If you’re in a search for sources for learning Croatian and Serbian languages, also called Serbo-Croatian language, you’re in the right place! Here you’ll find the audio stories which act like a short lesson. Find the audio lesson for each level. Listen, see the transcription and translation and learn from the detailed analyze which will explain each grammar and vocabulary part.
Foreigners usually know Croatian and Serbian as one language: Serbo-Croatian. This term, however, doesn’t exist formally anymore. That was politic term related to the language spoken in Yugoslavia (Jugoslavija). Still, it’s in use only in the context of learning those languages as foreign. The fact is, they are so similar that foreigners sometimes don’t notice any difference.
However, there are some differences which you can see more in detail in this blog article. Here we’ll mention just the main ones: in Croatia, it’s used Latin script while in Serbia, there are both Cyrillic and Latin in use. There are some differences in vocabulary: some words are completely different while most of them are different only for ije/je (Croatian) and e (Serbian).
Still, Croats and Serbians, as well as people living in Bosnia and Montenegro, understand each other with no need for translation. So, I usually compare these languages with British, American and Australian English.
You can check if you notice any difference by listening to the audio stories.
Each story includes both Croatian and Serbian audios and transcriptions. You can find the transcription of the Serbian version both on Latin and Cyrillic.
However, there is only one analyze per story for both versions since, as I said, the languages mainly have the same grammar structure, sentence order and other elements. If there will be some differences, I’ll note them and explain.
Learning Croatian and Serbian languages could be easy for some people. However, Serbian and Croatian are Slavic languages, which are known as more complicated languages than world languages such as English, Spanish, Italian, French, German… That’s because the language logic is different. Slavic languages include grammatical cases, and perfective and imperfective verbs. That topics are the hardest to learn for students.
On the other hand, this is the view of the not Slavic native speakers. Students from Slavic countries such as Poland, Czech, Slovakia, Ukraine, Russia, and others, understand the language rules better than not Slavic speakers. But Slavens still need to learn Serbo-Croatian grammatical case suffixes because they are not the same as in their languages.
Also, in many cases, there are some words that exist in their languages but they have different meaning.
This site can help you in your learning. Here’s what you can find:
Choose your level, pick a story and enjoy listening and learning!
ONLINE LESSONS
Contact me to arrange online session to improve talking, grammar or anything else.
Choose writing lessons if you want to send me your texts, get detailed feedback and practice this way.
LEARNING MATERIALS
Watch the video lessons, read the blog articles and find helpful materials.
Serbia is the best known in the world of sport after its best tennis player – Novak Đoković. Just like Modrić, he’s a winner of many awards and he’s still playing with his 37 years.
Nikola Tesla was one of the electricity inventor and he was born in Smiljan, Croatia, and he had Serbian origins. One audio story is about him – listen to it!
Croatia is the best known in the world after its football team. The captain of Croatian team – Luka Modrić – won many world awards and 39 years old, he’s one of the oldest still active players.
Did you know that famous Game of Thrones was filmed in Dubrovnik, Croatia?
The most popular Balkan alcohol drink famous in the world – rakija! It can be made from plums – šljivovica; pear – kruškovac; healthy plants – travarica, and there are more types, depending on fruit type.
There are many brands that produce that drink but people also prepare it by themselves at home. Every household has at least one bottle!
If you have any questions or if you’d like to book the lessons with me, please fill the contact form and I’ll contact you as soon as possible. You’ll get more information on the price, my availability, and other.
I started classes with Ivana because my wife is Croatian and I wanted a more meaningful relationship with her family. The way she used English and Croatian text simultaneously, spoke very slowly and clearly, and explained grammatical constructions was an obvious sign to me that she was not going to be a robotic “textbook” teacher.
Phil H., USA
My family is from Croatia, I live there now and need to be able to communicate. Classes with Ivana have helped me understand a complex language, become more confident in myself with reading, writing and speaking. Ivana really pays attention to the way I learn and tailors the classes to suit. She makes our lessons interactive and expresses a lot of patience and kindness in every single lesson which I really appreciate.
Kristina J., Australia
I was trying to learn Croatian language on my own, but honestly, I was stuck. Since I started my lessons with Ivana, I’ve made so much progress! Best decision ever! Very engaging lessons with full explanation of grammar rules, and Ivana is great at encouraging honest conversation, which gives me confidence at speaking.
Mira L., Slovakia/UK
