Is it easy for Turkish people to learn Serbian?

Hello dear students, how are you? I know you might be surprised with this title. Probably because most of you would say: “Serbia = Russian“and „No, no way, they use Cyrilic, how for the God’s sake I’m going to learn it? “ However, I must say you that you’re not right. I strongly believe that there is the magic of the people’s goodness and love that motivate us to be willing to learn a lot of new things. For example we learn: about culture, about language, about habit, about that how to make a business much easier in some country etc During this learning process, we might discover some similarities in any sense (especially similarities between different languages). However, only determinated people with the big will power our capable to finish this language learning process completely.  In Serbian, there are more than 6000 Turkish words that are adopted. Now, I’m going to give you some examples of the similar words between Serbian and Turkish, and...the examples of the false friends as well.

Table 1 – Serbian alphabets

Cyrilic - Kiril	Latin	Turkish - türkce	English pronon.
А а	A a	A a	A a
Б б	B b	B b	B b
В в	V v	V v	V v
Г г	G g	G g	G g
Д д	D d	D d	D d
Ђ ђ	Đ đ	Dz dz	Dz dz
Е е	E e	E e	E e
Ж ж	Ž ž	J j	ZH zh
З з	Z z	Z z	Z z
И и	I i	I i	Ee
Ј ј	J j	Y y	Y y
К к	K k	K k	K k
Л л	L l	L l	L l
Љ љ	Lj lj	LY ly	Ly ly
М м	M m	M m	M m
Н н	N n	N n	N n
Њ њ	NJ nj	Ny ny	Ny ny
О о	O o	O o	O o
П п	P p	P p	P p
Р р	R r	R r	R r
С с	S s	S s	S s
Т т	T t	T t	T t
Ћ ћ	Ć ć	Ç ç	Ty ty
У у	U u	U u	Oo oo
Ф ф	F f	F f	F f
Х х	H h	H h	H h
Ц ц	C c	Ts ts	Ts ts
Ч ч	Č č	Ch ch	Ch ch
Џ џ	DŽ dž	C c	J j
Ш ш	Š š	Ş ş	Sh sh

Note: Remember – Every letter represents only one voice. If you learn Serbian alphabets easily, you’ll be able to read without any difficulty. Why? Because of the golden rule: Write in the same way like you pronounce and the opposite.

In Serbian, there are no letters like: ı, ü, ö, ğ.

P.S. You can choose if you want to use Cyrilic or Latin letters, but I suggest you to use Cyrilic. If you learn Cyrilic, you’ll write in a little bit more elegant way and you’ll learn the alphabet of other Slavic languages much easier (for example: Russian ones). Also, you can see the names of the: streets, institutions, ID cards, … written in Cyrilic, so if you do not know Cyrilic, you can get lost easily.

Table 2 – Similar words between Serbian and Turkish

Serbian – sirpca	Serbian – sirpca	Turkish – türkce	Englısh - ingilizce
Краљ	Kralj (kraly)	Kral	King
шамар	Šamar (Şamar)	Şamar	Slap
Бре	Bre	Bre	expression
Гајде	Gajde (gayde)	Gayda	Musıcal instrument
Хајде	Hajde (hayde)	Hade	Com’on
Душманин	Dušmanin (duşmanin)	Duşman	Enemy
Инат	Inat (İnat)	Inat	Despite
Зор	Zor	Zor	Difficult
Зејтин	Zejtin (zeytin)	Zeytin	Oil
Сокак	Sokak	Sokak	Street
Ананас	Ananas	Ananas	Ananas
Мајмун	Majmun (maymun)	maymun	Monkey
Џезва	Džezva (Cesva)	cezve	Coffee pot
Џелат	Dželat (Celat)	cellat	executioner
Шах	Šah (Şah)	Şah	Chess
Тоалет	Toalet	Tuvalet	Toılet
Доктор	Doktor	Doktor	Doctor
Памук	Pamuk	Pamuk	Cotton
Панталоне	Pantalone	pantolon	Pants
Јастук	Jastuk (Yastuk)	yastık	pıllow
Чорба	Čorba (Chorba)	Çorba	Soup
Чарапе	Čarape (Charape)	Çoraplar	Socks
Машала	Mašala (MaŞala)	Mashallah	Well done
Пилав	Pilav	Pilaf	A meal from rice
Бибер	Biber	Biber	Pepper
Чај	Čaj (chay)	Çay	Tea
Џеп	Džep (cep)	Cep	Pocket
Бурек	Burek	Börek	Burek
Сарма	Sarma	Sarma	Stuffed cabbage
Пара	Para	Para	Money
Кравата	Kravata	Kravat	tie
Комшија	Komšija (komŞiya)	Komşu	Neighbor
Бојa	Boje (boye)	Boya	Colour
Краљица	Kraljica (kralyica)	kraliçe	queen
сирће	Sirće (sirçe)	Sirke	Vinegar
Хајир	Hajir (hayir)	Hayir	Luck
Кашика	Kašika (kaşika)	Kaşik	spoon

Some of those words are old-fashioned. For example:

Mašala --- we prefer to use the Italian word: „Bravo“ – „Aferin“ or „Svaka čast – Well done“

Zejtin – we prefer to say „ulje“

Ćuza – we prefer to say „zatvor“ – jail

Ćuprija – we prefer to say „most“ - bridge

Here you are a dialogue where we can also find an old- fashioned word „zor“ instead of „na silu – by force“

Dialogue 1:

Marko: - Kako ide posao? – How is your work going? (Senin işin nasil gidiyor)  

Tanja : - Nije loše, ali ga radim zorom. --- it is not bad, but I work it by force. --  fena değil, ama bu iş yapiyorum cünkü zorundayim.

Marko: - Ako je tako, onda promeni posao. – If it is like this, then change your job. -- Eğer böyleyse, işini değiştir.

Tanja: U redu, hvala na savetu. – Alright, thank you for the advice. -  Tamam, tavsiye için teşekkür ederim.

Dalogue 2:

Tamara: Darko, uči engleski. – Darko, study English. --- Darko, ingilizce çalış

Darko: Neću. – I do not want it. – Istemiyorum.

Tamara: Uči, engleski je lep i koristan jezik.  --- Learn, English is nice and helpful language. ---  çalış, İngilizce güzel ve yardımsever bir dildir.

Darko: ali ja ga ne volim. – but I dislike it. – ama ben ingilizce dili sevmiyorum.

Tamara: Aman, bre, idi i uči i ne inati se sa mnom. Ako naučiš dobro engleski, vodim te u jednu lepu poslastičarnicu.  --- Oh, for the God’s sake, go and learn it, do not do the things despite of me. If you learn English good, I’ll take you to the nice cake shop.   --- Aman, bre, git ve , ingilizce çalış, benimle inat yapma. İyi derecede İngilizce öğrenirsen, seni güzel bir pastaneye götürürüm.

Darko: U redu, naučiću. – Ok, I’ll learn it. – Tamam, çalışacağim.

Tamara: Sjajno. Vidimo se. – Great, see you. – Harika, görüşmek üzere.

Darko: Vidimo se.  – See you.  – Görüşürüz.

Dialogue 3:

Sin (son, oglu) : Mama, kupio sam kola „Mercedes“ .  --- Mom, I bought „Mercedes“  car. – Anne, ben „Mercedes“ araba satin aldim.

Mama (anne) : Hajir ti bilo.  – Good luck to you.  --- Hayırlı olsun.

Sin (son, oglu): Hvala mama, vidimo se.  – Thanks mom, see you. ---  Teşekkürler anne, görüşürüz

Mama (anne) : Vidimo se.  – See you.  --- Teşekkürler oğlum, görüşürüz.

In this case, we prefer to say: „Srećno ti bilo“ or just „srećno“  because „sreća“ means „luck“.

False friends:  
1. Nakit:

                   A)    Serbian – jewelry

                   B)    Turkish – in cash
      2.       Baba

A)    Serbian : grandmother

B)    Turkish: father
3.      Bol

A)    Serbian – pain

B)    Turkish – rich man
4.   Fil

A)    Serbian – a cream of the cake

B)    Turkish – elephant
5. Koš - koş

A)    Serbian: basketball basket

B)    Turkish: RUN --- command
6.  Ne 

A)    Serbian: Hayir

B)    Turkish: What
7.  Jok - yok

A)    In Serbian, it is the sinonim for “No, ne – Hayir” (we prefer to say NE in a modern Serbian)

B)    In Turkish: there is/are no …
8.  Ćevap  - çevap

It sounds similar to “Cevap – dževap” that means “answer” in Turkish. However, "ćevap" in Turkish is called "kebab"

           9.  Šaka  - şaka

A)    Serbian – hand

B)    Turkish – joke

1            10.   Merak

A)    Serbian – pleasure

B)    Turkish – curiosity

Now, I’m going to give you a dialogue, where you can discover a lot of basic phrases, so you can start speaking for a bit.

Zdravo, kako si / kako ste ? Hello, how are you? – Merhaba, nasilsin/ nasilsiniz?

Dobro sam, hvala. A ti / a Vi?  I’m fine, thank you, and you? - Iyiyim, ya sen / siz?

Evo, nije loše. Kako se zoveš / zovete? – Not bad. What’s your name?  – Fena degil. Adin / adiniz ne?

Zovem se (Furkan). A ti / Vi? – My name is (Furkan ), and yours?  – Benim adim (Furkan), ya senin / sizin?

Zovem se (Suzana). Drago mi je. – My name is (Suzana), nice to meet you.   – Benim adim (Suzana). Memnum oldum?

I meni je drago. - – Nice to meet you too   - Bende memnum oldum.

Zašto učiš srpski? – Why do you study Serbian? – neden sirpca ogreniyorsun?

Učim srpski jer volim srpski jezik i kulturu / zbog porodice / zbog posla --- I learn Serbian because I love the Serbian language and the culture / because of the family / because of the work --- Sırpça öğreniyorum çünkü Sırp dilini ve kültürünü seviyorum / ailem icin / işim icin

Super, ja učim turski jer želim posetiti Tursku, a i zbog posla. Ja sam nastavnica stranih jezika. – Super, I learn Turkish because I want to visit Turkey and because of the work. I am the language teacher.  --- Süper, Türkçe öğreniyorum çünkü Türkiye’yi ziyaret etmek istiyorum. Ben dil öğretmeniyim.

Vidimo se.– görüşürüz

Vidimo se.  – görüşürüz

Activities:

1.      Introduce yourself and tell your reason, why do you study Serbian?

2.      In this song there is one word similar to the Turkish word, recognize it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hW8S0Bu8Ais

3.      In this song there are two word similar to the Turkish word, recognize it:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpp8lHoxm88

4.      In this song there is one word similar to the Turkish word, recognize it:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mKdXXJi2fg

Answer key:

2.  Nataša Bekvalac – hajde

Po prvi put moj najdraži - This is the first time, my dear

ja ne kuvam kafu za dvoje - That I'm not making coffee for two persons

dok na zidu pokvaren sat - While the broken wall clock

kuca za oboje - Beats for the both of us

Po prvi put u krevet naš - This is the first time that in our bed

samoća kraj mene je legla - By my side is loneliness

umesto tebe barem sam nju - Instead od you, I'm embracing her

umornim rukama stegla - With my tired hands

Ref.

Hajde baš da vidim - Come on, I want to see

kako ćeš bez mene - How you're going to

jutrom da se budiš - Wake up without me

dana zavrsiš - How you'll come to the end of the day

hajde samo nek te krene - Come on, I want to see you doing it well

kada iza sebe vrata zalupiš - After you has slammed the door

Prvi put ja ne plačem - This is the first time I'm not crying

a znas da to ženama ide - And you know that women are good in it

ni luda ne bih dopustila - Even if I were crazy, I wouldn't let

da zidovi takvu me vide - The walls see me like that

Al' zadnji put moj najdraži - This is the last time, my dear

ja razmišljam eto o nama - That I'm thinking about us

kad sve saberem i oduzmem - When I count it all

bolje je da budem sama - It's better for me to be alone

Ref.

3. Marinko Rokvić – Mašala

Mislio sam ima vremena - I thought there is time

i da čekaćeš me dovijeka - and that you'll wait for me forever

od oka daleko, srcu je još dalje - far from eye, from heart is even further

sada znam da takva ljubav ne traje - now I know that this kind of love don't last

Onaj što ti biješe utjeha - The one has been your solace

postao je tvoja sudbina - he became your destiny

dok me nije bilo, sve se promjenilo - while I wasn't there, everything changed

kašika mu u med upala - his spoon fell into honey

REF.

Mašala, mašala, sina si rodila - Mashalla, Mashalla (Well done, well done), you gave birth to a son

onom kog nisi voljela - with the one you didn't love

kad nekom smrkne, drugome sine - when it darkens for someone, it brightens up for someone else

on se sad dici njime - now he boasts with it

Mašala, mašala, njemu si pružila - Mashalla, Mashalla (Well done, well done), you handed him

ono što meni si nekad nudila - what you once offered me

neka te naša ljubav sad mine - shall our love leave you now

al’ daj mu makar moje ime - but at least give him my name

Dok vas gledam kako slavite - While I look at you celebrating

mojoj duši ranu pravite - you give my heart wounds

al’ nemam ja prava da kvarim tu sreću - but i have no rights to ruin this happiness

ovdje se zbog tebe ja vratiti neću - I'm not coming back here for you

Ulica tvoja nek zaboravi - Your street should forget

na mene kog si zvala ‘jedini’ - me the one you called "only one"

vratiću se tamo gdje sam do sad bio - I'll go back there where I have been until now

jer znam da sam tebe zauvijek izgubio - because I know that I lost you forever

REF.

4. Halid Bešlić – Kad zaigra srce od meraka

Sve od Peste pa do Stambola - From Pest to Istanbul

nije majka takvu rodila - there didn't any mother give birth to a woman like you

kad zasvira tambura - when the drum starts to play

zaigraj na stolu mom - you start dancing at my table

zadrmaj, zatresi, udari k'o grom - start shaking, hit me like a lighting

cini mi se da, ostacu bez dukata - i think that i will lose all my money

Ref:

Kad zaigra srce od meraka - When your heart starts to play because of the pleasure

niz ulicu do tvoga sokaka - down the street to your block

ja draga, draga, oko moje - i my dear, my dear

ženiću te, gotovo je - will marry you, and it will be over

Kad zasvira tambura - when the drum starts to play

zaigraj na stolu mom - you start dancing at my table

zadrmaj, zatresi, udari k'o grom - start shaking

čini mi se da - hit me like a lighting

ostadoh bez dukata - i think that, i've lost all my money

Ref 2x

I hope you liked my article. If there is anything you do not understand, please feel free to ask me. Also, any kind of feedback is always more than welcome, because I am here ONLY for you, my dear students.

Good luck with your Serbian.

References:

1.      Ljubo Mićunović – Rečnik stranih reči i izraza (The dictionary of the foreign words and phrases)

2.      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXfIv_e4QPk

https://unsplash.com/photos/GuqyZfjDmD0 by https://unsplash.com/@bokcily

About me:  https://www.italki.com/teacher/1448117
https://www.verbling.com/teachers/67681568570645625251