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	The modern Serbian Cyrillic alphabet was formed by Vuk Karadžić (Вук Караџић), who reformed the alphabet by taking out and adding various letters. Letters like Ю (Pronounced 'Yu') and Я (Pronounced 'Ya') were removed, and replaced instead with the letter J. In Serbian, the J makes the same sound as a Y in English, and with the addition of one letter, you could still keep the sounds of ~~some of~~ the letters he removed. Now you could pronounce Я with "Ja", simplifying the language. Vuk followed a simple principle with his new alphabet: "''write as you speak and read as it is written''".		The modern Serbian Cyrillic alphabet was formed by Vuk Karadžić (Вук Караџић), who reformed the alphabet by taking out and adding various letters. Letters like "Ю" (Pronounced 'Yu') and "Я" (Pronounced 'Ya') were removed, and replaced instead with the letter "J". In Serbian, the "J" makes the same sound as a "Y" in English, and with the addition of one letter, you could still keep the sounds of the letters he removed. Now you could pronounce "Я" with "Ja", simplifying the language. Vuk followed a simple principle with his new alphabet: "''write as you speak and read as it is written''".

	Unlike most languages, Serbian is ~~completely~~ phonetic~~. This means~~ there is only one way you can pronounce each letter~~, and you~~ can't mispronounce a word nearly as bad as you can in English.		Unlike most languages, Serbian is phonetic, meaning there is only one way you can pronounce each letter. You can't mispronounce a word nearly as bad as you can in English.

	Serbian also has an extremely intuitive LATIN alphabet, which they use interchangeably in Serbia. ~~The~~ Latin ~~alphabet~~ is quite easy to understand~~, so we won't be covering it here, but~~ it's a very good stepping stone for quickly getting the pronunciation of Serbian words.		Serbian also has an extremely intuitive LATIN alphabet, which they use interchangeably in Serbia. Serbian Latin (or "Latinica") is quite easy to understand and it's a very good stepping stone for quickly getting the pronunciation of Serbian words.

	Cyrillic looks daunting, but ~~it really isn't. Some~~ letters directly overlap with English, and since each letter only has one sound, you can start speaking remarkably fast.		Cyrillic looks daunting, but some letters directly overlap with English, and since each letter only has one sound, you can start speaking remarkably fast.

	==<big>The Letters</big> ==		==<big>The Letters</big> ==
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	<big>'''Ии''' - 'EE' (like the '''E'''<nowiki/>'s in N'''ee'''d)</big>		<big>'''Ии''' - 'EE' (like the '''E'''<nowiki/>'s in N'''ee'''d)</big>

	<big>'''Jj''' - Y ('''Y'''es)</big>		<big>'''Jj''' - Y (Like the 'Y' in "'''Y'''es")</big>

	<big>'''Кк''' - K (Same as English)</big>		<big>'''Кк''' - K (Same as English)</big>
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	<big>'''Пп''' - P (Like the '''P''' in '''P'''ronounced)</big>		<big>'''Пп''' - P (Like the '''P''' in '''P'''ronounced)</big>

	<big>'''Рр''' - R (Except the R "Rolls" like ~~in a~~ Russian ~~accent~~)</big>		<big>'''Рр''' - R (Except the R "Rolls" like the Russian language)</big>

	<big>'''Cc''' - S (Same)</big>		<big>'''Cc''' - S (Same)</big>
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	<big>'''Ћћ''' - 'Tch' (Like the "'''tch'''" at the end of "Swi'''tch'''")</big>		<big>'''Ћћ''' - 'Tch' (Like the "'''tch'''" at the end of "Swi'''tch'''")</big>

	<big>'''Уу''' - 'OO' (like the "'''oo'''" in "Sh'''oo'''t")</big>		<big>'''Уу''' - 'OO' (like the "'''oo'''" in "Sh'''oo'''t" and the "'''u'''" in "Ch'''u'''te")</big>

	<big>'''Фф''' - F (Same)</big>		<big>'''Фф''' - F (Same)</big>
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	<big>'''Шш''' - 'Sh' (Just like the "'''Sh'''" in "'''Sh'''u'''sh'''")</big>		<big>'''Шш''' - 'Sh' (Just like the "'''Sh'''" in "'''Sh'''u'''sh'''")</big>

	Nearly all the sounds of the Serbian alphabet are found in English. ~~You may have also noticed an oddity with a few~~ of ~~these~~ letters. Љ Њ and Џ are just two ~~other~~ letters put together~~. Compound letters~~. These can ~~catch you off guard at first, and they're hard to remember~~, because you technically don't need them. If you hear the "Љ" sound in a word, you might forget to write it, and instead put "Лј" because it would sound the exact same. But if you're writing in Serbian Cyrillic, and you hear these letters put together, you need to write their compound letters. ~~It's not bad if you forget it~~, ~~but it is proper to write them. Also~~ be warned that Џ and Ђ sound very similar, and it will take you a while to properly distinguish them in Serbian speech. ~~Same goes for~~ Ч and Ћ.		Nearly all the sounds of the Serbian alphabet are found in English.

			Perhaps the most striking difference between Latin and Cyrillic is the appearance of "Compound letters". "Љ", "Њ", and "Џ" are just two letters put together, much the same compound ''words'' in English. These can be tricky, because you technically don't need them. If you hear the "Љ" sound in a word, you might forget to write its letter, and instead put "Лј" because it would sound the exact same. But if you're writing in Serbian Cyrillic, and you hear these letters put together, you need to write their compound letters. In addition, be warned that "Џ" and "Ђ" sound very similar, and it will take you a while to properly distinguish them in Serbian speech. "Ч" and "Ћ" will also sound similar at first.

	If you take the time to study these letters, and consult this page when you're reading your first few sentences in Cyrillic, you'll pick it up in no time.		If you take the time to study these letters, and consult this page when you're reading your first few sentences in Cyrillic, you'll pick it up in no time.

	~~Онце јоу хаве леарнед тхе алпхабет~~, ~~јоу цан евен усе ит то цоммуниате wитхоут отхер пеопле сееинг wхат јоу~~'~~ре wритинг~~.		For getting the proper pronunciation, and keeping with the theme of this site, a way to learn is by listening to Serbian music. You can find the lyrics for some songs online quite easily, and some YouTube videos may even have them in closed captions (CC), along with translations. If you ever need to search for them, the Serbian word for "Lyrics" is "Текст" or "Tekst". If you search for the lyrics using the Cyrillic "Текст" will get Cyrillic results, as opposed to searching with Serbian Latin. Be aware that it's extremely rare for Bosnian songs to have Cyrillic text because Bosnians exclusively use the Serbian Latin alphabet, except for their Bosnian-Serb population.

	For getting the proper pronunciation, and keeping with the theme of this site, a way to learn it is by listening to Serbian music. You can find the lyrics for some songs online quite easily, and some YouTube videos may even have them in Closed Captions, along with translations. If you ever need to search for them, the Serbian word for "Lyrics" is "Текст" or "tekst". If you search for the lyrics using the Cyrillic "Текст" you'll probably only find Cyrillic results, as opposed to searching for it in the Latin alphabet. Be aware that it's extremely rare for Bosnian songs to have Cyrillic text because Bosnians exclusively use the Serbian Latin alphabet, except for their Bosnian-Serb population. Bosnian, Croatian, and Serbian ~~like to call themselves different languages, and there are~~ differences~~. However,~~ they can ~~all~~ understand each other perfectly fine ~~and it~~ would take some time before a new speaker could understand the differences.		Bosnian, Croatian, and Serbian have slight differences but they can understand each other perfectly fine, they're nearly identical. It would take some time before a new speaker could understand the differences.

	When you start saying words in Serbian, try and stay away from warping your mouth into an obvious or stereotypical Russian accent, it's really not needed. English has every sound a Serbian letter can make, with the exception of the "rolling R". The rest can just be spoken like you're speaking Serbian words with your normal accent for English. It might seem small, but it's really wasted effort when you actually start speaking.		When you start saying words in Serbian, try and stay away from warping your mouth into an obvious or stereotypical Russian accent, it's really not needed. English has every sound a Serbian letter can make, with the exception of the "rolling R". The rest can just be spoken like you're speaking Serbian words with your normal accent for English. It might seem small, but it's really wasted effort when you actually start speaking.

	Good luck learning Serbian.		Good luck learning Serbian.

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← Older revision		Revision as of 04:29, 27 April 2023
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	<big>Фф Хх Цц Чч Џџ Шш</big>		<big>Фф Хх Цц Чч Џџ Шш</big>



	Some of these letters may be new, but some of them are the same as English. To better show you each letter, Here's the list again, but with an approximate English letter beside each Cyrillic letter. There will also be some rough pronunciation.		Some of these letters may be new, but some of them are the same as English. To better show you each letter, Here's the list again, but with an approximate English letter beside each Cyrillic letter. There will also be some rough pronunciation.

	<big>Aa - A ('ah')</big>		<big>Aa - A ('ah')</big>

Generacide: Freshen things up

2023-04-13T18:23:02Z

Freshen things up

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:23, 13 April 2023
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	The modern Serbian Cyrillic alphabet was formed by Vuk Karadžić (Вук Караџић), who ~~actually~~ reformed the alphabet by taking out and adding various letters. Letters like Ю (Pronounced Yu) and Я (Pronounced Ya) were removed, and replaced instead with the letter J. In Serbian, the J makes the same sound as a Y in English, and with the addition of one letter, you could still keep the sounds of some of the letters he removed. Now you could pronounce Я with "Ja", simplifying the language. Vuk was all about this, as he followed a simple principle with his new alphabet: "''write as you speak and read as it is written''".		The modern Serbian Cyrillic alphabet was formed by Vuk Karadžić (Вук Караџић), who reformed the alphabet by taking out and adding various letters. Letters like Ю (Pronounced 'Yu') and Я (Pronounced 'Ya') were removed, and replaced instead with the letter J. In Serbian, the J makes the same sound as a Y in English, and with the addition of one letter, you could still keep the sounds of some of the letters he removed. Now you could pronounce Я with "Ja", simplifying the language. Vuk was all about this, as he followed a simple principle with his new alphabet: "''write as you speak and read as it is written''".

	Unlike most languages, Serbian is completely phonetic. This means there is only one way you can pronounce each letter, and you can't mispronounce a word nearly as bad as you can in English~~. The moment someone tells you a word in Serbian, you can spell it instantly, without asking~~.		Unlike most languages, Serbian is completely phonetic. This means there is only one way you can pronounce each letter, and you can't mispronounce a word nearly as bad as you can in English.

	Serbian also has an extremely intuitive LATIN alphabet, which they use interchangeably in Serbia. The Latin alphabet is quite easy to understand, so we won't be covering it here, but it's a very good stepping stone for quickly getting the pronunciation of Serbian words.		Serbian also has an extremely intuitive LATIN alphabet, which they use interchangeably in Serbia. The Latin alphabet is quite easy to understand, so we won't be covering it here, but it's a very good stepping stone for quickly getting the pronunciation of Serbian words.

	Cyrillic looks daunting, but it really isn't! There are overlapping letters, and since there's no need to remember multiple sounds per letter, it's easier to start speaking words than with English for new speakers. With a little patience, you can remember it forever, with just two hours of effort.		Cyrillic looks daunting, but it really isn't. There are overlapping letters, and since there's no need to remember multiple sounds per letter, it's easier to start speaking words than with English for new speakers. With a little patience, you can remember it forever, with just two hours of effort.


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	<big>Фф Хх Цц Чч Џџ Шш</big>		<big>Фф Хх Цц Чч Џџ Шш</big>

	~~<big>Italicized, the letters can look very different!</big>~~

	~~''<big>Аа Бб Вв Гг Дд Ђђ Ее Жж</big>''~~

	~~''<big>Зз Ии Јј Кк Лл Љљ Мм Нн</big>''~~

	~~''<big>Њњ Оо Пп Рр Сс Тт Ћћ Уу</big>''~~

	~~''<big>Фф Хх Цц Чч Џџ Шш</big>''~~


	Some of these letters you've never seen before, but some of them are the same as in English. To better show you each letter, Here's the list again, but with an approximate English letter beside each Cyrillic letter. There will also be some rough pronunciation.


			Some of these letters may be new, but some of them are the same as English. To better show you each letter, Here's the list again, but with an approximate English letter beside each Cyrillic letter. There will also be some rough pronunciation.
	<big>Aa - A ('ah')</big>		<big>Aa - A ('ah')</big>

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	<big>Шш - Sh (Just like the "'''Sh'''" in "'''Sh'''u'''sh'''")</big>		<big>Шш - Sh (Just like the "'''Sh'''" in "'''Sh'''u'''sh'''")</big>

	~~You'll notice we have almost~~ all Serbian ~~letter sounds~~ in English. You may have also noticed an oddity with a few of these letters. Љ Њ and Џ are just two other letters put together. Compound letters. These can catch you off guard at first, and they're hard to remember, because you technically don't need them. If you hear the "Љ" sound in a word, you might forget to write it, and instead put "Лј" because it would sound the exact same. But if you're writing in Serbian Cyrillic, and you hear these letters put together, you need to write their compound letters. It's not bad if you forget it, but it is proper to write them. Also be warned that Џ and Ђ sound very similar, and it will take you a while to properly distinguish them in Serbian speech. Same goes for Ч and Ћ.		Nearly all the sounds of the Serbian alphabet are found in English. You may have also noticed an oddity with a few of these letters. Љ Њ and Џ are just two other letters put together. Compound letters. These can catch you off guard at first, and they're hard to remember, because you technically don't need them. If you hear the "Љ" sound in a word, you might forget to write it, and instead put "Лј" because it would sound the exact same. But if you're writing in Serbian Cyrillic, and you hear these letters put together, you need to write their compound letters. It's not bad if you forget it, but it is proper to write them. Also be warned that Џ and Ђ sound very similar, and it will take you a while to properly distinguish them in Serbian speech. Same goes for Ч and Ћ.

	If you take the time to study these letters, and consult this page when you're reading your first few sentences in Cyrillic, you'll pick it up in no time.		If you take the time to study these letters, and consult this page when you're reading your first few sentences in Cyrillic, you'll pick it up in no time.
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	For getting the proper pronunciation, and keeping with the theme of this site, a way to learn it is by listening to Serbian music. You can find the text (Lyrics) for some songs online quite easily, and some YouTube videos may even have them in the video's Closed Captions. If you ever need to search for them, the Serbian word for "Lyrics" is "Текст" or "tekst". If you search for the lyrics using the Cyrillic "Текст" you'll probably only find Cyrillic results, as opposed to searching for it in the Latin alphabet. Be aware that it's extremely rare for Bosnian songs to have Cyrillic text because Bosnians exclusively use the Serbian Latin alphabet, except for their Bosnian-Serb population. Bosnian, Croatian, and Serbian like to call themselves different languages, and there are differences. However, they can all understand each other perfectly fine and it would take some time before a new speaker could understand the differences.		For getting the proper pronunciation, and keeping with the theme of this site, a way to learn it is by listening to Serbian music. You can find the text (Lyrics) for some songs online quite easily, and some YouTube videos may even have them in the video's Closed Captions. If you ever need to search for them, the Serbian word for "Lyrics" is "Текст" or "tekst". If you search for the lyrics using the Cyrillic "Текст" you'll probably only find Cyrillic results, as opposed to searching for it in the Latin alphabet. Be aware that it's extremely rare for Bosnian songs to have Cyrillic text because Bosnians exclusively use the Serbian Latin alphabet, except for their Bosnian-Serb population. Bosnian, Croatian, and Serbian like to call themselves different languages, and there are differences. However, they can all understand each other perfectly fine and it would take some time before a new speaker could understand the differences.

	When you start saying actual Serbian words, try and stay away from warping your mouth into an obvious or stereotypical Russian accent, it's really not needed. English has every sound a Serbian letter can make, with the exception of the rolling R~~, that's the only thing that needs changing~~. The rest can just be spoken like you're speaking Serbian words with your normal accent for English. It might seem small, but it's really wasted effort when you actually start speaking.		When you start saying actual Serbian words, try and stay away from warping your mouth into an obvious or stereotypical Russian accent, it's really not needed. English has every sound a Serbian letter can make, with the exception of the "rolling R". The rest can just be spoken like you're speaking Serbian words with your normal accent for English. It might seem small, but it's really wasted effort when you actually start speaking.

	Good luck learning Serbian!		Good luck learning Serbian.

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The modern Serbian Cyrillic alphabet was formed by Vuk Karadžić (Вук Караџић), who actually reformed the alphabet by taking out and adding various letters. Letters like Ю (Pronounced Yu) and Я (Pronounced Ya) were removed, and replaced instead with the letter J. In Serbian, the J makes the same sound as a Y in English, and with the addition of one letter, you could still keep the sounds of some of the letters he removed. Now you could pronounce Я with "Ja", simplifying the language. Vuk was all about this, as he followed a simple principle with his new alphabet: "''write as you speak and read as it is written''".

Unlike most languages, Serbian is completely phonetic. This means there is only one way you can pronounce each letter, and you can't mispronounce a word nearly as bad as you can in English. The moment someone tells you a word in Serbian, you can spell it instantly, without asking.

Serbian also has an extremely intuitive LATIN alphabet, which they use interchangeably in Serbia. The Latin alphabet is quite easy to understand, so we won't be covering it here, but it's a very good stepping stone for quickly getting the pronunciation of Serbian words.

Cyrillic looks daunting, but it really isn't! There are overlapping letters, and since there's no need to remember multiple sounds per letter, it's easier to start speaking words than with English for new speakers. With a little patience, you can remember it forever, with just two hours of effort.

'''<big>The Letters</big>'''

<big>The Serbian alphabet has 30 letters.</big>

<big>Аа Бб Вв Гг Дд Ђђ Ее Жж</big>

<big>Зз Ии Јј Кк Лл Љљ Мм Нн</big>

<big>Њњ Оо Пп Рр Сс Тт Ћћ Уу</big>

<big>Фф Хх Цц Чч Џџ Шш</big>

<big>Italicized, the letters can look very different!</big>

''<big>Аа Бб Вв Гг Дд Ђђ Ее Жж</big>''

''<big>Зз Ии Јј Кк Лл Љљ Мм Нн</big>''

''<big>Њњ Оо Пп Рр Сс Тт Ћћ Уу</big>''

''<big>Фф Хх Цц Чч Џџ Шш</big>''

Some of these letters you've never seen before, but some of them are the same as in English. To better show you each letter, Here's the list again, but with an approximate English letter beside each Cyrillic letter. There will also be some rough pronunciation.

<big>Aa - A ('ah')</big>

<big>Бб - B (Same as English)</big>

<big>Вв - V (Same as English)</big>

<big>Гг - G (Same as English)</big>

<big>Дд - D (Same as English)</big>

<big>Ђђ - J (like the '''J''' in "'''J'''ay")</big>

<big>Ее - E (Pronounced "Eh")</big>

<big>Жж - Zh (Pronounced like the G in "Delu'''g'''e")</big>

<big>Зз - Z (Just like '''Z'''ebra)</big>

<big>Ии - EE (like the '''E'''<nowiki/>'s in N'''ee'''d)</big>

<big>Jj - Y ('''Y'''es)</big>

<big>Кк - K (Same as English)</big>

<big>Лл - L (Same as English)</big>

<big>Љљ - LY (Compound letter of L and Y "Lj")</big>

<big>Мм - M (Same)</big>

<big>Нн - N (Same)</big>

<big>Њњ - NY (Like Љ but N and Y "Nj")</big>

<big>Oo - O (Pronounced like "oh")</big>

<big>Пп - P (Like the '''P''' in '''P'''ronounced)</big>

<big>Рр - R (Except the R "Rolls" like in a Russian accent)</big>

<big>Cc - S (Same)</big>

<big>Тт - T (Exactly the same)</big>

<big>Ћћ - TCH (Like the "'''tch'''" at the end of "Swi'''tch'''")</big>

<big>Уу - 'OO' (like the "'''oo'''" in "Sh'''oo'''t")</big>

<big>Фф - F (Same)</big>

<big>Хх - H (Same)</big>

<big>Цц - 'Ts' (like the "'''ts'''" on the end of "Ca'''ts'''")</big>

<big>Чч - Ch (Like the "'''Ch'''" in "'''Ch'''ild")</big>

<big>Џџ - None (The letters Д and Ж put together)</big>

<big>Шш - Sh (Just like the "'''Sh'''" in "'''Sh'''u'''sh'''")</big>

You'll notice we have almost all Serbian letter sounds in English. You may have also noticed an oddity with a few of these letters. Љ Њ and Џ are just two other letters put together. Compound letters. These can catch you off guard at first, and they're hard to remember, because you technically don't need them. If you hear the "Љ" sound in a word, you might forget to write it, and instead put "Лј" because it would sound the exact same. But if you're writing in Serbian Cyrillic, and you hear these letters put together, you need to write their compound letters. It's not bad if you forget it, but it is proper to write them. Also be warned that Џ and Ђ sound very similar, and it will take you a while to properly distinguish them in Serbian speech. Same goes for Ч and Ћ.

If you take the time to study these letters, and consult this page when you're reading your first few sentences in Cyrillic, you'll pick it up in no time.

Онце јоу хаве леарнед тхе алпхабет, јоу цан евен усе ит то цоммуниате wитхоут отхер пеопле сееинг wхат јоу'ре wритинг.

For getting the proper pronunciation, and keeping with the theme of this site, a way to learn it is by listening to Serbian music. You can find the text (Lyrics) for some songs online quite easily, and some YouTube videos may even have them in the video's Closed Captions. If you ever need to search for them, the Serbian word for "Lyrics" is "Текст" or "tekst". If you search for the lyrics using the Cyrillic "Текст" you'll probably only find Cyrillic results, as opposed to searching for it in the Latin alphabet. Be aware that it's extremely rare for Bosnian songs to have Cyrillic text because Bosnians exclusively use the Serbian Latin alphabet, except for their Bosnian-Serb population. Bosnian, Croatian, and Serbian like to call themselves different languages, and there are differences. However, they can all understand each other perfectly fine and it would take some time before a new speaker could understand the differences.

When you start saying actual Serbian words, try and stay away from warping your mouth into an obvious or stereotypical Russian accent, it's really not needed. English has every sound a Serbian letter can make, with the exception of the rolling R, that's the only thing that needs changing. The rest can just be spoken like you're speaking Serbian words with your normal accent for English. It might seem small, but it's really wasted effort when you actually start speaking.

Good luck learning Serbian!