Language/Serbian/Pronunciation/Alphabet-and-Pronunciation
Hello Polyglots😀
In today's lesson, you will learn how to write the different letters of the Serbian alphabet, how to pronounce these letters whether it is through the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), or through a video with the pronunciation of the letters by a native speaker.
You will also find at the end of this lesson a virtual keyboard to be able to type each special character of this language.
Serbian can be written in either the Cyrillic or Latin alphabets, but Cyrillic is in official use in Serbia. In Serbia both scripts, the "azbuka" (Cyrillic script) and the Latin alphabet "abeceda" are in use and most of the people know both alphabets. People can freely decide which letters to use.
Vuk Karadzić, the 19th century reformer of the Serbian language came up with the concept of “write as you speak and read as it is written”. (Serbian: "Piši kao što govoriš i čitaj kako je napisano"). The Serbian alphabet is very consistent and precise: one letter per sound.
After mastering the Serbian alphabet and pronunciation, you can further explore the language by checking out our lessons on Serbian past tense verbs, Serbian greetings and introductions, and Serbian geography vocabulary. Happy learning!
Serbian Alphabet and IPA Pronunciation[edit | edit source]
The Serbian alphabet is unique and has 30 letters in total, consisting of five vowels and 25 consonants. The language can be written in both the Cyrillic and Latin alphabets, with each version having its own distinct pronunciation. The Cyrillic version of the alphabet is commonly used in Serbia, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, while the Latin version is used more frequently in Croatia. Here is a table that outlines the Serbian alphabet in both Cyrillic and Latin scripts, along with the corresponding pronunciation and some examples of how each letter would sound if used in a word.
Cyrillic | Latin | IPA | Example
(Cyrillic) |
Example
(Latin) |
Pronunciation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
А а | A a | /a/ | авион | avion | like a in car |
Б б | B b | /b/ | брат | brat | like b in bed |
В в | V v | /ʋ/ | војник | vojnik | like v in victory |
Г г | G g | /ɡ/ | град | grad | like g in good |
Д д | D d | /d/ | дрво | drvo | like d in day |
ђ ђ | Đ đ | /dʑ/ | ђак | đak | like j in juice |
Е е | E e | /e/ | ексер | ekser | like e in men |
Ж ж | Ž ž | /ʒ/ | жаба | žaba | like su in leisure |
З з | Z z | /z/ | змија | zmija | like z in zoo |
И и | I i | /i/ | ирвас | irvas | like e in east |
Ј ј | J j | /j/ | јаје | jaje | like y in you |
К к | K k | /k/ | краба | kraba | like k in king |
Л л | L l | /l/ | лето | leto | like l in love |
Љ љ | Lj lj | /ʎ/ | љубав | ljubav | like li in million |
М м | M m | /m/ | мајка | majka | like m in man |
Н н | N n | /n/ | нос | nos | like n in nice |
Њ њ | Nj nj | /ɲ/ | њива | njiva | like ni in onion |
О о | O o | /o/ | оловка | olovka | like o in door |
П п | P p | /p/ | прстен | prsten | like p in pen |
Р р | R r | /r/ | рак | rak | like r in room |
С с | S s | /s/ | стена | stena | like s in son |
Т т | T t | /t/ | тата | tata | like t in time |
Ћ ћ | Ć ć | /tɕ/ | ћуп | ćup | like ch in church,but softer |
У у | U u | /u/ | уво | uvo | like u in put |
Ф ф | F f | /f/ | француз | francuz | like f in french |
Х х | H h | /x/ | хлеб | hleb | like h in hot |
Ц ц | C c | /ts/ | црв | crv | like ts in cats |
Ч ч | Č č | /tʃ/ | човек | čovek | like ch in chocolate |
Џ џ | Dž dž | /dʒ/ | џин | džin | like j in joy |
Ш ш | Š š | /ʃ/ | шешир | šešir | like sh in she |
Order of Latin[edit | edit source]
A, a | B, b | C, c | Č, č | Ć, ć | D, d | Dž, dž | Đ, đ | E, e | F, f | G, g | H, h | I, i | J, j | K, k | L, l | Lj, lj | M, m | N, n | Nj, nj | O, o | P, p | R, r | S, s | Š, š | T, t | U, u | V, v | Z, z | Ž, ž |
Serbian Online Virtual Keyboard[edit | edit source]
Videos[edit | edit source]
Learn basic Serbian: Alphabet - YouTube[edit | edit source]
Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian Grammar: Alphabet and Pronunciation ...[edit | edit source]
Contemporary Serbian Cyrillic Alphabet with Pronunciation - YouTube[edit | edit source]
Serbian alphabet pronunciation [IPA] - YouTube[edit | edit source]