bosanski
Bosnian
Indo-European (South Slavic, Western)
Bosnian (bosanski) is one of the three official standard varieties of the pluricentric Serbo-Croatian (BCMS) South Slavic language alongside Croatian (hr) and Serbian (sr), with Montenegrin (cnr) as a fourth recognized standard. Bosnian distinguishes itself by retaining Turkish-Arabic-Persian loanwords (turcizmi: lokum, kahva, džamija, sevdah) reflecting Ottoman-era Muslim heritage, by using preserved /h/ in words where Croatian/Serbian dropped it (lahko vs lako), and by the standardized Latin alphabet (Gajica). Spoken by ~2.5M people, primarily Bosniaks of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with diaspora in Serbia's Sandžak and the Bosnian diaspora abroad. Co-official with Croatian and Serbian in Bosnia.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Bosnian
Water
voda
/ˈvoda/
Fire
vatra
/ˈvatra/
Sun
sunce
/ˈsunt͡se/
Moon
mjesec
/ˈmjɛset͡s/
Mother
majka
/ˈmajka/
Father
otac
/ˈotat͡s/
Eat
jesti
/ˈjɛsti/
Drink
piti
/ˈpiti/
Love
ljubav
/ˈʎubav/
Heart
srce
/ˈsr̩t͡se/
Tree
drvo
/ˈdr̩vo/
House
kuća
/ˈkut͡ɕa/
Dog
pas
/pas/
Cat
mačka
/ˈmat͡ʃka/
Hand
ruka
/ˈruka/
Eye
oko
/ˈoko/
Hello
zdravo
/ˈzdravo/
Thank you
hvala
/ˈxvala/
One
jedan
/ˈjɛdan/
Good
dobar
/ˈdobar/
Sources
- Ethnologue: bos
- Halilović (2000) Pravopis bosanskoga jezika
- Greenberg (2004) Language and Identity in the Balkans
Words compared
Compared with related Indo-European (South Slavic, Western) languages
| Meaning | Bosnian | Serbian | Croatian | Rusyn | Macedonian | Slovak | Czech |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | voda /ˈvoda/ | вода /ˈʋoda/ | voda /ˈʋoda/ | вода /ˈvoda/ | вода /ˈvɔda/ | voda /ˈvoda/ | voda /ˈvoda/ |
| Fire | vatra /ˈvatra/ | ватра /ˈʋatra/ | vatra /ˈʋatra/ | огень /ˈohenʲ/ | оган /ˈɔɡan/ | oheň /ˈoɦeɲ/ | oheň /ˈoɦɛɲ/ |
| Sun | sunce /ˈsunt͡se/ | сунце /ˈsunt͡se/ | sunce /ˈsuːnt͡se/ | сонце /ˈsont͡se/ | сонце /ˈsɔnt͡sɛ/ | slnko /ˈsl̩nko/ | slunce /ˈslunt͡sɛ/ |
| Moon | mjesec /ˈmjɛset͡s/ | месец /ˈmɛsɛt͡s/ | mjesec /ˈmjeseːt͡s/ | місяць /ˈmʲisʲat͡sʲ/ | месечина /mɛˈsɛt͡ʃina/ | mesiac /ˈmɛsɪat͡s/ | měsíc /ˈmɲɛsiːt͡s/ |
| Mother | majka /ˈmajka/ | мајка /ˈmajka/ | majka /ˈmaːjka/ | мати /ˈmati/ | мајка /ˈmajka/ | matka /ˈmatka/ | matka /ˈmatka/ |
| Father | otac /ˈotat͡s/ | отац /ˈotat͡s/ | otac /ˈotat͡s/ | отець /ˈotet͡sʲ/ | татко /ˈtatkɔ/ | otec /ˈotɛt͡s/ | otec /ˈotɛt͡s/ |
| Eat | jesti /ˈjɛsti/ | јести /ˈjɛsti/ | jesti /ˈjɛsti/ | їсти /ˈjisti/ | јаде /ˈjadɛ/ | jesť /jɛsc/ | jíst /jiːst/ |
| Drink | piti /ˈpiti/ | пити /ˈpiti/ | piti /ˈpiːti/ | пити /ˈpiti/ | пие /ˈpiɛ/ | piť /pɪc/ | pít /piːt/ |
| Love | ljubav /ˈʎubav/ | љубав /ˈʎubaʋ/ | ljubav /ˈʎuːbaʋ/ | любов /lʲuˈbov/ | љубов /ˈʎubɔv/ | láska /ˈlaːska/ | láska /ˈlaːska/ |
| Heart | srce /ˈsr̩t͡se/ | срце /ˈsr̩t͡sɛ/ | srce /ˈsr̩t͡se/ | сердце /ˈserd͡ze/ | срце /ˈsərt͡sɛ/ | srdce /ˈsr̩t͡sɛ/ | srdce /ˈsr̩t͡sɛ/ |
| Tree | drvo /ˈdr̩vo/ | дрво /ˈdr̩ʋo/ | drvo /ˈdr̩ʋo/ | древо /ˈdrevo/ | дрво /ˈdərvɔ/ | strom /strom/ | strom /strom/ |
| House | kuća /ˈkut͡ɕa/ | кућа /ˈkut͡ɕa/ | kuća /ˈkuːt͡ɕa/ | хыжа /ˈxɨʒa/ | куќа /ˈkut͡ɕa/ | dom /dom/ | dům /duːm/ |
| Dog | pas /pas/ | пас /pas/ | pas /pas/ | пес /pes/ | куче /ˈkut͡ʃɛ/ | pes /pɛs/ | pes /pɛs/ |
| Cat | mačka /ˈmat͡ʃka/ | мачка /ˈmat͡ʃka/ | mačka /ˈmaːt͡ʃka/ | мачка /ˈmat͡ʃka/ | мачка /ˈmat͡ʃka/ | mačka /ˈmat͡ʃka/ | kočka /ˈkot͡ʃka/ |
| Hand | ruka /ˈruka/ | рука /ˈruka/ | ruka /ˈruːka/ | рука /ˈruka/ | рака /ˈraka/ | ruka /ˈruka/ | ruka /ˈruka/ |
| Eye | oko /ˈoko/ | око /ˈɔkɔ/ | oko /ˈoːko/ | око /ˈoko/ | око /ˈɔkɔ/ | oko /ˈoko/ | oko /ˈoko/ |
| Hello | zdravo /ˈzdravo/ | здраво /ˈzdraʋo/ | bok /bok/ | Здраво /ˈzdravo/ | здраво /ˈzdravɔ/ | ahoj /ˈaɦoj/ | ahoj /ˈaɦoj/ |
| Thank you | hvala /ˈxvala/ | хвала /ˈxʋala/ | hvala /ˈxʋaːla/ | дякую /ˈdʲakuju/ | благодарам /blaˈɡɔdaram/ | ďakujem /ˈɟakujɛm/ | děkuji /ˈɟɛkuji/ |
| One | jedan /ˈjɛdan/ | један /ˈjɛdan/ | jedan /ˈjɛdan/ | єден /ˈjeden/ | еден /ˈɛdɛn/ | jeden /ˈjɛdɛn/ | jeden /ˈjɛdɛn/ |
| Good | dobar /ˈdobar/ | добар /ˈdɔbar/ | dobar /ˈdobar/ | добрый /ˈdobrɨj/ | добар /ˈdɔbar/ | dobrý /ˈdobriː/ | dobrý /ˈdobriː/ |
Part of LangMap — a linguistic visualization project. This is a static, crawlable summary; the interactive maps offer pronunciation audio, filters, and a globe view.