away
Usage: dolazim odmah, odmah posle ručka. A trap of a similar start: odmor is rest, with a different root.
постепено
postepeno
gradually
From stepen, a step: gradually means step by step. Postepeno se navikavam. The colloquial synonym is malo-pomalio.
у последњи час
u poslednji čas
at the last moment
Literally in the last hour, but čas here is a moment, not sixty minutes; sixty minutes is a sat. Longer and bookier: u poslednjem trenutku.
пре или касније
pre ili kasnije
sooner or later
Serbian takes comparatives, not adverbs: literally earlier or later. The word order does not change: Pre ili kasnije će se saznati.
једном
jednom
once
The same word means one time and someday: jednom ćemo, jednom nedeljno. It is the with-form of jedan frozen into an adverb.
у детињству
u detinjstvu
in childhood
The at-form after u, as in u školi: where, not where to. U detinjstvo with the object form would mean a movement back in time.
у то време
u to vreme
back then
English puts the plural, Serbian the singular: u to vreme. The plural vremena exists but lives in the high style.
то је било давно
to je bilo davno
it was long ago
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.
први пут
prvi put
the first time
Put here is an occasion, and the same word means a road. For the first time is po prvi put, and the last time poslednji put.
будућност
budućnost
the future
From budući, future, the same root as the English will-be. A feminine noun in ost, like mladost and prošlost.
прошлост
prošlost
the past
From prošli, past, as in prošle nedelje. The past tense in grammar is prošlo vreme.
планови за наредни период
planovi za naredni period
plans for the near future
Saying najbliži planovi is impossible: Serbian describes the term, not the closeness. Naredni is next, the same sense as sledeći.
за годину дана
za godinu dana
in a year
Za with the object form means in, exactly the opposite of the usual pattern. And dana sounds superfluous only to the English ear: without it the phrase sounds cut off.
стално
stalno
all the time
From stalan, permanent: stalni posao, stalna adresa. In speech it often simply means constantly, with a shade of reproach.
привремено
privremeno
temporarily
Literally at-the-time: what is there for the term, not forever. Privremeni boravak is a temporary stay, the first thing a newcomer files.
згодно време
zgodno vreme
a convenient time
Zgodan is convenient, suitable, and about a person attractive: zgodna devojka is a compliment, nothing about convenience. A comfortable chair is udoban.
заказати термин
zakazati termin
to book an appointment
A trap: zakazati means to schedule, to book an appointment, while ordering in a shop or cafe is naručiti. Termin is not a term but an appointed time.
поподне
popodne
in the afternoon
Four English words fit into one: popodne. Written together both as an adverb and as a noun: u tri popodne, lepo popodne.
предвече
predveče
toward evening
Also one word instead of three, also together. Nearby stand pred zoru, before dawn, and preko dana, in the daytime.
у било које време
u bilo koje vreme
at any time
Bilo koji is any, whichever; the second part declines: bilo koga, bilo čime. People also say kad god hoćeš.
не пре пет
ne pre pet
not before five
Pre means both earlier and before; no comparative is needed here. With the of-form: pre pet sati, pre podne.
доћи ћу на време
doći ću na vreme
I will be on time
English promises with to be; Serbian with to come: doći ću. Biću na vreme is understood too but sounds less natural.
док не
dok ne
until
Dok is while; with ne it means up to the moment when: čekaj dok ne dođem, wait until I come.
век
vek
a century
A century as a hundred years and as an era: dvadeseti vek, vek tehnike. Beside it stands stoleće, which is only about exactly a hundred years, while vek is wider. The same vek means the lifespan of a thing: vek trajanja.
епоха
epoha
an era
A Greek word, as in English. In speech people rather say doba: doba kraljeva, srednje doba.
деценија
decenija
a decade
From Latin. Serbs say decenija much more often than ten years: posle dve decenije.
период
period
a period
Planovi za naredni period uses this word. On its own period is any stretch of time with a start and an end.
трен
tren
an instant
The short form of trenutak, a moment. U tren oka, in the blink of an eye; za tren, in a flash.
дуготрајан
dugotrajan
long-lasting
Fleeting a: dugotrajan, but dugotrajna, dugotrajno.
ових дана
ovih dana
any day now
The plural of-form with no preposition: this is how Serbian marks time. It works about the past and the future alike: ovih dana sam ga video and ovih dana dolazi.
у данашње време
u današnje vreme
nowadays
Literally in todays time. There is also the short danas, today, but it is about one day, not an era.
од памтивека
od pamtiveka
since time immemorial
Built from pamtiti and vek: since the century remembers. Written as one word and does not decline.
за само неколико минута
za samo nekoliko minuta
in minutes
There is no separate word for a mere few: the particle samo boosts it. There is also the image za tren oka, in the blink of an eye.
савремен
savremen
modern
Fleeting a: savremen, but savremena, savremeno.
древан
drevan
ancient
Fleeting a: drevan, but drevna, drevno.
давнина
davnina
the distant past
Prošlost is the past. Davnina is olden times, bygone days: iz davnine, u davnini.
ретко кад
retko kad
once in a while
Retko on its own means rarely. The added kad softens it: not almost never but now and then.
свакодневно
svakodnevno
daily
Built from svaki and dan. The adjective svakodnevni is everyday: svakodnevne obaveze.
редовно
redovno
regularly
From red, order. Redovan student is a full-time student, redovna plata a regular salary.
по први пут
po prvi put
for the first time
Prvi put is the first time. The preposition po adds solemnity, like the English for.
изнова
iznova
anew
From nov. There is also ispočetka, from the very start; iznova stresses that the same thing is done once more.
све чешће
sve češće
more and more often
Shch is two sounds in a row: che-shche.
радним данима
radnim danima
on weekdays
The plural with-form with no preposition: the Serbian way to say on which days. nedeljom, subotom, radnim danima.
сваки други пут
svaki drugi put
every other time
Literally every second time. Built the same as svaki drugi dan, every other day.
једном годишње
jednom godišnje
once a year
The adverb godišnje instead of the English in a year. The same row: mesečno, nedeljno, dnevno.
сваки час
svaki čas
every other minute
Literally every hour, but it is not about hours: it means every minute, all the time. There is also svaki čas nešto novo, constantly something new.
у међувремену
u međuvremenu
meanwhile
The đ is a soft j: me-đu-vre-me-nu.
упоредо
uporedo
in parallel
From pored, beside. About two things at once: radimo uporedo na dva projekta. The geometric parallel is paralelan.
до тада
do tada
until then
The pair of od tada, since then. The row is full: do sada, until now; do kada, until when.
накнадно
naknadno
later on
From naknada, a reimbursement, a supplement. It means later, additionally: o tome ćemo naknadno. In papers it meets at every step.
уочи
uoči
on the eve of
A plain ch: u-o-chi.
убудуће
ubuduće
from now on
The soft ch: u-bu-du-che.
овога пута
ovoga puta
this time around
The of-form with no preposition. There is also the short ovaj put in the object form: both are right, ovoga puta sounds a bit bookier.
благовремено
blagovremeno
in due time
Built from blago and vreme. A chancellery word; in conversation people say na vreme.
гледано уназад
gledano unazad
in hindsight
Literally looking backward. The turn is about what became clear later. Backdating a paper is quite different: sa ranijim datumom.
без одлагања
bez odlaganja
without delay
From odlagati, to postpone, the same root as odugovlačiti. In an official letter exactly this turn stands.
фебруар
februar
February
Comes right after januar. Croatian names it veljača — Croatia kept the old Slavic month names, Serbia did not.
март
mart
March
Short and Latin like the English March. Dates put the ordinal first and the month in the of-form: osmi mart, but osmog marta.
април
april
April
The Croatian name for the same month is travanj, from "grass". A Serb understands it, but the calendar says april.
мај
maj
May
Together with jun and jul, the shortest month name. The first of May is a public holiday, and Prvi maj is said almost as a proper name.
јун
jun
June
The calendar's great mix-up: jun and jul differ by one letter. To avoid repeating the question, Serbs often say juni and juli — old forms kept alive by self-defense.
август
avgust
August
Follows jul and is spelled with a v, not a u: avgust. The Croatian name kolovoz is the clearest marker of the alternative month row.
септембар
septembar
September
The last four months all end in -bar. The a drops when you decline: septembar → u septembru.
октобар
oktobar
October
The Slavic calendar trap: Croatian listopad is October, Polish listopad is November. Serbian has neither — only oktobar, faithful to Latin.
новембар
novembar
November
The a drops in the cases exactly as with its neighbors: novembar → u novembru, do novembra.
децембар
decembar
December
The Croatian name is prosinac. The Serbian year ends in decembar, and New Year is greeted on the thirty-first of December.
година
godina
year
The everyday word for a calendar year. Its plural of-form looks exactly like the singular: pet godina.
двадесет четири сата
dvadeset četiri sata
a full day and night
Serbian has no single word for a full day and night: it says dvadeset četiri sata, "twenty-four hours". Around the clock is the adverb danonoćno, built from dan and noć.
столеће
stoleće
century
Exactly one hundred years. The word vek also exists and is broader: an epoch, a lifetime, the service life of a thing.
минут
minut
minute
Masculine in Serbian: jedan minut, pet minuta. The feminine minuta exists, but the masculine is the norm.
секунд
sekund
a second
Masculine like minut: jedan sekund, pet sekundi. The beat of the clock, not the place in the race.
пола сата
pola sata
half an hour
Literally "half of an hour". Pola never declines, and the word after it stands in the of-form: pola sata, pola godine, pola hleba.
подне
podne
noon
From an old pol dne — "half of the day". It also builds popodne, "afternoon", and prepodne, "before noon": the Serbian day split in two.
поноћ
ponoć
midnight
Feminine like noć and declining like it: u ponoć, posle ponoći.
сада
sada
now
The short form sad is heard more often: sad ću — "coming now", sad odmah — "right now".
рок
rok
deadline
A time limit, not music — that is rok muzika. From it: rok trajanja, the shelf life printed on the package.
следећи
sledeći
next
This is the word shouted at queue windows: sledeći! — "next!" The letter c-with-acute (ć) is the soft ch.
прошли
prošli
previous
With time words it needs no preposition: prošle nedelje — "last week", of-form. Very frequent with dates and periods.
каснити
kasniti
to be late
From kasno, "late". Being late for something takes na: kasnim na posao — "I am late for work".
стићи
stići
to make it in time
Covers "succeed in arriving" and simply "arrive": voz je stigao — "the train has arrived". Present: stignem. Closest in feel to "make it in time".
поново
ponovo
again
From nov, "new" — "anew". The equal opet is shorter and wins in speech.
ускоро
uskoro
soon
The trap: bare skoro means "almost" in Serbian. "Soon" adds the u-.
одавно
odavno
for ages
od + davno, "from long ago". Its partner nedavno, "recently", is assembled the same way.
недавно
nedavno
recently
Written solid, even though a negative sits inside it. Serbian has no separated "not long ago" — the word is one block.
касно
kasno
late
The same root gives the verb kasniti, "to be late". Its opposite is rano, "early".
рано
rano
early
One of the rare words with no trick up its sleeve — it sounds and means what you expect.
брзо
brzo
quickly
The root has not a single vowel — brz. Serbian calmly keeps a syllable on an r.
управо
upravo
just now
Also "exactly": upravo tako — "exactly so". Do not let it drift toward pravo, "straight ahead" — different words, one letter apart.
ујутру
ujutru
in the morning
Belgrade says ujutru; the ijekavian regions say ujutro. Jutros is narrower — "this morning" specifically.
дању
danju
by day
A fossilized old form of dan ("day") doing the job of "by day". No preposition needed; its partner is noću.
увече
uveče
in the evening
Written as one word even though u ("in") plus veče ("evening") are visible inside. Do not confuse it with već — "already".
ноћу
noću
at night
From noć, a feminine noun on a soft consonant — its with-form is just -u, no -ju. The partner of danju.
сваки дан
svaki dan
every day
Plain form with no preposition, like English. Svakog dana, the of-form version, means exactly the same and is just as common.
цео дан
ceo dan
all day
The l/o alternation: ceo but cela, celo — "whole". One phrase, no preposition: radim ceo dan — "I work all day".
тренутак
trenutak
moment
The fleeting a drops out as you bend the word: trenutka, trenuci. The adverb trenutno means "currently, right now".
часовник
časovnik
clock
Sat means "hour" and also names a wristwatch. Časovnik is reserved for clocks that hang or stand.
колико је сати
koliko je sati
what time is it?
Literally "how much of the hours" — after koliko the noun goes into the plural of-form: sati. Asking about minutes works the same way.
јутро
jutro
morning
Neuter, plural jutra. It sits in dobro jutro, "good morning", and ujutru, "in the morning"; the bare noun declines too: od jutra do mraka — "from morning till dark".
икада
ikada
ever
For past experience and in questions: Da li si ikada bio u Nišu? Shorter: ikad. Bilo kad is something else — "anytime": navrati bilo kad.
трајати
trajati
to last
Only about time and the event itself: film traje dva sata — "the film lasts two hours". You do not say it about a person.

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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

сат (sat) — hour. Also the watch on your wrist: dva sata — "two hours" and "two o'clock" alike; ručni sat is a wristwatch. One word, three time jobs.

дан (dan) — day. The plural splits: dani in free use, but after numbers dana — pet dana, "five days". Danas is literally "this day".

данас (danas) — today. Dan ("day") plus -as: "in this day". The same -s sits in jutros, "this morning", and večeras, "this evening".

сутра (sutra) — tomorrow. Related to jutro, "morning", by origin, but it means only "tomorrow" — jutro stays morning.

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 сат (sat) — hour.
What is this word?
It is време (vreme) — weather.
What is this word?
It is затим (zatim) — afterwards.
What is this word?
It is чим (čim) — as soon as.
What is this word?
It is обично (obično) — usually.

Now the other way around: recall the spelling from the meaning. That is harder, and therefore more useful.

How do you say “hour” in Serbian?
Also the watch on your wrist: dva sata — "two hours" and "two o'clock" alike; ručni sat is a wristwatch. One word, three time jobs.
How do you say “weather” in Serbian?
One word for weather and for time: kakvo je vreme? asks about the sky; nemam vremena about the clock.
How do you say “afterwards” in Serbian?
Bookish and neutral, it stands at the start of the part: prvo, zatim. In live speech the same spot is taken by pa onda or simply posle.
How do you say “as soon as” in Serbian?
One word where English needs two, and after it the future is the present tense: Čim stignem, zvaću te. A trap: čime, with an e at the end, is the with-form of šta, the question with what.
How do you say “usually” in Serbian?
From običan, ordinary: obično radim do pet. A trap: usually in the sense of plainly is jednostavno, not obično.

How to learn the set instead of just reading it

Today, tomorrow, in the morning, at six. You cannot arrange to meet without these — let alone understand the answer.

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 times
Adesope, 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 times
Mawson & 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 “hour” in Serbian?

«сат» (sat), read “sat”. Also the watch on your wrist: dva sata — "two hours" and "two o'clock" alike; ručni sat is a wristwatch. One word, three time jobs. It is one of 137 words in the set “time, days and hours” — the rest are in the table above.

How many time words do you need to start?

The whole set on this page is 137 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, 137 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.

Time, days and hours in Serbian

137 words on the topic

How it sounds in a sentence

What is worth knowing about these words

Test yourself

How to learn the set instead of just reading it

Frequently asked

How do you say “hour” in Serbian?

How many time words do you need to start?

Is there audio?

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