The language itself should not prove difficult to pronounce. Grammatical complexities will however present challenges to those not familiar with highly inflected languages, such as Latin or Russian. Inflection is the grammatical process of altering the noun to indicate its position & function in the sentence. The noun is said to have "case." Whereas English nouns are defined in the sentence through the use of prepositions - as in the sentence "Mary throws the ball to John," inflected languages alter the form of the noun, so "John" in the example would appear as the object in the sentence in the accusative case (indicated by the change in the suffix, and less frequently the prefix). The same sentence in Bosnian/S-C would have no preposition "to" as in "Mary baca loptu Johnu." Notice that "John" received a "u" as a suffix, which immediately governs the meaning of the word "Johnu" and dictates its function in the sentence. In another similarity with Latin as well as the other Balto-Slavic languages (except Bulgarian-Macedonian), Serbo-Croatian does not use articles; there ARE a few ariticles, but they are rarely used even in literature and formal speech.
Certain idiomatic differences exist in Serbian and Croatian, mostly as a result of regional applications. Some phrases, such as ''alahimanet'' and ''merhaba'', are relatively unique in Bosnian usage, as they are a remnant of Islamic (and therefore Turkish)/Ottoman influences. Consulting separate pages on the Croatian & Serbian phrasebooks may prove beneficial to those interested in better understanding such regional differences.
Serbo-Croatian pronounciation, like other Slavic languages, is very phonetic and straightforward. Each letter represents only one sound, and multiple sounds are produced only when several letters are combined. The letter "A" represents the sound "ah" in Bosnian/S-C, and it represents only that sound. Unlike in English, where the letter "A" stands for numerous sounds - such as "Ah, eh, aaa, ehy" & so forth, Bosnian/SC letters only represent basic sounds. Speakers of Spanish and Italian will find most sounds in Bosnian/Serbo-Croatian to be similar to the ones in their own "languages". Keep in mind that Serbo-Croatian is the ONLY Slavic language written in both Latin and Cyrillic, the latter with considerable differences from the more popular Russian/East Slavic version. Although learning the two alphabets will keep out of trouble and endear the locals, the Latin script is more commonly used, even in Belgrade. The particles -ij and -j found in the middle of a number of words CAN be ommited due to regional applications and it would still be correct grammar.
; a : like 'a' in "above" ; e : like 'e' in "enemy" ; i : like 'i' in "sing" ; o : like 'o' in "opera" ; u : like 'u' in "put"
Unfortunately, neither stresses (Usually it is the second or third-last one, but never the last) nor vowel lengths are marked in the written language, but the stress is more predictable than it is in Russian or Bulgarian, where it is almost obligatory to put an accent on the stressed syllable. For example, in the sentence sam sam (I am alone), the first "sam" is long, and the second is short (SAHM sam); in the clause da da (that he/she gives), it's reverse (da DAH). The most notorious example is a pun Gore gore gore gore (Up there, forests are burning worse), however, it is not likely that you will use this sentence in everyday speech. Unlike Bulgarian, Russian and other East Slavic languages, however, wrongly pronounced vowel length will seldom cause misunderstanding.
Bosnian/Serbo-Croatian consonants are crisper than their counterparts in the English language. Approximating the corresponding consonants in Italian or Russian is closer to their true pronunciation.
; b : like 'b' in "bed" ; c : like 'ts' at the end of "cats" (never like an "s" or "k") ; ? : pronounced like "ch" as in "church", but with the tongue up on the roof of the mouth ; ? : like "tch" as in "catch", but softer, with tongue behind top front teeth ; d : like 'd' in "dog" ; d? : very close to "j" as in judge, with tongue up on the roof of the mouth; very seldom used ; ? : like "j" as in "judge", but softer, with tongue behind top front teeth; hardly used at the beginning of the word ; f : like 'f' in "fish" ; g : like 'g' in "go" (never pronounced like the "g" in "large") ; h : a little more emphasized than the 'h' in "help". Somewhat close to the Spanish ''jota'' (j), pronounced in the throat. Usually an aspirated sound like the 'ck' in "brick" ; j : like 'y' in "yellow" ; k : like 'k' in "kite" ; l : like 'l' in "love" ; lj : like the "li" sound in "million". Combo of the Bosnian/SC "l" "j" sounds together ; m : like 'm' in "mother" ; n : like 'n' in "nice" ; nj : like "ny" in "canyon" Like the Spanish " n " sound. ; p : like 'p' in "pappy" ; r : rolled slightly, like the Spanish r in "pero" ; s : like 's' in "sun" ; ? : like "sh" in "sheep", with tongue raised toward roof of mouth ; t : like 't' in "top" ; v : like 'v' in "victory" ; z : like 'z' in "haze" ; ? : like the "s" in "measure", with tongue raised toward roof of mouth
; ije : (ie) like the Spanish word "miedo" ; lje : (lyeh) like the Italian word "moglie" ; nje : (nyeh) like the Spanish word "muneco" ; ija : (ia) like the Spanish word "mia" ; vje : (vyeh) like the Spanish word "viento"
; Hello/Good Day. : Dobar dan (''DOH-bahr dahn'') ; Hello. (''informal'') : Zdravo. (''ZDRAH-voh'') or Merhaba (''MEHR-hah bah'') ; How are you? : Kako ste? (''formal''), (''KAH-koh steh'') Kako si? (informal) (''KAH-koh see'') ; Fine, thank you. : Dobro sam, hvala. (''DOH-broh sahm, HVAH-lah'') ; What is your name? : Kako se zovete? (formal) (''KAH-koh seh ZOH-veh-teh'') ; What is your name? : Kako se zove?? (informal) (''KAH-koh seh ZOH-vehsh'') ; My name is ______ . : Zovem se ______ . (''ZOH-vehm seh____.'') : I am _____. : Ja sam ______. (''yah sahm'') ; Nice to meet you. : Drago mi je. (''DRAH-goh mee yeh'') ; Please. : Molim. (''MOH-leem'') ; Thank you. : Hvala. (''HVAH-lah'') ; Thank you very much: Hvala lijepo (''HVAH-lah LEE-yeh-poh'') ; You're welcome. : Nema na ?emu. (''NEH-mah nah CHEH-moo'') ; Yes. ("formal") : Da (''dah'') ; Yes. ("informal") : Ja (''yah'') ; No. : Ne.(''neh'') ; Excuse me. (''getting attention'') : Oprostite. (''oh-prohs-TEE-teh'') ; Excuse me. (''begging pardon'') : Izvinite. (''EEZ-vee-nee-teh'') ; I'm sorry. : Oprostite. (''oh-prohs-TEE-teh'') : I'm sorry. ("expressing condolence"): ?ao mi je. (''zhao mee yeh'') ; Goodbye (''informal'') : do vi?enja (''doh vee-jeh-nyah'') or ?ao (''chaoo'') or Zdravo. (''ZDRAH-voh'') ; I can't speak Bosnian/Serbo-Croatian [well]. : Ne govorim dobro bosanski/srpskohrvatski. (''neh goh-VOH-reem DOH-broh boh-SAHNS-kee/ Sehrps-koh-hehr-VAHTS-kee'') ; Do you speak English? : Da li govorite engleski? (''dah lee goh-VOH-ree-teh ehn-GLEHS-kee'') ; Is there someone here who speaks English? : Da li iko ovdje govori engleski? (''dah lee EE-koh OHV-dyeh goo-VOH-ree ehn-GLEHS-kee'') ; Help! : Upomo?! (''oo-POH-mohtch'') ; Look out! : Pazite! (''PAH-zee-teh'') ; Good morning. : Dobro jutro. (''DOH-broh YOO-troh'') ; Good evening. : Dobro ve?er. (''DOH-broh VEH-chehr'') ; Good night. : Laku no?. (''LAH-koo nohtch'') ; Good night (''to sleep'') : Laku no?. (''LAH-koo nohtch'') ; I don't understand. : Ne razumijem. (''neh rah-ZOO-myehm'') ; Where is the toilet? : Gdje je WC? (''gdyeh yeh VEH TSEH?'')
; Leave me alone. : Pusti me na miru. (''POOS-tee meh nah MEE-roo'') ; Don't touch me! : Ne diraj me! (''neh DEE-rah-ee meh!'') ; I'll call the police. : Zva?u policiju. (''ZVAH-tchoo poh-LEE-tsee-oo'') ; Police! : Policija! (''poh-LEE-tsee-yah!'') ; Stop! Thief! : Stanite! Lopov! (''STAH-nee-teh! LOH-pohv!'') ; I need your help. : Treba mi va?a pomo?. (''TREH-bah mee VAH-shah POH-mohch'') ; It's an emergency. : Hitno je. (''HEET-noh yeh'') ; I'm lost. : Izgubio [m] (''EEZ-goo-byoh'') izgubila [f] (''EEZ-goo-bee-lah'') sam se. (''sahm seh'') ; I lost my bag. : Izgubio [m] (''EEZ-goo-byoh'') izgubila [f] (''EEZ-goo-bee-lah'') sam torbu. (''sahm TOHR-boo'') ; I lost my wallet. : Izgubio [m] (''EEZ-goo-byoh'') izgubila [f] (''EEZ-goo-bee-lah'') sam nov?anik. (''sahm NOHV-chah-neek'') ; I'm sick. : Bolestan [m] (''BOH-lehs-tahn'') /bolesna [f] (''BOH-lehs-nah'') sam. (''sahm'') ; I've been injured. : Povrijedio [m] (''poh--VREE-eh-dyoh'') /povrijedila [f] (''poh-VREE-eh-dee-lah'') sam se. (''sahm seh'') ; I need a doctor. : Treba mi doktor. (''TREH-bah mee DOHK-tohr'') ; Can I use your phone? : Mogu li se posluziti telefonom? (''MOH-goo lee seh POHS-loo-zee-tee teh-LEH-foh-nohm?'')
; 0 : nula (''NOO-lah'') ; 1 : jedan (''YEH-dahn'') ; 2 : dva/dvije (''dvah/dvyeh'') ; 3 : tri (''tree'') ; 4 : ?etiri (''cheh-TEE-ree'') ; 5 : pet (''peht'') ; 6 : ?est (''shehst'') ; 7 : sedam (''SEH-dahm'') ; 8 : osam (''OH-sahm'') ; 9 : devet (''DEH-veht'') ; 10 : deset (''DEH-seht'') ; 11 : jedanaest (''yeh-DAH-nah-ehst'') ; 12 : dvanaest (''dvah-NAH-ehst'') ; 13 : trinaest (''tree-NAH-ehst'') ; 14 : ?etrnaest (''chehtr-NAH-ehst'') ; 15 : petnaest (''peht-NAH-ehst'') ; 16 : ?esnaest (''shehs-NAH-ehst'') ; 17 : sedamnaest (''seh-dahm-NAH-ehst'') ; 18 : osamnaest (''oh-sahm-NAH-ehst'') ; 19 : devetnaest (''deh-veht-NAH-ehst'') ; 20 : dvadeset (''dvah-DEH-seht'') ; 21 : dvadeset jedan (''dvah-DEH-seht YEH-dahn'') ; 22 : dvadeset dva/dvije (''dvah-DEH-seht dvah/ DEE-vyeh'') ; 23 : dvadeset tri (''dvah-DEH-seht tree'') ; 30 : trideset (''tree-DEH-seht'') ; 40 : ?etrdeset (''cheh-tehr-DEH-seht'') ; 50 : pedeset (''peh-DEH-seht'') ; 60 : ?ezdeset (''shehz-DEH-seht'') ; 70 : sedamdeset (''seh-dahm-DEH-seht'') ; 80 : osamdeset (''osahm-DEH-seht'') ; 90 : devedeset (''deh-veh-DEH-seht'') ; 100 : sto (''stoh'') ; 200 : dvjesta (''dee-VYEHS-tah'') ; 300 : trista (''TREES-tah'') ; 400 : ?etiristo ('cheh-tee-REES-toh'') ; 500 : petsto (''PEHTS-toh'') ; 600 : ?eststo ("shehs-TEHS-toh") ; 700 : sedamsto (''seh-DAHMS-toh'') ; 800 : osamsto (''oh-SAHMS-toh'') ; 900 : devetsto (''deh-VEHTS-toh'') ; 1000 : hiljadu/tisu?u : Both are correct and used equally often (The first one is a Greek loanword for the same number, while the latter is the Slavic word) (''hee-LYAH-doo/ tee-SOO-tchoo'') ; 2000 : dvije hiljade/tisu?e (''dee-VYEH hee-LYAH-deh/ tee-SOO-tcheh'') ; 1,000,000 : milion (''MEE-lyohn'') ; 1,000,000,000 : one thousand million in UK, one billion in USA: bilion/milijarda (''BEE-lyohn/ mee-LYAHR-dah ; 1,000,000,000,000 : one billion in UK, one trillion in USA: trilion (''TREE-lyohn'') ; number _____ : broj_____ (''broy'') ; half : pola (''POH-lah'') ; less : manje (''MAH-nyeh'') ; more : vi?e (''VEE-sheh'')
; now : sad(a)(''sahd (ah)'') ; later : kasnije(''kahs-NEE-eh'') ; before : prije(''pryeh'') or after : poslije(''pohs-LYEH'') ; morning : jutro(''YOO-troh'') ; afternoon : popodne(''poh-POHD-neh'') ; evening : ve?e(''VEH-cheh'') ; night : no?(''nohtch'') ; midnight : pono? (''POH-notch'') ; weekend : vikend (''VEE-kehnd'') ; week : sedmica (''sehd-MEE-tsah'')
; one o'clock AM : jedan sat ujutro (''YEH-dahn saht OO-yoo-troh'') ; two o'clock AM : dva sata ujutro (''dvah sah-tah OO-yoo-troh'') ; noon : podne (''POHD-neh'') ; one o'clock PM : jedan sat poslije podne (''YEH-dahn saht poh-SLYEH POHD-neh'') ; two o'clock PM : dva sata poslije podne (''dvah sah-tah poh-SLYEH POHD-neh'') ; six o'clock PM: ?est sati uve?er (''shehst sah-tee OO-veh-chehr'')
; today : danas (''DAH-nahs'') ; tonight : ve?eras (''veh-CHEH-rahs'') ; yesterday : ju?e (''YOO-cheh'') ; tomorrow : sutra (''SOO-trah'') ; this week : ove sedmice (''oveh sehd-MEE-tseh'') ; last night : sino? (''SEE-nohtch'') ; this morning : jutros (''YOO-trohs'') ; last week : pro?le sedmice (''PROHSH-leh sehd-MEE-tseh'') ; next week : sljede?e sedmice (''slyeh-DEH-tcheh sehd-MEE-tseh'')
; Sunday : nedjelja (''neh-DYEH-lyah'') ; Monday : ponedjeljak (''poh-neh-DYEH-lyahk'') ; Tuesday : utorak (''oo-TOH-rahk'') ; Wednesday : srijeda (''SRYEH-dah'') ; Thursday : ?etvrtak (''CHEHT-vrtahk'') ; Friday : petak (''PEH-tahk'') ; Saturday : subota (''soo-BOH-tah'')
''If speakers of the language commonly use a calendar other than the Gregorian, explain it here and list its months. See Hebrew phrasebook for an example.''
; January : Januar (''YAH-nwahr'') ; February : Februar (''FEH-brwahr'') ; March : Mart (''mahrt'') ; April : April (''AH-preel'') ; May : Maj (''mai'') ; June : Juni (''YOO-nee'') ; July : Juli (''YOO-lee'') ; August : August (''OW-goost'') ; September : Septembar (''sehp-TEHM-bahr'') ; October : Oktobar (''ohk-TOH-bahr'') ; November : Novembar (''noh-VEHM-bahr'') ; December : Decembar (''deh-TSEHM-bahr'')
Bosnian time is standard 24 hour time, so midnight is 00:00 while 1 pm would be 13:00 just like US military time.
; airplane/ airline : avion (''AH-vyohn'') ; taxi : taksi (''TAHK-see'') ; train : voz (''vohz'') ; tram : tramvaj (''TRAHM-vai'') ; bus : autobus (''ow-TOH-boos'') ; car : kola (''KOH-lah'')/ Auto ; truck : kamion (''KAH-myohn'') ; ferry : skela (''SKEH-lah'') ; ship : brod (''brohd'') ; boat : ?amac (''CHAH-mahts'') ; bicycle : bicikl (''bee-TSEE-kuhl'')
; What bus goes to...? : Koji autobus ide...? (''koy ow-TOH-boos EE-deh...?'') ; When does the bus leave for...? : Kada kre?e autobus za...? (''KAH-dah KREH-tcheh ow-TOH-boos zah...?'') ; When its the next bus? : Kada je slijede?i autobus? (''KAH-dah yeh slyeh-DEH-tchee ow-TOH-boos?'') ; Where's the...? : Gdje je...? (''gdyeh yeh...?'') ; bus stop : autobuska stanica. (''ow-toh-BOOS-kah stah-NEE-tsah'')
; How much is the fare? : Koliko ko?ta karta? (''koh-LEE-koh KOHSH-tah KAHR-tah?'') ; I want to go to___. : ?elim i?i u___. (''ZHEH-leem EE-tchee oo...'') ; I'm going to___. : Ja idem u___. (''yah EE-dehm oo...'')
; Where is___? : Gdje je___? (''gdyeh yeh...?'')
; Help! : U pomo?! (''oo POH-mohtch'') ; Can you help me please? : Mo?ete li mi pomo?i, molim? (''moh-ZHEH-teh lee mee poh-MOH-tchee, MOH-leem?'') ; Where is the nearest telephone? : Gdje je najbli?i telefon? (''gdyeh yeh nai-BLEE-zhee teh-LEH-fohn?'') ; This is an emergency! : Ovo je hitan slu?aj! (''OH-voh yeh KHEE-tahn SLOO-chai!'')