Serbian · Српски
Directory 12 resource listings . A short orientation and a solid starting list.
Honest start for Serbian: pick one beginner course or community program from the list, add 10–15 minutes of listening most days, and bookmark one reference. Ignore the rest of the directory until those three habits are alive. Learn the writing system with the script trainer before heavy vocabulary. Use the First 500 trainer for high-frequency words. Last reviewed 2026-08-01
About Serbian
- Language family
-
Indo-European, South Slavic Source: Glottolog
- Where it's spoken
- Serbia, Bosnia, Montenegro
- Speakers
-
roughly 10 million speakers Estimate source: Ethnologue (SIL International)
- Writing
- Cyrillic · Latin
Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, and Montenegrin are close enough grammatically and lexically that many linguists treat them as regional standards of a single pluricentric language, historically called Serbo-Croatian, split mainly along political and religious lines. Serbian is unusual among them for regularly using both the Cyrillic and Latin alphabets side by side. Its South Slavic branch also includes Bulgarian and Macedonian, though those diverge further in grammar.
Speaker counts are approximate orders of magnitude for learners, not census figures. Family labels follow Glottolog-style classification; vitality notes (when shown) follow UNESCO WAL / Ethnologue-style framing and should be re-checked for program planning.
Writing systems
- Cyrillic — Official script in Serbia; start here with the shared Cyrillic trainer. Cyrillic trainer →
- Latin — Also widely used (especially online and in neighboring BCMS varieties). Same language, two alphabets.
How to start
- Serbian uses more than one writing system — Cyrillic, Latin. See the writing-systems notes below before heavy vocabulary work.
- Pick one free course (or free-with-upgrades) below and finish a short beginner unit before hopping apps.
- Bookmark one dictionary or grammar reference and look up every unknown word for a week.
- Add 10–15 minutes of listening most days — news, radio, or a teaching channel.
- Drill vocabulary with First 500 words.
- When ready, use a tutor marketplace listing below for short speaking sessions.
Practice on this site
Deep links into trainers and drills that already cover Serbian.
Some outbound links may earn us a commission. Commission never affects inclusion or ranking. Full disclosure.
| Resource | Type | Levels | Cost | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Duolingo Serbian
Beginner Serbian course (Latin/Cyrillic exposure varies by unit).
|
course paid | A1-A2 | freemium | — |
| Glosbe Serbian | reference | A1-C2 | free | — |
|
Live Lingua Serbian course library
Public — domain FSI/Peace Corps course downloads with audio — anchor.
|
course free | A1-B1 | free | — |
|
Mango Languages Serbian
Conversation-based course; often free through public libraries.
|
course paid | A1-B1 | freemium | — |
|
N1 info
Serbian news portal for reading/listening.
|
reading | B1-C2 | free | — |
|
Omniglot: Serbian writing & pronunciation
Script and orthography orientation with sample text.
|
reference | A1-B1 | free | — |
|
Radio Free Europe Serbian
Serbian news radio and articles.
|
listening | B1-C2 | free | — |
|
RTS (Radio Television of Serbia)
Public broadcaster news portal for immersion.
|
listening | B1-C2 | free | — |
|
Srpski jezik portal
Serbian language reference and learning-oriented materials.
|
reference | A2-C1 | free | — |
|
Vukajlija / Serbian usage notes
Crowdsourced Serbian slang/usage encyclopedia — advanced reading.
|
reference | B1-C2 | free | — |
|
Wikipedia Serbian
Open reading practice by topic in the language's own Wikipedia edition.
|
reading | A2-C2 | free | — |
|
Wiktionary Serbian category
Open Serbian entries with dual-script help.
|
reference | A1-C2 | free | — |
Know a better classroom-friendly resource for Serbian? Suggest it with attribution.