Serbian Adjectives stand beside nouns, and they help to better define the noun. Adjectives are classified into several categories. There are Describe Adjectives, Buiding adjectives, Time adjectives, etc. Best way to see the difference between them are by example.
Describe Adjectives
Describe adjectives stand beside the noun, and can tell us how something is, it describes noun more effectively.
| Serbian | English translation |
| dobar čovek | goodman, or good people |
| sunčan dan | sunny day |
| loša sreća | bad luck |
| veliki junak | great hero |
| magični štapić | magic wand |
| ružan san | bad/ugly dream |
| visoka zgrada | tall building |
| mali pas | small dog |
| tanak sloj | thin layer |
| debela kora | thick crust |
| gorak ukus | bitter taste |
| sladak sok | sweet juice |
| crvena ruža | red rose |
| plavo nebo | blue sky |
Possessive Adjectives
This type of adjectives can tell us that if a specific noun beside them belongs to someone or something.
| Serbian | English translation |
| srpski jezik | serbian language |
| engleski čaj | english tea |
| gradski saobraćaj | city traffic |
| rečna riba | freshwater fish |
| kućni ogrtač | house cope |
| planinski izvor | mountain spring |
| bakine naočare | grandmother’s glasses |
| dekin šešir | grandfather’s hat |
| lekarska uniforma | doctor’s uniform |
| školski autobus | school bus |
| lorina torba | lora’s handbag |
Place Adjectives
Place adjectives can tell us where something is or like the placement of a certain noun.
| Serbian | English translation |
| desni džep | right pocket |
| leva ruka | left hand |
| gornji red | upper row |
| donja paluba | lower deck |
| početni položaj | starting position |
| severni pol | north pole |
| južni pol | south pole |
| bočni vetar | sideway wind |
| daleki istok | far east |
Time Adjectives
They represent where is noun placed in time: past, present, future
| Serbian | English translation |
| današnje novine | today’s newspapers |
| prolećni raspust | spring break |
| letnje vrućine | summer heat |
| zimske čarolije | winter wonderland |
| jesenje kiše | autumn rain |
| prošli petak | last Friday |
| buduća zvezda | future superstar |
| jučerašnji razgovor | yesterday’s conversation |
| nedeljni ručak | sunday lunch |
| mesečni izveštaj | monthly review |
| davna istorija | ancient history |
Building Adjectives
These adjectives represent building material, or from what is a noun built.
| Serbian | English translation |
| zlatni prsten | golden ring |
| srebrna medalja | silver medal |
| voštana sveća | wax candle |
| gumene bombone | gummy bears |
| metalna tacna | metal plate |
| drveni čamac | wooden boat |
| čokoladni sladoled | chocolate ice cream |
| svileni šal | silk scarf |
| pamučna majica | cotton T-shirt |
| voćna salata | fruit salad |
| peščani sat | sand clock |
| dijamantski prsten | diamond ring |
Comparative Adjectives
Comparative adjectives are used for the gradation of a noun.
| Serbian | English translation |
| dobar, bolji, najbolji | good, better, the best |
| star, stariji, najstariji | old, older, the oldest |
| mlad, mlađi, najmlađi | young, younger, the youngest |
| jak, jači, najjači | strong, stronger, the strongest |
| toplo, toplije, najtoplije | hot, hotter, the hottest |
| dugo, duže, najduže | long, longer, the longest |
Use Of Serbian Adjectives In A Sentence
I will share you with a couple of examples we used every type of adjectives we mentioned above.
- Nisam kupio današnje novine – I forgot to buy today’s newspapers
- Zaboravio sam mobilni telefon u gornjemdžepu od jakne – I forgot my mobile phone in upperjacket pocket
- Danas je veoma sunčan dan – Today is a very sunnyday
- Ovo je veoma hladan sok – This is a very cold juice
- Ovo je visoka čaša – This is a tall glass
- Srećan pas – Happy dog
- Australija ima toplo vreme – Australia has some warm weather
- Moj komšija ima pametnu mačku – My neighbor has a smart cat
- Zeleni čaj je dobar za zdravlje – Green tea is good for your health
- Najviše im se dopadao zlatni lančić – They liked the most golden bracelet
- Ta šarena mačka me malopre uplašila – That colorful cat scared me a while ago
- Veselo dete se igra u parku – Happy child is playing in the park
- Tanjiri se blistaju – Dishes are shinny
- Šmirgla je veoma gruba – Sandpaper is very rough
- Sviđa mi se elegantna haljina u izlogu – I like that elegant dress in the window
- Ovaj sok je gorak – That juice is bitter
- Jutanja magla se spušta na naše mirno predgrađe – Morning mist goes down on our quiet suburb
- Sa drvenog prozora posmatrala sam nemirne grane javora – From wooden window a watched the restless maple branches
- Sviđa mi se zimska tišina – I like the winter quiet
- Slabašno sunce probijalo se kroz guste oblake – Weak sunrays appeared thru the thick clouds
Most Commonly Used Serbian Adjectives
These are just a couple of examples of how to use different types of adjectives in a sentence. Now I will show you the most commonly used adjectives in the Serbian language and how to use them correctly in a sentence.
- Lep – Beautiful
- Lep dan – Beautiful day
- Kako lepa devojka – What a beautiful girl – here we used adjective beautiful in female gender, because of that it is written lepa.
- Lepo dete – Beautiful child – in this sentence adjective beautiful is used to describe a child, or in Serbian language it represents medium gender, and it is used for describing both male and female children.
- Dobar – Good
- Dobar otac – Good father – this type of adjective is used for a male gender
- Dobra majka – Good mother – here is another example how adjective is transforming when used for describing females
- Dobro dete – Good child – this is another example how adjective is transforming when describing children, again it is the same when describing both male and female children
- Srećan – Happy, lucka
- Srećan broj – Lucky number
- Srećan rođendan – Happy birthday
Comparive Adjectives
Here are few examples of how we can use comparison adjectives for the gradation of nouns. This is how we used comparison adjectives in the Serbian language and transform them into a sentence.
- Visok, višlji, najvišlji – Tall, taller, the tallest
- Visoko drvo – Tall tree
- Višlje drvo – Taller tree
- Najvišlje drvo – The tallest tree
Other good examples are:
- Ljut, ljući, najljući -Angry, angrier, the angriest
- Ljut trener – Angry coach
- Ljući trener – Angrier coach
- Najljući trener – The angriest coach
This is also an example of how the adjective ljut can be used in different ways, pronunciation is the same, but the meaning is different.
- Ljut, ljući, najljući – Hot, hotter, the hottest
- Ljuta paprika – Hot pepper
- Ljuća paprika – Hotter pepper
- Najljuća paprika – The hottest pepper
Want To Learn More Serbian? Learn With Ling!
The Serbian language is filled with adjectives, and this is just a first part of a learning process, just to give you an insight into the great diversity that is the Serbian language. All this and more you can find on a great LING APP.
