Learn Bosnian
with Ling

The Foreign Service Institute (FSI) classifies Bosnian as a category III language, meaning that it will take the average learner 1100 to reach proficiency. To give you an idea of the difficulty level, the Bosnian language ranks similarly to Urdu, Hungarian, Thai, and Vietnamese.

If you’re interested in learning Bosnian, now’s your chance! Bosnia is a great place for culture, food, and historical treasures. Learning the language will also help you make new friends along the way.

If you’re feeling intimidated by the language, don’t! With the Ling app, you can achieve all your goals through comprehensive lesson plans, interactive mini-games, quizzes, and even an AI chatbot to practice your speaking skills!

If you are a native English speaker, learning to speak this Slavic language might be difficult, especially because there are many rules to follow when it comes to Bosnian tenses.

What can really help you on your Bosnian learning journey is having the right materials and resources by your side.

Here are some additional tips to help make Bosnian an easy language to learn:

• Grammar: Bosnian nouns are gendered: feminine, masculine, and neutral. You’ll also have to be careful with plural and singular forms of nouns.
• Vocabulary: Learn relevant phrases, such as asking for directions or buying groceries. Many Bosnian words also have loanwords from Turkish, Arabic, German, Czech, and other Serbo-Croatian variants. You can use the Ling app to memorize these words even if you’re busy!
• Speaking/Listening: Although some Bosnians use English, it is still better to learn how to speak Bosnian. Bosnian has five vowel phonemes and 25 consonant sounds that differentiate the meaning of words. You’ll need to train your ears to recognize Bosnian pitches, stresses, and its falling tone.
• Reading/Writing: Bosnian uses the Cyrillic and Latin alphabet to read and write the language. It also follows the Subject-Verb-Object when creating sentences.

As a South Slavic language, Bosnian shares many similarities with other languages in this family, like Serbian and Croatian.

Today, there are three million native Bosnian speakers around the world. Moreover, Bosnian is the official language in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the co-official language of Montenegro. You can also find Bosnian spoken in Serbia, Croatia, North Macedonia, and some parts of Kosovo.

Interestingly, you’ll also find loan words in Bosnian from English, Persian, Arabic, Turkish, and other Slavic languages.

If you’re already fluent in one of the Slavic language mentioned above, then learning Bosnian language will come easier to you. However, even if you aren’t familiar with any Slavic languages, you can still learn and master Bosnian. All you need is a little extra time to memorize vocabulary.

A great way to learn new words in another language is to create a scenario that will help you visualize those words. For example, placing sticky notes on items you use everyday with their English and Bosnian names. If you want more of a challenge, don’t miss out on all the activities and exercises waiting for you in the Ling app!

Any language can be difficult to learn, especially if your native language isn’t even remotely similar. However, you can still get past these challenges by studying daily.

The best way to learn Bosnian is by putting in the time and effort each day to study, as well as using a great learning resource. The Ling app helps you learn new words by giving you plenty of time to practice, either through matching games, fill in the blank exercises, and more.

Want to make Bosnian less difficult? Here are some tips:

• Use Youtube videos to learn more about the history of Bosnia and its culture to help you appreciate the Bosnian language better
• Learn other languages spoken in Bosnia and Herzegovina, such as Croatian and Serbian
• Study how the locals speak the language, such as any slang terms
• Listen to Bosnian music and watch Bosnian movies with subtitles (intitially) and without subtitles (after more practice)
• Start by learning frequently used words and essential phrases, such as greetings, ordering food, and traveling
• Practice with a native speaker! You can find native speakers on online learning platforms and social media groups
• Keep yourself motivated by using a planner to schedule what you want to achieve in the next day, week, month, or year