Blog

Let me guess: you fell in love with a girl or a guy from the Balkans and decided it would be nice to learn Serbian as it is their native language. You went online and immediately started second-guessing your decision: learning Serbian language? Isn’t it better to invest your time in learning Croatian, or Bosnian or Montenegrin? Everyone says these languages are similar, but what are the real differences between these languages? Will you be able to successfully communicate with his/her friends and family or would the differences be enough to make you sound ridiculous in front of your significant other?

I know that working in a school called Learn Serbian Online automatically makes me look biased; graduating Serbian language in Belgrade University does not help either. However, my father was born in Zagreb (Croatia), my grandfather was born in Podgorica (Montenegro) while my grandmother comes from an old Mostar family (Herzegovina). Most of my mother’s family comes from the region called Šumadija which is the central part of Serbia. I have witnessed these language differences firsthand growing up and I have been successfully teaching this language to foreigners for more than ten years. Let me at least try and convince you why learning Serbian language is your best choice in navigating through this Balkan linguistic maze.

Serbian language, a member of a messed up family

You may as well picture me as a frowning old grandpa who lived through it all while reading this, but let me tell you: the story of Balkan languages is as messy as its history, identity and cultural heritage. Learning Serbian language just gives you access to this language family drama. That is precisely why most people from the region would rather talk about food, music and how hospitable we are. Now that you are to be a part of the family, before you pick sides, here are some facts.

Every linguist worth his salt will agree that Serbian language, Croatian language, Bosnian language and the Montenegrin language all belong to the same southern fraction of the Slavic language family. Does it help if you know some Russian? In short, not much, keep on reading! Over the centuries different parts of the Balkans have been under Ottoman rule, Austro-Hungarian empire, some coastal parts even had a lot of Italian and Latin influence! This complex history left the region with a complexity of various religions, traditions and languages.

By the end of the nineteenth century the major intellectuals gathered to sign the Vienna Literary Agreement proclaiming that the folk language and soon to be literary one is one and the same. This same sentiment was predominant throughout most of the twentieth century inside of the Jugoslav monarchy and later Jugoslav socialist era. Insisting on language differences, primarily between Serbian language and Croatian language are of later date and have to do with politics more than linguistics.

Serbian language, Croatian, Bosnian, and Montenegrin (BCMS) are mutually intelligible standards of a single pluricentric language. The English language is also policentric and British and American English may serve as a good comparison for the relationship between Serbian and other Balkan languages.

What runs in the (language) family

Language families are like our own families: we may seem very different, even though we share the same genes. That is why I advise all my students to be practical when thinking about learning Serbian. Their friends, family, spouses sometimes come from an area with a strong dialect, or a specific region of the Balkans. We take all of that into account and tailor their program in such a way that they understand the nuances they will need when communicating. On the other hand, this does not mean that these languages or dialects are far apart. Let me show you some common examples.

Most of the differences my students encounter are variations in vocabulary.

Some of these variations are major, having totally different words for the same things. like:

Serbian	Croatian	English
pozorište	kazalište	theater
univerzitet	sveučilište	university
fabrika	tvornica	factory

Most of the times these are some minor phonetic details like:

Serbian	Croatian	English
mleko	mlijeko	milk
sto	stol	table
preduzeće	poduzeće	company

There is actually a pocket edition dictionary with all of the differences between Serbian and Croatian language listed and even some very helpful materials anyone can find online. There are also many words Bosniacs are rightly proud of and I will definitely love to write more about them in some future blog posts. What I have found is that most people in the Balkans know these differences which means that for a beginner most of these will not influence the meaning.

Another important difference in the region is the script. Plainly speaking, Croatians and Bosnian people use latinica which is closer to the alphabet while Serbians consider cyrilic script as their national treasure. Good thing is, Serbian schools teach both latinica and ћирилица (this is how it looks like) so majority of people of all ages and walks of life know both scripts. For practical reasons, most of my own students start with what is close to home and learn both scripts when they feel confident enough in Serbian language. Some of them tell me it is easier for them to read in cyrillic, but I think they are just proud of learning a new script. It is worth saying that the easy ways for reading our script is one of not so many redeeming qualities of otherwise a very complex language.

Piece of advice before you start learning Serbian (or any other Balkan language)

Marija and I started Learn Serbian Online after a lot of experience in other languages schools. Honestly, sometimes it seems easier to just do the classes and collect the paycheck, but we thought we could do it better and started working on a concept of an online school we would contact if we wanted to learn a new language.
That being said, there are some very good schools out there that can help you learn Serbian language, but in order to stir away from the ones you need to avoid, here is my personal word of advice:

• Choose a progressive school and a teacher whose sense of national pride does not get in the way of their teaching. Serbian language (as well as Croatian, Bosnian and Montenegrin language) is hard enough and you don’t need our local identity crisis when the only thing you want to do is learn to communicate.
• If possible, invest in individual classes. You should feel free to discuss your personal language needs. Communicate openly, set your learning goals and make language learning a fun and pleasurable experience.
• You will have time and opportunity to enjoy all that this region has to offer. Learning how to communicate is the first and the most important step in that process. One of the things I am sure everyone here will appreciate is you putting in the effort to learn our language.

When asked WHY do they want to learn Serbian language, 85% of our students tell us the same story. They met someone special, fell in love, and before they knew it, they were visiting Serbia or another part of the Balkans. It must feel strange, to be surrounded by people who really want to talk and connect with you, and feel like the best you can do is smile and nod. It is fine, for the first visit, but later the pressure builds up. We totally get it. This is the person you love — the one who came to your country, learned your language, and might just be the person you’ll spend your life with. Would you like to surprise them by expressing your feelings in their own language?

We CAN help you begin your Serbian journey, starting today.

Love is what inspired us to build our Serbian language school. The same love we feel for each other and for teaching Serbian language to foreigners is what drives us. If you’ve checked us out on social media (you can find us on Instagram at @learnserbian_online), you already know the story. We’re Marija and Milan, a couple in life and partners in building Learn Serbian Online. Together, we’ve helped over a hundred students learn Serbian, and we’d love to help you too.

This is why we’re confident we can help you.

Our classes are one-on-one and scheduled entirely around you. You’ll work on speaking, reading, writing, grammar, vocabulary, and listening, but always at your own pace, in a motivating and engaging way.

Every lesson is s fully tailored to each student. The vocabulary focuses on real, everyday situations you’ll actually need in Serbia, while grammar is taught practically and always connected to the topics you’re learning. That way, you can start using what you’ve learned in real life after every single class.

This is a premium online learning experience. We’re available to you via WhatsApp, Viber, or Telegram even outside of class time, and all learning materials are accessible 24/7/365.

Now, let’s get back to the LOVE part of this blog post. ❤️

Love speaks the same language!

If you recognized yourself in this post,

if you are in love with someone and that someone is Serbian,

If you’re ready to show how much you love them by learning Serbian,

We want to help you out!

To celebrate Valentine’s Day 2026, we’re offering a special discount and plus a special gift for all our new students. Let’s take a look at how the discount works!

We are convinced you will see real progress very soon so here is the deal:

Sign up for two months of our classes (3 classes per week package) and we will give you 26% off.

Instead of €550 for two months, you’ll get our two-month package with three classes per week for just €407. That’s 24 individual, fully tailor-made lessons, designed just for you. On top of that, you’ll receive a free bonus class where we’ll help you write a romantic note for your Valentine, in flawless Serbian. 💌

This special offer is available until the end of February, but the number of students we can accept is limited. So don’t wait, let’s start learning Serbian together!

📱 You can reach out to us through the contact page bellow or via our social media accounts; and don’t forget to use the phrase “Love speaks the same language!”

Pro tip: the fastest way to get in touch is to l send us a message on WhatsApp or Viber. We’ll get in touch and set up a 30-minute video call to get to know each other, define your learning goals together, and answer any questions you may have. After that, you’ll receive an email with access to your learning materials, and your classes will appear directly in your calendar with a Google Meet link for each lesson.

Easy, right? 😊