Learn the Serbian Cyrillic alphabet

The complete 30-letter Serbian alphabet

The table pairs each Serbian Latin letter or digraph with its Cyrillic equivalent. Pronunciation descriptions are approximations for English speakers; use the audio controls to hear the approved model.

Letters that look familiar but sound different

• В sounds like v, not English b.
• Н sounds like n, not English h.
• Р sounds like r, not English p.
• С sounds like s, not English c.
• У sounds like oo, not English y.
• Х sounds like a soft, breathy h, not English x.

Three Latin digraphs become one Cyrillic letter

Serbian Latin writes lj, nj, and dž with two characters. Cyrillic writes the same sounds as љ, њ, and џ. Treat each pair as a single alphabet unit when sorting or transliterating.

When Serbian uses Latin versus Cyrillic

Both scripts are widely understood. Cyrillic is the official script under Serbia’s constitution and appears in public institutions and traditional contexts; Latin is also common in media, advertising, and informal digital communication. Learning both prevents a script choice from limiting what you can read.

A five-minute practice exercise

• Cover the Latin column and read the Cyrillic letters aloud.
• Transliterate здраво, хвала, људи, њен, and џеп.
• Write your name in Cyrillic using sounds, not English spelling conventions.
• Repeat tomorrow, beginning with the letters you missed.

Questions and answers