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Natasha

Angloland Learn SERBIAN Phrases of the Week 1

Updated: May 6, 2021


POLJUBITI VRATA - literal translation to ‘kiss the door’. When you come and visit somebody as an unannounced visit but there is nobody at home. You end up ‘kissing the door’ and you have to go back home.

The locals would say ”Molim te, pozovi me pre nego što svratiš. Nemoj da poljubiš vrata - Please call me before you drop by. Don’t ‘kiss the door’!

BITI PREMAZAN SVIM BOJAMA - literally means to be covered in all sorts of different colours ( dyes or paints) . It refers to a person who is considered to be cunning and conniving, foxy and treacherous.

KRITI NEŠTO KAO ZMIJA NOGE - literally means to hide or conceal the truth the way the snake hides its legs. It refers to the fact that the snakes don’t actually have any legs or feet. One would use this phrase if somebody has something to hide from close friends or general public- kriti means to hide, nesto means something, kao means like or as , zmija means a snake and noge means legs or feet.

HODATI TROMO KAO MEDVED - literally means to walk sluggishly or lazily like a bear. It refers to the situation when we tend to shuffle our feet or walk sluggishly due to boredom or tiredness; hodati means to walk, tromo means sluggishly and medved means a bear.

BITI ILI NE BITI PITANJE JE SAD - this is originally a quote by William Shakespeare to be or not to be, that is the question; biti means to be , which is one of the auxiliary verbs in Serbian, ne means no or not, pitanje means a question, pitati means to ask or to make a question and sad means now which was added to the translation to add dramatic rhythm.

adapted and submitted by Natasha from Angloland

www.angloland.rs

angloland.skola@gmail.com

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