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Giving compliments is a surefire way to make someone’s day and lift your own mood, too. As a foreign language learner, you can do it in multiple languages. So, if you want to know how to say beautiful in Serbian, along with other compliments, you’ve come to the right place.
To help you spread good vibes, this article will cover various ways to praise someone’s looks, personality, skills, and more. Let’s begin!
Essentially, beautiful in Serbian is lepo. But that’s only neuter gender, so here it is in all three forms:
For example:
On je lep.
(He is beautiful.)
Ona je lepa.
(She is beautiful.)
To je lepo.
(That is beautiful.)
Conveniently, you can use lepo to compliment people, things, or skills.
If you’re impressed by someone’s appearance, you can simply tell them they’re beautiful:
Lepa si. (f.) | Lep si. (m.)
(You’re beautiful.)
Or, you can emphasize it using baš:
Baš si lepa! (f.) | Baš si lep! (m.)
(You’re so beautiful!)
For even more emphasis, go with this:
Kako si lepa! (f.) | Kako si lep! (m.)
(How beautiful you are!)
Also, if you think someone’s just too beautiful, you can tell them:
Prelepa si. (f.) | Prelep si. (m.)
(You’re too beautiful/gorgeous.)
Another way to compliment someone is to tell them they’re cute — slatka (f.) or sladak (m.). Conveniently, you can use each of the above sentences for this:
Slatka si. (f.) | Sladak si. (m.)
(You’re cute.)
Baš si slatka! (f.) | Baš si sladak! (m.)
(You’re so cute!)
Kako si slatka! (f.) | Kako si sladak! (m.)
(How cute you are!)
Preslatka si! (f.) | Presladak si! (m.)
(You’re too cute/adorable!)
If you want to tell someone they look great, you can say:
Izgledaš odlično.
(You look great.)
If that doesn’t cover just how great they look, go with:
Izgledaš fanastično.
(You look fantastic.)
Naturally, you can get more specific with your compliments and praise someone’s eyes, lips, or hair.
Imaš lepe oči.
(You’ve got beautiful eyes.)
Or you could say:
Baš su ti lepe oči.
(Your eyes are so beautiful.)
Baš ti je lepa kosa.
(Your hair is so beautiful.)
If you’re impressed by someone’s sense of fashion, you can say:
Imaš odličan ukus.
(You’ve got great taste.)
Or, if you want to be more precise:
Baš se lepo oblačiš.
(You’ve got a great sense of fashion.)
Alternatively, you can praise a specific piece of clothing or accessory:
Lepo ti stoji ta haljina.
(That dress looks good on you.)
Baš su ti lepe minđuše.
(Your earrings are so beautiful.)
Alternatively, you can say that you like a specific item:
Sviđa mi se tvoja majica.
(I like your T-shirt.)
Or, if you really like it, say:
Baš mi se sviđa tvoja majica.
(I really like your T-shirt.)
If you have a crush on someone, you’ll probably try to talk them up to a friend:
On je tako duhovit. (m.) | Ona je tako duhovita. (f.)
(He’s got a great sense of humor. | She’s got a great sense of humor.)
Baš je simpatičan. (m.) | Baš je simpatična. (f.)
(He’s so likable. | She’s so likable.)
Mnogo je pametan. (m.) | Mnogo je pametna. (f.)
(He’s very smart. | She’s very smart.)
Of course, you can use any of these directly on your crush or whoever you want to praise. For instance:
Baš si duhovit. (m.) | Baš si duhovita. (f.)
(You’re so humorous.)
Baš si pametan. (m.) | Baš si pametna. (f.)
(You’re so smart.)
Keep in mind, though, that the last two phrases are often said ironically. In other words, you can use them to imply that someone, in fact, isn’t very smart and that they have a terrible sense of humor.
For example, if a friend says something silly, and you reply Baš si pametan, it’s not a compliment. Instead, you’re making fun of them.
While that may be fine with close friends, be careful how you use these expressions with your teacher, boss, or coworkers.
The simplest way to show admiration for someone’s skills is to say they are great at a particular activity:
Odlično + Verb
Here are several examples:
Odlično pevaš.
(You sing really well.)
Odlično skijaš.
(You’re great at skiing.)
Odlično kuvaš.
(You cook really well.)
Speaking of cooking, there are many ways to gush over someone’s culinary creations, including the following:
Baš je ukusno.
(It’s so tasty.)
Preukusno je.
(It’s too tasty/delicious.)
Prste da poližeš.
(It’s finger-licking good.)
Moraš da mi daš recept.
(You’ve got to give me the recipe.)
Additionally, the following phrase will help you express your admiration for various things:
Oduševio sam se (m.) / Oduševila sam se (f.)
(I was amazed.)
It’s in the past tense because it typically refers to something you already heard, said, or experienced.
For example:
Baš lepo sviraš gitaru. Oduševila sam se!
(You play the guitar so well. I was amazed!)
Lastly, you can use svaka čast (well done) to congratulate people on their success:
Čuo sam da si pobedila na takmičenju. Svaka čast!
(I heard that you won the competition. Well done!)
In everyday situations, you can use informal phrases to praise people. Therefore, we’ll introduce common slang expressions.
First off, people often use top and vrh to describe something really great or awesome:
Izgledaš top.
(You look awesome.)
Izgledaš vrh.
(You look awesome.)
Ta haljina ti stoji vrh.
(That dress looks awesome on you.)
Similarly, we can use gotivno to praise things and, more often, people whom we find cool:
Baš si gotivan (m.) / Baš si gotivna (f.)
(You’re so cool.)
Literally translated, bruka means shame. However, (young) people often use it to describe something really attractive, amazing, or awesome. For example:
Haljina ti je bruka.
(Your dress is smokin’.)
Cipele su ti bruka.
(Your shoes are smokin’.)
Although compliments are always welcome, try not to go overboard with them. After all, flooding people with flattery can easily make you seem insincere.
Plus, you may come off as ulizica — a suck-up. And since no one likes suck-ups, make sure your compliments are honest and not over the top.
In reasonable amounts, though, praise is always welcome. Besides, giving compliments (and receiving them) can pave the way to friendships!
If you’ve made it to the end of the article — svaka čast! Now you know how to say beautiful in Serbian. Plus, you’ve got a bunch of other ways to compliment people.
It’s time to start using them and spread some positivity. Ultimately, giving compliments is a good way to practice Serbian — best of all — it costs nothing.
Speaking of things that cost nothing, you can subscribe to our biweekly newsletter. If you do so, you’ll receive our Serbian language worksheets for free. Give it a go, and brush up on your Serbian in your spare time!
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