Serbian funny phrases and idioms
Phrases, words and expressions – part of the cultural heritage of a nation, domesticated in the speech of most people from our region, do not have to, and often are not part of the lexical fund of the language.
Nevertheless, people love using it.
You can read them in the newspaper, you can hear them on TV
These are funny idioms but people actually use them in serious situations.
dobiti korpu – to get rejected
Pitao sam je da izađemo, ali sam dobio korpu. =
I asked her out, but she said no.
literally received a basket
obrati bostan – to get in trouble
Ako mama vidi šta si uradio, obrao si bostan. =
If mom sees what you did, you’ll be in trouble!
literally picking watermelons, I don’t really know why
lupati kao Maksim po diviziji – talking nonsense, discussing something you know nothing about
Da li je on pijan? Lupa kao Maksim po diviziji? =
Is he drunk? He is talking nonsense.
literally banging like Max on the division
naći se u nebranom grožđu – to unexpectedly get into a bad situation
Njen bivši muž se iznenada pojavio, i ja sam se našao u nebranom grožđu. =
Her ex husband appeared unexpectedly, and I’ve gotten into a bad situation.
literally to find yourself in an unharvested grapevine
drž’ ne daj / povuci-potegni – uncertain, tense situation
Bilo je drž’ ne daj tokom cele utakmice, ali smo na kraju pobedili. =
It was very tense throughout the whole game, but we eventually won.
obrni-okreni – however you look at it
Možda imaš bolji računar, ali obrni-okreni opet ćeš izgubiti. =
Maybe you have a better computer, but you will still lose.
šuć-muć, pa prolij – something low-quality and done quickly
Ona je napravila ručak šuć-muć, pa prolij. = She made lunch quickly and carelessly (so it’s not that good.)
pošto-poto – when you have to do something no matter the consequences
On je kažnjen, ali želi da je vidi pošto-poto. =
He is grounded, but he wants to see her no matter what.
đene-đene – so-so
Kakav je bio film? -Đene-Đene. =
How was the movie? -So-so.
navodi vodu na svoju vodenicu – trying to do things your way, trying to persuade someone
Rekao sam joj da ne želim u Grčku, ali mi je samo pričala o tim plažama, navodi vodu na svoju vodenicu. =
I told her that I don’t want to go to Greece, but she was only talking about those beaches, she’s been trying to persuade me.
literally turning water onto his own mill
baciti kašiku – to die
Milošev deda je bacio kašiku juče. =
Miloš’s grandpa died yesterday.
literally to drop a spoon
ustati na levu nogu – to be very nervous and irritated
Celo jutro viče, izgleda je na levu nogu. =
He’s been yelling all morning, he is very nervous today.
literally to get up on your left leg
izvodi besne gliste – being silly and doing something unnecessary
On ne može to da popravi. Samo izvodi besne gliste, na kraju će biti još gore. =
He cannot fix it. He is just being silly, he’ll make it even worse eventually.
baciti oko – to gain an interest in something
Primetila sam da si bacio oko na moju unuku, =
I’ve noticed that you’ve been watching my granddaughter, you!
literally to throw an eye onto something
đavo i po – very expensive
Ta torba košta đavo i po! = That bag costs an arm and a leg!
literally a devil and a half
Šta bleneš ko tele u šarena vrata? = What are you looking at?
literally why are you staring like a calf at a colorful door
provesti se kao bos po trnju – to have a terrible time
Kako je bilo sinoć? Sedeli smo sa njenim roditeljima, proveo sam se kao bos po trnju. =
How was last night? We spent the whole night with her parents, I had a terrible time.
literally like walking barefoot over thorns
ko grom iz vedra neba – all of a sudden
Pojavio se kao grom iz vedra neba, i pitao je da plešu. =
He appeared out of nowhere, and asked her for a dance.
literally like lightning from the bright sky
lepak za budale – a person who attracts annoying people
Sedeo sam i gledao svoja posla, ali mi je taj pijanac sam prišao,
baš sam lepak za budale. =
I was just sitting and minding my own business,
but that drunk came up to me just like that,
I really attract idiots.
literally glue for fools
smejati se kao lud na brašno – to be laughing hysterically for no apparent reason
Pokušao sam ih pitam šta je smešno, ali nisu mogli da mi kažu,
smejali su se kao ludi na brašno. =
I tried asking them what was funny, but they couldn’t tell me,
they were just laughing hysterically.
literally to be laughing like a crazy person does when they look at flour
Purnja ko lokomotiva – a person who smokes a lot of cigarettes
Dobiće rak uskoro, purnja ko lokomotiva. = He’ll get cancer soon, he smokes a lot.
literally smoking like a locomotive
nije u vinklu / nije pod libelom – a person who is not completely sane
nakrivo nasađen / fali mu daska u glavi
Nešto sa tvojim rođakom stvarno nije u redu, čovek nije u vinklu. =
Something is really wrong with your cousin, the man is insane.
Trista čuda – many different, unknown things
U koferu je bilo igračaka, kozmetike, knjiga, nakita, ma trista čuda. =
There were toys, cosmetics, books, jewelry in the suitcase, just a bunch of different stuff.
literally three hundred miracles
pametan i vredan ko pčelica Maja – very smart
Ona samo uči, pametna je kao pčelica Maja. =
She is studying all the time, she is very smart.
literally to be smart like Maya the bee
glup ko noć – very stupid
Tvoj prijatelj je uvek poslednji, stvarno je glup ko noć. =
Your friend is always last, he is really stupid.
literally as stupid as the night
dosadan ko stenica – very boring
Pričam sa bratom već sat vremena, dosadan je kao stenica. =
I’ve been talking to my brother for an hour, he is very boring.
literally as boring as the bed bugs
tvrdoglav ko magarac – very stubborn
zapeo ko sivonja
Pričam mu da ne kupuje to sada, ali je zapeo kao sivonja. =
I’ve been telling him not to buy it right now, but he is very stubborn.
literally stubborn like a donkey
umoran ko pas – very tired
Danas sam radio 12 sati, umoran sam kao pas. =
I’ve worked for 12 hours today, I am very tired.
literally as tired as a dog
spava ko zaklan – sleeping tightly
Nema šanse da ga probudiš, spava kao zaklan. =
There is no way you’ll wake him up, he is sleeping tightly.
literally sleeping like slaughtered
’vatam zjale – doing nothing or wasting time
Zašto ‘vataš zjale? Treba da nađeš posao. =
Why are you wasting your time? You should be looking for a job.
literally we are catching nothing
voleti se ko pas i mačka – to not love each other and fighting constantly
Moja sestra i ja smo se u detinjstvu voleli kao pas i mačka. =
My sister and I did not love each other when we were kids.
literally to love each other like a cat and a dog
slažemo se ko rogovi u vreći – to not get along with someone
Imam jednog veoma iritantnog komšiju, slažemo se kao rogovi u vreći. =
I have a very irritating neighbor, we do not get along well.
literally we get along like horns in a bag
čuvati ko malo vode na dlanu – to take care of someone very well
Dok je bila trudna, čuvao je kao malo vode na dlanu. =
When she was pregnant, he took very good care of her.
literally to take care of something like little water on your palm
kombinacija ge šest – a very long plan that is actually idiotic
Pola sata nam je pričao njegovu idiotsku kombinaciju ge šest. =
He was explaining his idiotic plan for half an hour.
literally combination G 6