Croatian and Serbian: 1,728 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 | Croatian | Serbian |
|---|---|---|---|
| je/je/ | of her | #1 | #2 |
| da/ˈda/ | that | #2 | #1 |
| 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 |
| što/ʃtô/ | why | #9 | #16 |
| na/na/ | on, at, in | #10 | #9 |
| ti/tîː/ | you | #11 | #10 |
| za/za/ | for | #12 | #12 |
| mi/mîː/ | we | #13 | #11 |
| si/si/ | to myself | #14 | #13 |
| li/li/ | question-forming interrogative particle | #15 | #14 |
| ja/jâː/ | I | #16 | #17 |
| su/ˈsʊ/ | third-person plural present of bȉti | #17 | #20 |
| ali/âli/ | but | #18 | #18 |
| nije/ˈnije/ | to be, to exist | #19 | #21 |
| s/s/ | with, together with, along with | #20 | #47 |
| samo/sâmo/ | just, only, only just, merely, solely | #21 | #23 |
| ga/ˈɡa/ | of him | #22 | #28 |
| me/ˈmɛ/ | of me | #23 | #24 |
| od/ôd/ | from, since | #24 | #26 |
| a/a/ | but, and | #25 | #27 |
| bi/ˈbi/ | to be, to exist | #26 | #29 |
| ovo/ǒʋoː/ | this, this one | #27 | #22 |
| kako/kâko/ | how | #28 | #30 |
| te/ˈtɛ/ | of you | #29 | #25 |
| će/ˈtɕɛ/ | third-person singular/plural present of htȅti/htjȅti | #30 | #37 |
| o/o/ | on, against | #31 | #31 |
| dobro/dǒbro/ | well | #32 | #32 |
| ako/âko/ | if | #33 | #33 |
| smo/ˈsmo/ | to be, to exist | #34 | #35 |
| sa/ˈsa/ | alternative form of s; used instead of s when the following… | #35 | #19 |
| sve/sʋê/ | Intensity amplifier, used exclusively in phrases | #36 | #34 |
| kao/kâo/ | as, like | #37 | #36 |
| ću/ˈtɕu/ | first-person singular present of htȅti/htjȅti | #38 | #57 |
| biti/bîti/ | to be, to exist | #39 | #53 |
| tako/tǎkoː/ | so, like that, in such a way | #40 | #38 |
| znam/ˈznam/ | first-person singular present of znȁti | #41 | #39 |
| ste/ˈstɛ/ | second-person plural present of bȉti | #42 | #42 |
| nisam/nǐːsam/ | to be, to exist | #43 | #40 |
| ovdje/ǒːʋdje/ | here, over here | #44 | #163 |
| bio/bîo/ | to be, to exist | #45 | #45 |
| mogu/ˈmoɡʊ/ | can, to be able to | #46 | #41 |
| pa/pa/ | then | #47 | #44 |
| zašto/zâʃto/ | why, what for | #48 | #46 |
| on/ôːn/ | he | #49 | #48 |
| još/jôʂ/ | more, another | #50 | #49 |
| redu/ˈrɛdʊ/ | row | #51 | #52 |
| bilo/bîlo/ | generalization particle used before another word to express… | #52 | #51 |
| nešto/nêʃto/ | something | #53 | #50 |
| kad/kâd/ | when | #54 | #55 |
| koji/kǒjiː/ | which, what | #55 | #54 |
| vas/ʋâːs/ | of you | #56 | #56 |
| mislim/ˈmislɪm/ | to think | #57 | #60 |
| hvala/xʋǎːla/ | praise | #58 | #58 |
| iz/îz/ | from, out of | #59 | #59 |
| ili/îli/ | or | #60 | #62 |
| možda/mǒʒda/ | perhaps, maybe | #61 | #64 |
| ih/ix/ | of them | #62 | #65 |
| gdje/ɡdjê/ | where | #63 | #221 |
| ima/ˈimɐ/ | he has, she has | #64 | #61 |
| vam/ˈvam/ | you | #65 | #69 |
| više/ʋîʃe/ | over, above | #66 | #66 |
| znaš/ˈznaʃ/ | second-person singular present of znȁti | #67 | #63 |
| rekao/ˈrɛkɐo/ | to say | #68 | #77 |
| sada/sâda/ | genitive singular of sȃd | #69 | #68 |
| moj/môːj/ | my, mine | #70 | #75 |
| onda/ôndaː/ | then | #71 | #67 |
| bih/ˈbih/ | first-person singular aorist of bȉti | #72 | #73 |
| tko/tkô/ | who | #73 | #271 |
| mu/ˈmu/ | to him | #74 | #76 |
| ćemo/ˈtɕɛmo/ | first-person plural present of htȅti/htjȅti | #75 | #112 |
| do/dô/ | only, except | #76 | #72 |
| nema/ˈnɛmɐ/ | mute, dumb | #77 | #81 |
| bila/ˈbɪlɐ/ | to be, to exist | #78 | #78 |
| ništa/nîʃta/ | nothing | #79 | #82 |
| zar/zâr/ | used in tag questions, to ask for an affirmation to a polar… | #80 | #70 |
| nas/nâːs/ | of us | #81 | #83 |
| ona/ǒna/ | she | #82 | #86 |
| želim/ˈʒɛlɪm/ | first-person singular present of žèljeti | #83 | #99 |
| malo/mâlo/ | little, few, some | #84 | #79 |
| mene/mêne/ | of me, long form | #85 | #84 |
| može/moʒe/ | can, to be able to | #86 | #93 |
| vi/ʋîː/ | you | #87 | #97 |
| molim/ˈmolɪm/ | to ask, request, beg | #88 | #88 |
| kada/kǎda/ | bathtub | #89 | #80 |
| reći/rêt͡ɕi/ | to say | #90 | #142 |
| šta/ʃtâ/ | what | #91 | #15 |
| jer/jêr/ | because, for | #92 | #104 |
| prije/prîje/ | before, earlier | #93 | #304 |
| tebe/têbe/ | of you | #94 | #87 |
| hej/ɦɛj/ | hi | #95 | #101 |
| imam/ˈimɐm/ | to have, possess, own | #96 | #95 |
| možeš/ˈmoʒɛʃ/ | can, to be able to | #97 | #94 |
| sad/sâd/ | now | #98 | #89 |
| tu/ˈtu/ | here | #99 | #100 |
| ćeš/ˈtɕɛʃ/ | second-person singular present of htȅti/htjȅti | #100 | #118 |
| zbog/zbôɡ/ | because of, due to, owing to | #101 | #96 |
| ni/ˈni/ | even, either | #102 | #90 |
| nam/ˈnam/ | to us | #103 | #98 |
| tamo/tâmo/ | there | #104 | #92 |
| jesi/ˈjesɪ/ | second-person singular present of bȉti | #105 | #103 |
| ljudi/ʎûːdi/ | people, men | #106 | #109 |
| svi/ˈsvi/ | everyone | #107 | #105 |
| moram/ˈmôːraːm/ | to have to; must | #108 | #110 |
| uvijek/ûʋjeːk/ | always | #109 | #345 |
| treba/trěːba/ | girl, chick | #110 | #74 |
| stvarno/stʋâːrno/ | really, truly | #111 | #102 |
| hajde/xǎjde/ | let's go | #112 | #91 |
| po/pôː/ | half | #113 | #106 |
| jedan/jědan/ | one | #114 | #115 |
| koliko/kolǐko/ | how much, how many | #115 | #111 |
| već/ʋêt͡ɕ/ | already | #116 | #114 |
| idemo/ˈidɛmo/ | to go, walk | #117 | #116 |
| misliš/ˈmislɪʃ/ | to think | #118 | #113 |
| zato/zǎtoː/ | so, therefore, for that/this reason, ergo | #119 | #107 |
| baš/bâʃ/ | at all, truly, really, exactly | #120 | #108 |
| nego/nêɡo/ | than | #121 | #119 |
| neće/nêːt͡ɕeː/ | to wish, want, desire | #122 | #122 |
| bez/bêz/ | without, excluding, not counting | #123 | #124 |
| vrijeme/ʋrjěːme/ | time | #124 | #378 |
| možemo/ˈmoʒɛmo/ | can, to be able to | #125 | #131 |
| dok/dôk/ | while, as long as | #126 | #121 |
| koje/kǒjeː/ | which, what | #127 | #120 |
| ono/ǒno/ | it | #128 | #127 |
| joj/joj/ | to her | #129 | #130 |
| oni/ǒni/ | they | #130 | #134 |
| želiš/ˈʒɛlɪʃ/ | to wish, desire | #131 | #158 |
| toga/tǒːɡa/ | that, the aforementioned | #132 | #126 |
| ovaj/ǒʋaːj/ | this, this one | #133 | #132 |
| žao/ʒâo/ | sorry | #134 | #145 |
| imaš/ˈimɐʃ/ | to have, possess, own | #135 | #128 |
| taj/tâːj/ | that, the aforementioned | #136 | #136 |
| naravno/nǎːraʋno/ | of course | #137 | #125 |
| mogao/ˈmoɡɐo/ | can, to be able to | #138 | #150 |
| posao/pǒsao/ | job | #139 | #143 |
| koja/kǒjaː/ | which, what | #140 | #139 |
| imamo/ˈimɐmo/ | to have, possess, own | #141 | #149 |
| dana/ˈdanɐ/ | day | #142 | #137 |
| nikad/nîkad/ | never | #143 | #144 |
| tvoj/tʋôːj/ | your, yours | #144 | #140 |
| dan/dâːn/ | day | #145 | #154 |
| bili/ˈbɪlɪ/ | to be, to exist | #146 | #161 |
| rekla/ˈrɛklɐ/ | to say | #147 | #146 |
| put/pûːt/ | to, toward | #148 | #151 |
| radi/râdi/ | for, because of, for the sake of | #149 | #156 |
| godina/ɡôdina/ | year | #150 | #148 |
| bolje/bôʎeː/ | comparative degree of dòbro: in a better or superior manner | #151 | #147 |
| svoje/ˈsvoje/ | one's own | #152 | #176 |
| nemoj/ˈnɛmoj/ | don't | #153 | #159 |
| puno/pûno/ | much, a lot, lots | #154 | #226 |
| neću/něːt͡ɕu/ | to wish, want, desire | #155 | #157 |
| netko/nêtko/ | someone, somebody | #156 | #526 |
| meni/měniː/ | to me | #157 | #165 |
| možete/ˈmoʒɛtɛ/ | can, to be able to | #158 | #188 |
| kod/kôd/ | by, at, near, besides | #159 | #138 |
| reci/ˈrɛtsɪ/ | river | #160 | #175 |
| vidjeti/ʋîdjeti/ | to see | #161 | #528 |
| jeste/ˈjestɛ/ | emphatic yes | #162 | #152 |
| mama/mâma/ | mom | #163 | #167 |
| dobar/dôbar/ | good | #164 | #168 |
| dva/dʋâː/ | two | #165 | #177 |
| mora/môra/ | sea | #166 | #155 |
| njega/ɲêɡa/ | of him | #167 | #178 |
| imao/ˈimɐo/ | to have, possess, own | #168 | #182 |
| stvar/stʋâːr/ | thing | #169 | #179 |
| nisu/nǐːsu/ | to be, to exist | #170 | #180 |
| život/ʒǐʋot/ | life | #171 | #173 |
| im/im/ | to them | #172 | #172 |
| tata/tâta/ | dad, daddy | #173 | #169 |
| vremena/ˈvrɛmɛnɐ/ | time | #174 | #181 |
| radiš/ˈradɪʃ/ | to work | #175 | #164 |
| vidio/ˈvidɪo/ | to see | #176 | #540 |
| volim/ˈvolɪm/ | to love | #177 | #171 |
| jako/jâːko/ | very, very much, really | #178 | #233 |
| pomoći/pomǒt͡ɕi/ | help | #179 | #261 |
| ići/ǐt͡ɕi/ | to go, walk | #180 | #347 |
| vidim/ˈvidɪm/ | first-person singular present of videti and vidjeti | #181 | #153 |
| kući/kût͡ɕi/ | home, at home | #182 | #174 |
| nikada/nîkada/ | never | #183 | #185 |
| danas/dǎnas/ | today | #184 | #184 |
| zna/ˈzna/ | to know | #185 | #186 |
| trebao/ˈtrɛbɐo/ | to be needed, to be required | #186 | #284 |
| neka/ˈnɛkɐ/ | let, may | #187 | #190 |
| opet/ôpeːt/ | again | #188 | #206 |
| vrlo/ʋr̂lo/ | very, extremely | #189 | #255 |
| upravo/upraʋo/ | exactly, precisely | #190 | #207 |
| svoj/ˈsvoj/ | one's own | #191 | #208 |
| učiniti/ut͡ʃǐniti/ | to do, make | #192 | #492 |
| nakon/nǎkon/ | after | #193 | #294 |
| odmah/ôdmaːx/ | right now, immediately | #194 | #187 |
| ime/îme/ | name | #195 | #198 |
| sigurno/sîɡuːrno/ | certainly | #196 | #213 |
| svoju/ˈsvojʊ/ | feminine accusative singular of svȏj | #197 | #204 |
| tri/trîː/ | three | #198 | #194 |
| idem/ˈidɛm/ | to go, walk | #199 | #166 |
| želi/ˈʒɛlɪ/ | to wish, desire | #200 | #229 |
Showing the 200 commonest of 1,728. Download all 1,728
The overlap is the easy part.
The rest comes from using it with someone who speaks it.