Serbian Numbers & Counting
Numbers open the market, the café, and the bus timetable. Serbian numbers are regular — the only genuinely new idea is that what you count changes form after certain numbers.
One to Ten
| # | Cyrillic | Latin |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | један | jedan |
| 2 | два | dva |
| 3 | три | tri |
| 4 | четири | četiri |
| 5 | пет | pet |
| 6 | шест | šest |
| 7 | седам | sedam |
| 8 | осам | osam |
| 9 | девет | devet |
| 10 | десет | deset |
Један agrees like an adjective (један град, једна кућа, једно село); два has a feminine twin, две (два града but две куће).
Teens and Tens
Teens add -наест; tens mostly add -десет:
| Cyrillic | Latin | Value |
|---|---|---|
| једанаест | jedanaest | 11 |
| дванаест | dvanaest | 12 |
| петнаест | petnaest | 15 |
| двадесет | dvadeset | 20 |
| тридесет | trideset | 30 |
| педесет | pedeset | 50 |
| сто | sto | 100 |
Composites just stack: двадесет један (21), тридесет пет (35), деведесет девет (99).
The 2-3-4 Rule
Here's the Slavic specialty. What you count changes with the number:
| After… | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | singular | једна кафа |
| 2–4 | counting form (gen. sg.) | две кафе, три кафе |
| 5+ | genitive plural | пет кафа, десет кафа |
Masculine: један град, два града, пет градова. The same rhythm — one / a few / many — runs through every Slavic language you'll ever study.
Три пива и две ракије, молим.
Three beers and two rakijas, please.
Note: Latin: Tri piva i dve rakije, molim. The 2–4 counting form, exactly where you'll need it.
Saying Your Age
Age uses имати (to have) plus година in the right counting form:
| Cyrillic | Latin | English |
|---|---|---|
| Колико имаш година? | Koliko imaš godina? | How old are you? |
| Имам двадесет једну годину. | Imam dvadeset jednu godinu. | I'm 21. |
| Имам двадесет две године. | Imam dvadeset dve godine. | I'm 22. |
| Имам тридесет година. | Imam trideset godina. | I'm 30. |
Same 1 / 2–4 / 5+ pattern: годину / године / година.
— Колико имаш година? — Имам двадесет пет година.
— How old are you? — I'm twenty-five.
Note: Latin: — Koliko imaš godina? — Imam dvadeset pet godina. Serbian owns its years — literally 'I have 25 years'.
Prices and Shopping
Serbia counts in динари (dinars, РСД):
| Cyrillic | Latin | English |
|---|---|---|
| Колико кошта? | Koliko košta? | How much does it cost? |
| Сто динара. | Sto dinara. | A hundred dinars. |
| То је јефтино! | To je jeftino! | That's cheap! |
| То је скупо. | To je skupo. | That's expensive. |
Notice динара after сто — the genitive plural again. Numbers and cases are old friends in Serbian; once you hear the pattern at the market a few times, it locks in for good.
Put it all together at the bakery — tap the speakers to listen:
💬 Buying burek
Добар дан. Колико кошта бурек?
Good day. How much is the burek?
Сто педесет динара.
A hundred and fifty dinars.
Два бурека и један јогурт, молим.
Two bureks and one yogurt, please.
Изволите. Четиристо динара укупно.
Here you are. Four hundred dinars in total.
Хвала лепо!
Thanks very much!
Common Mistakes
- Using два with feminine nouns. Two coffees is две кафе — два кафе grates on every Serbian ear.
- Plain plural after 2–4. Два градови is wrong; small numbers take the counting form: два града.
- Plain plural after 5+. Five coffees is пет кафа (genitive plural), not пет кафе.
- Translating age with "to be". Serbian has years: Имам тридесет година, never Ја сам тридесет.
- Mixing up једанаест and један. The teens all end in -наест — hearing дванаест as "two-ten" (12) instead of "twenty" takes practice. Count aloud daily for a week.
What You Can Do Now
You can count to a hundred, order два бурека and две кафе with the right forms, ask and give prices in dinars, and tell anyone your age. That's the market, the café, and small talk unlocked — and the 1 / 2–4 / 5+ rhythm you've absorbed here is the exact pattern the case system runs on.