Lesson 11. Hello and Goodbye
We finished Part 1 — you can now read Serbian. Time to start speaking. Today we’ll learn the very first words people say when they meet and when they say goodbye.
”Hi” — Zdravo
The simplest greeting is Zdravo. That’s how friends, family members, and kids greet each other. It’s like the English “hi”.
A polite hello: Dobar dan
If you meet an adult or just want to be more polite, say Dobar dan (“Good day”).
And there are greetings for different times of the day:
Saying goodbye: Doviđenja and Ćao
When you leave, you can say Doviđenja — that’s “goodbye”, a polite farewell.
Between friends people often say Ćao — that’s “bye”, just like in English.
And there’s one more farewell — for nighttime:
A little dialogue
Read it:
Kako si? means “How are you?” — we’ll learn that in the next lesson.
Exercises
Exercise 1
What do you say to Mom in the morning?
Show answer
Dobro jutro, mama! (“Добро јутро, мама!”) — “Good morning, Mom!”
Exercise 2
What do you say to a friend before bed?
Show answer
Laku noć! — “Good night!”
Exercise 3
How do you say goodbye to a friend in a simple, friendly way?
Show answer
Ćao! — “Bye!” Or Zdravo! (yes, Serbs say zdravo both when they meet and when they part — like the Italian “ciao”).
Exercise 4
Write in Latin script: Добар дан!, Ћао!, Довиђења!.
Show answer
Dobar dan!, Ćao!, Doviđenja!.
Exercise 5
Imagine you walk into a shop in the afternoon. Which is more polite: Zdravo or Dobar dan? Why?
Show answer
Dobar dan is more polite. Zdravo is for people you know — friends and family. With adults you don’t know, Dobar dan is better.
Lesson vocabulary
- Zdravo Здраво
- hi; bye
- Dobar dan Добар дан
- good day
- Dobro jutro Добро јутро
- good morning
- Dobro veče Добро вече
- good evening
- Doviđenja Довиђења
- goodbye
- Ćao Ћао
- bye
- Laku noć Лаку ноћ
- good night