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1# Cheat Sheet with 60+ Tasty Food Vocabulary In Serbian
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Table Of Contents
If you enjoy good food and plan to spend any time in Serbia – or around Serbians – you’ll want to pick up some food vocabulary in Serbian.
Food comes up a lot. People talk about what they cooked, what they ate, what their grandma makes better than anyone else. Even if you’re not hungry, someone is. You’ll hear about sarma, ajvar, grilled meat – there’s always something on the table or in the works.
You don’t need to memorize every dish or ingredient. But knowing how to name a few things helps you follow the conversation and join in.
To get you started, we’ve gathered 60+ useful words and phrases: real vocabulary about food in Serbian, the kind you’ll actually hear and use!
Table Of Contents
Basic Words And Phrases
English | Serbian Cyrillic | Serbian Latin | Pronunciation | Sound |
---|---|---|---|---|
To eat | јести / појести | jesti / pojesti | yes-tee / po-yes-tee |
|
Food | храна | hrana | hraa-na | |
To drink | пити | piti | pee-tee | |
Drink | пиће | piće | pee-tse | |
Drinks | пића | pića | pee-tsa | |
Hungry | гладан | gladan / gladna | gla-daan / gla-dna |
|
Hunger | глад | glad | gl-aad | |
Thirsty | жедан | žedan / žedna | zh-e-daan / zh-e-dna | |
Thirst | жеђ | žeđ | zh-e-dj | |
To cook | кувати | kuvati | coo-vaa-tee | |
To taste | пробати | probati | pro-baa-tee | |
Tasty | укусно | ukusno | oo-koo-snoo | |
Enjoy your meal! | Пријатно! | Prijatno! | Pr-ee-yat-no | |
Cheers! / To your health! | Наздравље! | Nazdravlje! | Na-zdr-aav-leh | |
Breakfast | доручак | doručak | do-roo-chak | |
Lunch | ручак | ručak | roo-chak | |
Dinner | вечера | večera | ve-ch-er-ah | |
Restaurant | ресторан | restoran | re-sto-rahn | |
Restaurants | ресторани | restorani | re-sto-rah-ny | |
Bar | бар | bar | bar | |
Bars | барови | barovi | bar-ovy | |
Café | кафић | kafić | kaa-fee-ts | |
Cafés | кафићи | kafići | kaa-fee-tsy |
Basic Food And Spices
English | Serbian Cyrillic | Serbian Latin | Pronunciation | Sound |
---|---|---|---|---|
Bread | хлеб | hleb | hleb | |
Roll | плетеница | pletenica | ple-te-nee-cah | |
Butter | путер | puter | poo-ter | |
Cheese | сир | sir | seer | |
Honey | мед | med | med | |
Jam | џем | džem | jam | |
Egg | јаје | jaje | ya-yeah | |
Rice | пиринач | pirinač | pee-ree-nach | |
Yogurt | јогурт | jogurt | yo-goo-rt | |
Sugar | шећер – šećer | šećer | sh-ets-er | |
Salt | со | so | so | |
Pepper | бибер | biber | bee-ber | |
Spice | зачин | začin | zaa-ch-een | |
Oil | уље | ulje | oo-lye |
Once you’ve got the food words down, adding a few cooking terms in Serbian is the next step – especially if you want to understand how dishes are actually made.
Food Vocabulary In Serbian: Cutlery
English | Serbian Cyrillic | Serbian Latin | Pronunciation | Sound |
---|---|---|---|---|
Cutlery | есцајг | escajg | es-tsaa-jg | |
Fork | виљушка | viljuška | wee-lioo-sh-kah | |
Spoon | кашика | kašika | ca-shee-ca | |
Tea spoon | кашикица | kašikica | ca-shee-cee-tsa | |
Knife | нож | nož | no-zh | |
Plate | тањир | tanjir | ta-neer | |
Glass | чаша | čaša | ch-aa-sh-ah | |
Cup | шољица | šoljica | sh-oli-tsa |
Food Vocabulary In Serbian: Dishes
English | Serbian Cyrillic | Serbian Latin | Pronunciation | Sound |
---|---|---|---|---|
Soup | супа | supa | soop | |
Soups | супе | supe | soope | |
Salad | салата | salata | saa-laa-taa | |
Salads | салате | salate | saa-laa-te | |
French fries | помфрит | pomfrit | pom-freet | |
Chips | чипс | čips | ch-ee-ps | |
Burek | бурек | burek | boo-rec | |
Gibanica | гибаница | gibanica | gee-ba-nee-ts-ah | |
Pečeno meso | печено месо | pečeno meso | peche-no-meso | |
Karađorđeva steak | Карађорђева шницла | Karađorđeva šnicla | Caa-ra-dyor-dye-vaah sh-nee-ts-la | |
Cabbage rolls | сарма | sarma | sar-mah | |
Djuvec | ђувеч | đuveč | dy-oo-ve-ch | |
Moussaka | мусака | musaka | moo-sa-kah | |
Mućkalica | мућкалица | mućkalica | moo-ts-ca-lee-tsa | |
Čvarci | чварци | čvarci | ch-vaa-rts-ee | |
Kajmak | кајмак | kajmak | caa-ymaac | |
Pršuta | пршута | pršuta | pr-sh-oo-tah |
Serbia has a long list of dishes made with traditional, hearty ingredients like meat, peppers, cabbage, dairy. This is just a glimpse, there are so many Serbian dishes worth trying!
Food Vocabulary In Serbian: Drinks
English | Serbian Cyrillic | Serbian Latin | Pronunciation | Sound |
---|---|---|---|---|
Water | вода | voda | wo-dah | |
Mineral water | минерална вода | mineralna voda | mee-neral-nah wo-dah | |
Sparkling water | газирана вода | gazirana voda | gaa-zee-raa-nah wo-dah | |
Still water | дестилована вода | destilovana voda | wo-dah | |
Juice | сок | sok | sok | |
Juices | сокови | sokovi | sok-ovi | |
Beer | пивo | pivo | pee-voh | |
Wine | вино | vino | wee-noh | |
Champagne | шампањац | šampanjac | sham-pani-aa-ts | |
Cocktail | коктел | koktel | coc-tel | |
Milk | млеко | mleko | mle-co | |
Cocoa | какао | kakao | ca-cao | |
Coffee | кафа | kafa | caa-fah | |
Tea | чај | čaj | ch-ay |
Food Vocabulary In Serbian: Flavours
English | Serbian Cyrillic | Serbian Latin | Pronunciation | Sound |
---|---|---|---|---|
Sweet | слатко | slatko | sl-aat-coh | |
Sour | кисело | kiselo | cee-se-loh | |
Salty | слано | slano | sl-aa-noh | |
Bitter | горко | gorko | gohr-coh | |
Savoriness | умами | umami | um-aa-mee |
How Do You Say Food Vocabulary in Serbian?
You can say: rečnik hrane
or vokabular o hrani.
Frequently Asked Questions About Food Vocabulary In Serbian
How Do You Say “Bon apetit” in Serbian?
In Serbian, you say prijatno, which is actually an adjective and literally means pleasant or enjoyable. It’s a simple, friendly way to wish someone a good meal.
What Is The National Dish Of Serbia?
While it’s tough to name just one national dish, a few classics stand out: ćevapi (grilled minced meat), sarma (cabbage rolls stuffed with minced meat and rice), and Karađorđeva šnicla (a rolled, breaded veal or pork cutlet filled with kajmak). All three are staples of Serbian cuisine and must-tries if you’re visiting.
What Are Typical Serbian Spices?
Serbian food is usually seasoned with simple but strong flavors. The most common spices are aleva paprika (ground red pepper), black pepper, bay leaf, and garlic. You’ll also find Vegeta in almost every kitchen – it’s a popular seasoning mix used in soups, stews, and meat dishes.
How To Learn Food Vocabulary In Serbian
- Read Serbian menus online – Look up real menus from Serbian restaurants and kafanas. They’re full of useful words you’ll actually hear and see wherever you go in Serbia.
- Watch Serbian cooking videos with subtitles – You’ll hear how ingredients and verbs like iseckati (to chop) or kuvati (to cook) are used in context.
- Label your kitchen – Stick small notes on items like biber (pepper), tanjir (plate), or kašika (spoon). It helps you remember the words without trying.
- Practice ordering out loud – Pretend you’re at a pekara and say things like ‘Jedan burek, molim!‘ or to get used to sentence flow.
- Find an app with food-related lessons – Apps like Ling app are great because they include vocabulary you’ll actually use, including food. You can also create your own custom list and review it regularly.
Final Thoughts
So there you have it – 60+ words and phrases that’ll help you talk about food in Serbian! We went through a lot in this post: basic words like hrana and piće, all the way to stuff you’ll actually hear at the table, like sarma, kajmak, and čvarci. We covered cutlery, cooking terms, how to talk about flavors, and even what to say when you’re raising a glass.
This should be more than enough to help you get through a Serbian menu, follow a food convo, or just recognize what’s in front of you at a local kafana. And hey, if you end up cooking one of these dishes yourself, even better!
Serbian food really is something else – and now you’ve got the words to match it.
Ready For The Next Bite Of Serbian?
If you’ve made it all the way through this list, you’re clearly into more than just trying a few Serbian dishes – you’re probably curious about the language too. And honestly, learning the basics makes everything more fun! You’ll catch jokes, chat with locals, or at the very least, stop pointing at menus in total panic.
So if you’re ready to keep going and learn Serbian language at your own pace, the Ling App’s a pretty great place to start. It’s low-pressure, a bit addictive, and actually useful. Think of it as your little language sidekick while you settle in, travel around, or just try to impress someone with perfect “ćevapi” pronunciation.