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The Serbian alphabet

Serbian Cyrillic in its modern form was codified in the early 19th century by the language reformer Vuk Stefanović Karadžić, who followed the principle 'write as you speak, read as it is written'. He removed letters that had no sound of their own, borrowed Ј from the Latin alphabet, and created new letters such as Љ and Њ, producing a 30-letter alphabet in which every letter stands for exactly one sound. Serbian is also written in an official Latin alphabet (latinica) that matches Cyrillic letter for letter, and Serbs read both.

Quiz yourself Serbian keyboard Serbian → Latin converter Serbian phrases

Look and sound like Latin 6

А а
a · a
like a in 'father' [a] ауто auto — car
Е е
e · e
like e in 'bed' [e] село selo — village
К к
k · ka
like k in 'skin' [k] кућа kuća — house
М м
m · em
like m in 'man' [m] мајка majka — mother
О о
o · o
like o in 'more' [o] око oko — eye
Т т
t · te
like t in 'stop' [t] тата tata — dad

Look like Latin, sound different 7

В в
v · ve
like v in 'van' [ʋ] вода voda — water Looks like B. Serbian Latin: v.
Ј ј
j · je
like y in 'yes' [j] јабука jabuka — apple Borrowed from Latin by Vuk Karadžić. Serbian Latin: j.
Н н
n · en
like n in 'no' [n] не ne — no, not Looks like H. Serbian Latin: n.
Р р
r · er
a rolled r; it can even act as a vowel, as in прст (prst, finger) [r] рука ruka — hand, arm Looks like P. Serbian Latin: r.
С с
s · es
like s in 'sun' [s] сир sir — cheese Looks like C. Serbian Latin: s.
У у
u · u
like oo in 'boot' [u] улица ulica — street Looks like Y. Serbian Latin: u.
Х х
h · ha
like ch in Scottish 'loch', but lighter [x] хлеб hleb — bread Looks like X. Serbian Latin: h.

New letters, familiar sounds 8

Б б
b · be
like b in 'bed' [b] брат brat — brother Serbian Latin: b.
Г г
g · ge
like g in 'go' (always hard) [ɡ] град grad — city Serbian Latin: g.
Д д
d · de
like d in 'dog' [d] дан dan — day Serbian Latin: d.
З з
z · ze
like z in 'zoo' [z] зима zima — winter Serbian Latin: z.
И и
i · i
like ee in 'see' [i] име ime — name Serbian Latin: i.
Л л
l · el
like l in 'look' [l] лето leto — summer Serbian Latin: l.
П п
p · pe
like p in 'spin' [p] пиво pivo — beer Serbian Latin: p.
Ф ф
f · ef
like f in 'fun' [f] филм film — film Serbian Latin: f.

New letters, new sounds 9

Ц ц
c · ce
like ts in 'cats' [ts] цвет cvet — flower Serbian Latin: c.
Ч ч
č · če
like ch in 'church' (hard) [tʃ] чај čaj — tea Serbian Latin: č.
Ћ ћ
ć · će
a soft ch, like t in 'tune' said quickly as 'chune' [tɕ] ћерка ćerka — daughter Softer than ч. Serbian Latin: ć.
Џ џ
dž · dže
like j in 'jam' (hard) [dʒ] џеп džep — pocket Serbian Latin: dž (one letter, two characters).
Ђ ђ
đ · đe
a soft j, like d in 'dune' said quickly as 'june' [dʑ] ђак đak — pupil, schoolchild Softer than џ. Serbian Latin: đ (written dj when đ is unavailable).
Ж ж
ž · že
like s in 'measure' [ʒ] жена žena — woman, wife Serbian Latin: ž.
Ш ш
š · še
like sh in 'ship' [ʃ] школа škola — school Serbian Latin: š.
Љ љ
lj · lje
like lli in 'million' [ʎ] љубав ljubav — love A fusion of л and the old soft sign ь. Serbian Latin: lj (one letter, two characters).
Њ њ
nj · nje
like ny in 'canyon' [ɲ] коњ konj — horse A fusion of н and the old soft sign ь. Serbian Latin: nj (one letter, two characters).

Because of the strict one-letter-one-sound rule, Serbian Cyrillic is one of the easiest scripts to learn to read: there are no silent letters and no spelling surprises. Most of the effort goes into the false friends (В = v, Ј = y, Н = n, Р = r, С = s, У = u, Х = h) and the letters for sounds English spells with two letters: Ђ, Ћ, Љ, Њ, Џ, Ч, Ш, Ж. Pay special attention to the pairs Ћ/Ч and Ђ/Џ, which are a softer and a harder version of 'ch' and 'j'.

How to learn it fast

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Quick quiz: which sound is this?

Questions

How many letters are in the Serbian Cyrillic alphabet?

30.

How long does it take to learn the Serbian alphabet?

Most learners can recognise every letter within one to two weeks of short daily practice, and read slowly but accurately within a month. Reading real text — even very simple text — is what makes the letters automatic.

What's the best way to learn it?

Learn the Cyrillic and Latin forms together: each Cyrillic letter has exactly one Latin counterpart (Ч = Č, Ш = Š, Џ = Dž, Љ = Lj…), so you get two alphabets for the price of one. Read everything exactly as written: Serbian has no silent letters and every letter keeps its sound, so you can pronounce any word you can decode. Drill the two 'ch' sounds (ч hard, ћ soft) and the two 'j' sounds (џ hard, ђ soft) as pairs. Many native speakers blur them, but spelling always keeps them apart.