Bosnian and Serbian: 1,885 words that are the same
Among the two thousand words each language uses most, these are written identically and carry the same meaning in both. If you have one of the two, this is the part you do not have to learn.
A shared word is not proof of a shared root. Two languages can land on the same spelling by borrowing from a third — that is all tren and bomba are — and a word that looks the same can still be said quite differently. What this list is good for is the head start.
| Word | In English | Bosnian | Serbian |
|---|---|---|---|
| da/ˈda/ | that | #1 | #1 |
| je/je/ | of her | #2 | #2 |
| ne/ne/ | not | #3 | #3 |
| se/se/ | myself | #4 | #4 |
| i/ˈi/ | and | #5 | #5 |
| u/u/ | in, at | #6 | #6 |
| to/tôː/ | that, the aforementioned | #7 | #7 |
| sam/ˈsɐm/ | to be, to exist | #8 | #8 |
| na/na/ | on, at, in | #9 | #9 |
| ti/tîː/ | you | #10 | #10 |
| mi/mîː/ | we | #11 | #11 |
| za/za/ | for | #12 | #12 |
| si/si/ | to myself | #13 | #13 |
| li/li/ | question-forming interrogative particle | #14 | #14 |
| što/ʃtô/ | why | #15 | #16 |
| ja/jâː/ | I | #16 | #17 |
| su/ˈsʊ/ | third-person plural present of bȉti | #17 | #20 |
| šta/ʃtâ/ | what | #18 | #15 |
| ali/âli/ | but | #19 | #18 |
| sa/ˈsa/ | alternative form of s; used instead of s when the following… | #20 | #19 |
| nije/ˈnije/ | to be, to exist | #21 | #21 |
| ovo/ǒʋoː/ | this, this one | #22 | #22 |
| samo/sâmo/ | just, only, only just, merely, solely | #23 | #23 |
| te/ˈtɛ/ | of you | #24 | #25 |
| me/ˈmɛ/ | of me | #25 | #24 |
| od/ôd/ | from, since | #26 | #26 |
| a/a/ | but, and | #27 | #27 |
| ga/ˈɡa/ | of him | #28 | #28 |
| bi/ˈbi/ | to be, to exist | #29 | #29 |
| kako/kâko/ | how | #30 | #30 |
| o/o/ | on, against | #31 | #31 |
| dobro/dǒbro/ | well | #32 | #32 |
| ako/âko/ | if | #33 | #33 |
| smo/ˈsmo/ | to be, to exist | #34 | #35 |
| sve/sʋê/ | Intensity amplifier, used exclusively in phrases | #35 | #34 |
| kao/kâo/ | as, like | #36 | #36 |
| će/ˈtɕɛ/ | third-person singular/plural present of htȅti/htjȅti | #37 | #37 |
| tako/tǎkoː/ | so, like that, in such a way | #38 | #38 |
| znam/ˈznam/ | first-person singular present of znȁti | #39 | #39 |
| s/s/ | with, together with, along with | #40 | #47 |
| mogu/ˈmoɡʊ/ | can, to be able to | #41 | #41 |
| nisam/nǐːsam/ | to be, to exist | #42 | #40 |
| pa/pa/ | then | #43 | #44 |
| ste/ˈstɛ/ | second-person plural present of bȉti | #44 | #42 |
| bio/bîo/ | to be, to exist | #45 | #45 |
| biti/bîti/ | to be, to exist | #46 | #53 |
| redu/ˈrɛdʊ/ | row | #47 | #52 |
| on/ôːn/ | he | #48 | #48 |
| zašto/zâʃto/ | why, what for | #49 | #46 |
| koji/kǒjiː/ | which, what | #50 | #54 |
| još/jôʂ/ | more, another | #51 | #49 |
| bilo/bîlo/ | generalization particle used before another word to express… | #52 | #51 |
| nešto/nêʃto/ | something | #53 | #50 |
| ću/ˈtɕu/ | first-person singular present of htȅti/htjȅti | #54 | #57 |
| vas/ʋâːs/ | of you | #55 | #56 |
| kad/kâd/ | when | #56 | #55 |
| hvala/xʋǎːla/ | praise | #57 | #58 |
| iz/îz/ | from, out of | #58 | #59 |
| mislim/ˈmislɪm/ | to think | #59 | #60 |
| ima/ˈimɐ/ | he has, she has | #60 | #61 |
| ovdje/ǒːʋdje/ | here, over here | #61 | #163 |
| ili/îli/ | or | #62 | #62 |
| ih/ix/ | of them | #63 | #65 |
| sada/sâda/ | genitive singular of sȃd | #64 | #68 |
| znaš/ˈznaʃ/ | second-person singular present of znȁti | #65 | #63 |
| onda/ôndaː/ | then | #66 | #67 |
| moj/môːj/ | my, mine | #67 | #75 |
| do/dô/ | only, except | #68 | #72 |
| vam/ˈvam/ | you | #69 | #69 |
| možda/mǒʒda/ | perhaps, maybe | #70 | #64 |
| više/ʋîʃe/ | over, above | #71 | #66 |
| zar/zâr/ | used in tag questions, to ask for an affirmation to a polar… | #72 | #70 |
| rekao/ˈrɛkɐo/ | to say | #73 | #77 |
| bila/ˈbɪlɐ/ | to be, to exist | #74 | #78 |
| kada/kǎda/ | bathtub | #75 | #80 |
| ona/ǒna/ | she | #76 | #86 |
| nas/nâːs/ | of us | #77 | #83 |
| bih/ˈbih/ | first-person singular aorist of bȉti | #78 | #73 |
| nema/ˈnɛmɐ/ | mute, dumb | #79 | #81 |
| mu/ˈmu/ | to him | #80 | #76 |
| malo/mâlo/ | little, few, some | #81 | #79 |
| mene/mêne/ | of me, long form | #82 | #84 |
| treba/trěːba/ | girl, chick | #83 | #74 |
| ovde/ǒːʋde/ | here | #84 | #43 |
| molim/ˈmolɪm/ | to ask, request, beg | #85 | #88 |
| ništa/nîʃta/ | nothing | #86 | #82 |
| tebe/têbe/ | of you | #87 | #87 |
| hajde/xǎjde/ | let's go | #88 | #91 |
| hej/ɦɛj/ | hi | #89 | #101 |
| imam/ˈimɐm/ | to have, possess, own | #90 | #95 |
| tamo/tâmo/ | there | #91 | #92 |
| sad/sâd/ | now | #92 | #89 |
| ni/ˈni/ | even, either | #93 | #90 |
| gdje/ɡdjê/ | where | #94 | #221 |
| ko/kô/ | who | #95 | #85 |
| tu/ˈtu/ | here | #96 | #100 |
| nam/ˈnam/ | to us | #97 | #98 |
| jesi/ˈjesɪ/ | second-person singular present of bȉti | #98 | #103 |
| zbog/zbôɡ/ | because of, due to, owing to | #99 | #96 |
| želim/ˈʒɛlɪm/ | first-person singular present of žèljeti | #100 | #99 |
| možeš/ˈmoʒɛʃ/ | can, to be able to | #101 | #94 |
| jer/jêr/ | because, for | #102 | #104 |
| može/moʒe/ | can, to be able to | #103 | #93 |
| vi/ʋîː/ | you | #104 | #97 |
| ljudi/ʎûːdi/ | people, men | #105 | #109 |
| svi/ˈsvi/ | everyone | #106 | #105 |
| stvarno/stʋâːrno/ | really, truly | #107 | #102 |
| po/pôː/ | half | #108 | #106 |
| moram/ˈmôːraːm/ | to have to; must | #109 | #110 |
| ćemo/ˈtɕɛmo/ | first-person plural present of htȅti/htjȅti | #110 | #112 |
| zato/zǎtoː/ | so, therefore, for that/this reason, ergo | #111 | #107 |
| koliko/kolǐko/ | how much, how many | #112 | #111 |
| jedan/jědan/ | one | #113 | #115 |
| idemo/ˈidɛmo/ | to go, walk | #114 | #116 |
| misliš/ˈmislɪʃ/ | to think | #115 | #113 |
| baš/bâʃ/ | at all, truly, really, exactly | #116 | #108 |
| koje/kǒjeː/ | which, what | #117 | #120 |
| ćeš/ˈtɕɛʃ/ | second-person singular present of htȅti/htjȅti | #118 | #118 |
| nego/nêɡo/ | than | #119 | #119 |
| ono/ǒno/ | it | #120 | #127 |
| dok/dôk/ | while, as long as | #121 | #121 |
| gde/ɡdê/ | where | #122 | #71 |
| bez/bêz/ | without, excluding, not counting | #123 | #124 |
| oni/ǒni/ | they | #124 | #134 |
| joj/joj/ | to her | #125 | #130 |
| ovaj/ǒʋaːj/ | this, this one | #126 | #132 |
| već/ʋêt͡ɕ/ | already | #127 | #114 |
| naravno/nǎːraʋno/ | of course | #128 | #125 |
| reći/rêt͡ɕi/ | to say | #129 | #142 |
| sto/stôː/ | hundred | #130 | #311 |
| toga/tǒːɡa/ | that, the aforementioned | #131 | #126 |
| imaš/ˈimɐʃ/ | to have, possess, own | #132 | #128 |
| tvoj/tʋôːj/ | your, yours | #133 | #140 |
| taj/tâːj/ | that, the aforementioned | #134 | #136 |
| koja/kǒjaː/ | which, what | #135 | #139 |
| neće/nêːt͡ɕeː/ | to wish, want, desire | #136 | #122 |
| možemo/ˈmoʒɛmo/ | can, to be able to | #137 | #131 |
| prije/prîje/ | before, earlier | #138 | #304 |
| posao/pǒsao/ | job | #139 | #143 |
| imamo/ˈimɐmo/ | to have, possess, own | #140 | #149 |
| dana/ˈdanɐ/ | day | #141 | #137 |
| reci/ˈrɛtsɪ/ | river | #142 | #175 |
| radi/râdi/ | for, because of, for the sake of | #143 | #156 |
| žao/ʒâo/ | sorry | #144 | #145 |
| rekla/ˈrɛklɐ/ | to say | #145 | #146 |
| nikad/nîkad/ | never | #146 | #144 |
| kod/kôd/ | by, at, near, besides | #147 | #138 |
| zdravo/zdrâʋo/ | healthily | #148 | #141 |
| dan/dâːn/ | day | #149 | #154 |
| godina/ɡôdina/ | year | #150 | #148 |
| mama/mâma/ | mom | #151 | #167 |
| put/pûːt/ | to, toward | #152 | #151 |
| mogao/ˈmoɡɐo/ | can, to be able to | #153 | #150 |
| bolje/bôʎeː/ | comparative degree of dòbro: in a better or superior manner | #154 | #147 |
| želiš/ˈʒɛlɪʃ/ | to wish, desire | #155 | #158 |
| neko/nêko/ | someone, somebody | #156 | #133 |
| nemoj/ˈnɛmoj/ | don't | #157 | #159 |
| mora/môra/ | sea | #158 | #155 |
| mnogo/m̩nôɡo/ | many, a lot, lots | #159 | #129 |
| jeste/ˈjestɛ/ | emphatic yes | #160 | #152 |
| vidim/ˈvidɪm/ | first-person singular present of videti and vidjeti | #161 | #153 |
| uvijek/ûʋjeːk/ | always | #162 | #345 |
| bili/ˈbɪlɪ/ | to be, to exist | #163 | #161 |
| meni/měniː/ | to me | #164 | #165 |
| radiš/ˈradɪʃ/ | to work | #165 | #164 |
| tata/tâta/ | dad, daddy | #166 | #169 |
| volim/ˈvolɪm/ | to love | #167 | #171 |
| dobar/dôbar/ | good | #168 | #168 |
| im/im/ | to them | #169 | #172 |
| svoje/ˈsvoje/ | one's own | #170 | #176 |
| stvar/stʋâːr/ | thing | #171 | #179 |
| dva/dʋâː/ | two | #172 | #177 |
| idem/ˈidɛm/ | to go, walk | #173 | #166 |
| neću/něːt͡ɕu/ | to wish, want, desire | #174 | #157 |
| tko/tkô/ | who | #175 | #271 |
| vremena/ˈvrɛmɛnɐ/ | time | #176 | #181 |
| vidi/ˈvidɪ/ | third-person singular present | #177 | #170 |
| bude/bûdeː/ | third-person singular present of bȉti | #178 | #160 |
| nisu/nǐːsu/ | to be, to exist | #179 | #180 |
| vrijeme/ʋrjěːme/ | time | #180 | #378 |
| njega/ɲêɡa/ | of him | #181 | #178 |
| evo/ˈɛvo/ | look, see, behold | #182 | #183 |
| imao/ˈimɐo/ | to have, possess, own | #183 | #182 |
| danas/dǎnas/ | today | #184 | #184 |
| život/ʒǐʋot/ | life | #185 | #173 |
| kažem/ˈkaʒɛm/ | to say, to state | #186 | #162 |
| nikada/nîkada/ | never | #187 | #185 |
| odmah/ôdmaːx/ | right now, immediately | #188 | #187 |
| zna/ˈzna/ | to know | #189 | #186 |
| kući/kût͡ɕi/ | home, at home | #190 | #174 |
| puno/pûno/ | much, a lot, lots | #191 | #226 |
| ime/îme/ | name | #192 | #198 |
| neka/ˈnɛkɐ/ | let, may | #193 | #190 |
| tri/trîː/ | three | #194 | #194 |
| tim/ˈtim/ | team | #195 | #195 |
| upravo/upraʋo/ | exactly, precisely | #196 | #207 |
| možete/ˈmoʒɛtɛ/ | can, to be able to | #197 | #188 |
| tobom/tôboːm/ | with you | #198 | #196 |
| svoj/ˈsvoj/ | one's own | #199 | #208 |
| koju/ˈkojʊ/ | which, what | #200 | #200 |
Showing the 200 commonest of 1,885. Download all 1,885
The overlap is the easy part.
The rest comes from using it with someone who speaks it.