Pozdravi - Greetings
Dobro jutro! – Good morning!
Dobar dan! – Good afternoon!
Dobro veče! – Good evening!
Laku noć! – Good night!
Doviđenja! – Good-bye!
Zdravo! – Hello!
Ćao! – Hello!/Bye!
Vidimo se( kasnije)! – See you (later)!
Nazdravlje! – Bless you! (when sneezing)
Živeli! – Cheers!
Some basic expressions:
Izvini(te)! – Sorry!/ Excuse me...
Izvoli(te)! – Here you are!
Hvala! – Thank you!
Nema na čemu! – You're welcome!
Drago mi je! – Pleased to meet you!
Kako si? – How are you? (informal)
Kako ste?- How are you? (formal)
Gde si? – Apart from its literal meaning (Where are you?), this phrase is also used in the sense “Where have you been?“ or “I haven't seen you for a long time“. So don't be surprised if someone standing right next to you asks you „Gde si?“ It just means that they are happy to see you (unless there is a sudden power cut, of course).
Nemam pojma. – I have no idea.
Ne znam. - I don't know.
Pragnje is a portmanteau word combining prase (a pig, or actually pork in this context) and jagnje (lamb).
And here is how this local specialty is made: halves of the two animals (pig and lamb) are first sewn together, then stuffed with other animals (such as chickens) or sometimes sausages and potatoes and finally turned on the spit.
The “mythical animal”, one half a pig and the other a lamb, created in such a way is increasingly gaining recognition among the carnivorous population.
Kafana is the term used for a distinct type of a local bistro which primarily serves alcoholic beverages and coffee (and occasionally light snacks), and which sometimes also has a live band.
The concept of a social gathering place for men to drink alcoholic beverages and coffee developed in Ottoman Turkey and spread to Southeast Europe with the extension of Ottoman dominion into the Balkans where it further evolved into the contemporary kafana.The word itself is derived from the Turkish kahvehane ("coffeehouse") which is in turn derived from the Persian term qahveh-khaneh (a compound of the Arabic qahve[coffee] and Persian khane [house]).
For an alternative definition of this term in Serbian please visit the following website: www.mojakafana.com
Slava - also called krsna slava is the Serbian Orthodox tradition of the ritual celebration, veneration, and observance of a family's own patron saint. The family celebrates the slava annually on the patron saint's feast day.
Sarma – Sarma is a cabbage, grape or chard roll, filled with a mixture of minced meat, rice and various spices. We like to think of this dish as Serbian even though it is actually Turkish.
However, it is not advisable to share this opinion in public, especially not at slavas, weddings, christenings and other social gatherings, where sarma is put on a pedestal and regarded with the utmost respect as a local specialty. Therefore, it is strongly recommended not to leave a festivity without trying sarma, if it is on the menu - and it will be. The amount of pain such an insulting gesture may cause to your hosts is best expressed through a folk song Otišo si, sarmu prob'o nisi, which roughly translates as You Left without even Tasting Sarma.
