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How To Learn Serbian or Montenegrin Language [Tips and Guides]

By Two Monkeys Travel - Contributor August 9th, 2021 Posted in Destination, Europe Travel Blog, Montenegro, Travel Blog, Travel Guides One Comment

Learning a new language can be intimidating, especially if it’s challenging such as the Montenegrin and Serbian language. However, if you’re full of determination and effort, you’ll absolutely be able to learn these languages in no time.

How To Learn Serbian or Montenegrin Language [Tips and Guides]
Photo by Vladimir Pustovit CC BY 2.0
In this article, we’ll give tips and guide on how to start learning the Serbian language and Montenegrin language. Please take note that having knowledge about these languages is an important factor if you want to live here in the future. So read more below to give you an idea.

Is the Montenegrin Language Difficult?

The Montenegrin language is one of the most difficult languages to learn. Studying grammar structure is challenging for learners. The 4-accent and 7-cases system, different dialects, and other grammar parts are the biggest problem in easier learning of the Montenegrin language. For example, those words that have the č, ć, š, đ, lj, nj, ž are obviously a headache for learners. 

Another thing, compared with English, the Montenegrin language has no articles. This is also the reason why Montenegrins are having a hard time learning this part of the English language.

Learn New Vocabulary Every day 

One of the best tips in mastering a new language is to learn and memorize new vocabulary every day. I used to study different languages before and I can confirm that this technique is helpful. You can either learn 5 or 10 vocabularies each day. You can start with 5 then just increase the number when you’re getting used to it. Of course, it is also important to know how and when to use these words. The same with English, words change depending on the tenses and the usage. 

It is also important to learn their plural and singular forms to avoid making mistakes (but this is absolutely normal in learning a new language so it’s fine.)  You can visit this website to help you learn Serbian vocabulary. 

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7-cases in the Montenegrin Language

Montenegro has 7-cases in its language:

  • nominativ – who, what
  • genitiv – (from, of) whom, what
  • dativ – to who
  • akuzativ – who (the object of the action)
  • vokativ – invocation
  • instrumental – with what, with who
  • lokativ – about who, about what 

Now the question is, what are cases? Cases are different forms of the same variable word. Thus, a term that changes through cases has different suffixes, which signify the special relations that the word enters into in a particular sentence.

Don’t worry, don’t let this discourage you from learning the Montenegrin language. A lot of locals in Montenegro don’t use the case lokativ and they just replace it with akuzativ for slang purposes. If you’re learning for a more formal reason then this can be a failure but if it’s for a normal conversation then it’s not a problem. Also, people will still be able to understand you even if you don’t use cases. 

Learn the Cyrillic Alphabet

How To Learn Serbian or Montenegrin Language [Tips and Guides]
Photo by Dr. Zhivago CC BY-NC 2.0
The Cyrillic alphabet is widely used in Montenegro, so learning this alphabet is a big help. They’re called AZBUKA (АЗБУКА) and they look visually pleasing. It consists of 30 letters and may look intimidating but they’re actually pretty easy to learn. 

Try Using the Language More Often

It is a known fact that learning a new language would be a part useless if you only focus on new words and grammar. These aspects are just the beginning, the most important thing is to learn how to use them. We highly recommend you to try using them as often as possible, if you can, practice using them every day. 

9 Reasons Why Montenegro is a Great Hub for Digital Nomads

You can do this by talking to locals like your neighbors, at the supermarket, or by befriending someone whose native language is Montenegrin. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes. As mentioned above, it is totally normal to make mistakes. The more often you practice, the faster you will get used to it. And before you even knew it, you’re already speaking confidently the new language you’re learning.

Is it Better to Study Alone or Get a Teacher?

This one actually depends on you, some people may need a mentor as they can’t focus on studying alone or they’re just having a hard time learning something without the help of others. On the other hand, some people do better when they do things alone, including studying. If you’re in Montenegro, you will find a bunch of teachers offering their service in helping foreigners learn their language

Life of a Digital Nomad in Montenegro Everything You Need To Know

Learning the Montenegrin language is crucial if you want to immigrate to Montenegro. Most jobs require people to know how to speak the language or to at least communicate. Some locals also don’t speak English so it is important to learn how to talk to them. Whether it be Serbian or Montenegrin, the most important thing to remember is that no language is easy, but learning one is already a big step ahead of others. Again, do be ashamed to make mistakes, this is how we can learn more!

Immigrate to Montenegro

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About the Writer

Fatima Turla2Hi there! I’m Fatima. My first major travel was in 2016 in the beautiful city of Cebu. After that, I got interested in traveling. Now I enjoy learning languages and other country’s cultures. My goal is to visit at least one country each year and to share my experiences with other people through writing or blogging. Witness my journey by following me on Instagram.​​​​​​​

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One thought on “How To Learn Serbian or Montenegrin Language [Tips and Guides]

  1. Hi! As someone who live here, and someone who love to watch mountains and think, I will told you what is my opinion about learning Serbian/Montenegrin language 🙂

    So at first I will try to learn people to pronunciate our letters, because this is most common problem to people from “outside”. After that you will need to learn our alphabet. I think to the most important thing is to learn to read every letter. In our language one tone is one letter, and we read same like it write. After you learn to write and read, you can use Google translate without any mistakes. If you must to speak every day our language, for one week you will have small but very good vocabular in your head. For one month you will be able to go shopping alone without help of any translator. After one year of staying here, than you can start to learn gramatics if you want to improve (perfect) your speaking. Learning gramatics from start is stupid and hevy. Our kids in schools learn gramatics from 4th grade ~10yrs old.

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