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The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet

Serbian is written with 30 Cyrillic letters, and every letter always makes the same sound. Learn them here with audio of real words, see which ones trick English readers, and you will be able to read any Serbian word aloud.

  • 30 letters
  • One letter, one sound
  • Also written in Latin
Learn Serbian with BesedaSee all 30 letters

Read your first word

БB
еe
оo
гg
рr
аa
дd

Београд = Beograd

beh-OH-grahd

Belgrade. The р looks like a Latin p, but it is an r.

All 30 letters

In alphabetical order, with the Latin letter it matches, how it sounds and a word to hear it in. Tap the speaker to listen.

  1. Аа

    a

    Ah, as in father

    аутобус

    autobus · bus

  2. Бб

    b

    b, as in bed

    брат

    brat · brother

  3. Вв

    v

    Looks like B, sounds like v

    вода

    voda · water

  4. Гг

    g

    Hard g, as in go

    град

    grad · city

  5. Дд

    d

    d, as in dog

    дан

    dan · day

  6. Ђђ

    đ

    Soft j, softer than Џ: like the d in British 'duke'

    ђак

    đak · pupil

  7. Ее

    e

    Eh, as in bed

    евро

    evro · euro

  8. Жж

    ž

    The s in pleasure

    жена

    žena · woman

  9. Зз

    z

    z, as in zoo

    зима

    zima · winter

  10. Ии

    i

    Ee, as in see

    имати

    imati · to have

  11. Јј

    j

    Looks like J, sounds like the y in yes

    јутро

    jutro · morning

  12. Кк

    k

    k, as in kit

    кафа

    kafa · coffee

  13. Лл

    l

    l, as in look

    лево

    levo · left

  14. Љљ

    lj

    The lli in million

    љубав

    ljubav · love

  15. Мм

    m

    m, as in mum

    мама

    mama · mum

  16. Нн

    n

    Looks like H, sounds like n

    нос

    nos · nose

  17. Њњ

    nj

    The ny in canyon

    његов

    njegov · his

  18. Оо

    o

    Like the o in more, but short

    отац

    otac · father

  19. Пп

    p

    Looks like n in small letters (п), sounds like p

    пиво

    pivo · beer

  20. Рр

    r

    Looks like P, sounds like a rolled r (also a vowel between consonants, as in Србија)

    рука

    ruka · hand

  21. Сс

    s

    Looks like C, sounds like s

    сестра

    sestra · sister

  22. Тт

    t

    t, as in top

    тата

    tata · dad

  23. Ћћ

    ć

    Soft ch, softer than Ч: like the t in British 'tune'

    ћерка

    ćerka · daughter

  24. Уу

    u

    Looks like y, sounds like oo

    улица

    ulica · street

  25. Фф

    f

    f, as in fun

    филм

    film · film

  26. Хх

    h

    Looks like X, sounds like the ch in Scottish loch

    хлеб

    hleb · bread

  27. Цц

    c

    The ts in cats

    центар

    centar · centre

  28. Чч

    č

    Hard ch, as in church

    чај

    čaj · tea

  29. Џџ

    dž

    The j in jungle

    џем

    džem · jam

  30. Шш

    š

    Sh, as in shop

    школа

    škola · school

Learn it in four groups

The quickest way in is not A to Ш but by how familiar each letter is. It is the order Beseda's free Serbian course teaches them in.

  1. Step 1

    Letters you already know

    АЕОКМТЈ

    They look like English letters and sound like them too. The one trap is Ј, which sounds like the y in yes.

  2. Step 2

    False friends

    ВНРСХУ

    They look like Latin letters but stand for different sounds. В is v, Н is n, Р is a rolled r, С is s, Х is h and У is oo.

  3. Step 3

    New shapes

    БГДЛПИЗФ

    New shapes for sounds English already has. Watch И, which looks like a backwards N, and small п, which looks like n.

  4. Step 4

    Sounds of their own

    ЖЦЧЋЂЉЊЏШ

    One letter for sounds English writes with two letters, such as sh and ts, plus soft Ћ and Ђ, which English does not have.

The two tricky pairs

Serbian has a hard and a soft ch, and a hard and a soft j. Listen to each pair one after the other.

Hard

Чč

Hard ch, as in church

чај

tea

Soft

Ћć

Soft ch, softer than Ч: like the t in British 'tune'

ћерка

daughter

Hard

Џdž

The j in jungle

џем

jam

Soft

Ђđ

Soft j, softer than Џ: like the d in British 'duke'

ђак

pupil

Try reading these

You already know these words. Sound them out letter by letter, then tap to check.

Cyrillic to Latin chart

Serbian's Latin alphabet matches Cyrillic letter for letter. Three Latin letters are written with two characters: lj, nj and dž.

Serbian Cyrillic letters and the Latin letters they match
АAБBВVГGДDЂĐЕEЖŽЗZИI
ЈJКKЛLЉLjМMНNЊNjОOПPРR
СSТTЋĆУUФFХHЦCЧČЏDžШŠ

Questions people ask

How many letters are in the Serbian alphabet?+

Thirty. Serbian Cyrillic has 30 letters, and each one always stands for the same sound, so once you know the letters you can read any Serbian word aloud.

Does Serbian use Cyrillic or Latin?+

Both. Cyrillic is the official script in Serbia under its Constitution, and the Latin alphabet is widely used too, on signs, in shops and online. The two match letter for letter, so any Serbian text can be switched from one to the other.

Is Serbian Cyrillic the same as Russian Cyrillic?+

No. Serbian has six letters that Russian does not (Ђ, Ј, Љ, Њ, Ћ and Џ) and leaves out nine Russian ones (Ё, Й, Щ, Ъ, Ы, Ь, Э, Ю and Я). The other 24 letters look the same in both.

Who created the Serbian Cyrillic alphabet?+

Today's alphabet comes from the reform of Vuk Stefanović Karadžić in the early 1800s. It gave every sound of Serbian a letter of its own, and is known by the rule "write as you speak and read as it is written".

Why are lj, nj and dž single letters?+

In the Latin alphabet Serbian writes the sounds of Љ, Њ and Џ with two characters each, lj, nj and dž, but each pair counts as one letter, just like its Cyrillic twin.

What is the difference between Ч and Ћ, or Џ and Ђ?+

Ч and Џ are the harder sounds, like the ch in church and the j in jungle. Ћ and Ђ are softer, close to the t in British tune and the d in British duke.

Now learn to speak it

Beseda teaches Serbian from your first word, in Cyrillic or Latin, with audio and a pronunciation guide for every word.

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