The everyday prefixes
Each prefix has a spatial core meaning that keeps drifting into figurative ones. The examples are the shortest, most everyday verb for each.
pre-over, across — preći (cross) · prevesti (translate)
po-a little; set off — poći (set off) · popiti (drink up)
za-start; close — zapevati (burst into song) · zatvoriti (close)
iz- / is-out — izaći (go out) · izbaciti (throw out)
u-in — ući (enter) · ubaciti (toss in)
do-up to; add — doći (arrive) · dodati (add)
od- / ot-away — otići (leave) · odneti (carry off)
na-onto; to the full — navući (pull on) · najesti se (eat one's fill)
pro-through — proći (pass) · prodati (sell)
raz- / ras-apart — rastaviti (take apart) · raskinuti (break up with)
pri-toward; attach — prići (approach) · pripremiti (prepare)
s- / sa-down; off — sići (go down) · skinuti (take off)
o- / ob-around — okrenuti (turn) · obići (go around, tour)
pod-under — potpisati (sign) · podignuti (lift)
One root, fourteen verbs
The root pis- (“write”) stays put; the prefix does all the work. Click any word for example sentences. Dashed = less common.
Click a word in the grid
Example sentences will appear here. Start with prepisati — the pre- family is the biggest.
- Tip: press “Hide English” in the header to turn the grid into a self-test.
The golden rule: a prefix completes the action
pisati describes the activity (imperfective); prepisati describes one finished copy job (perfective). To talk about doing it repeatedly or right now, Serbian builds a new imperfective with the suffix -iva-/-iva-ti:
pisatiwrite — ongoing+ pre-→prepisaticopy — one job, done+ -iva-→prepisivaticopy — habitually
| perfective | everyday imperfective | meaning |
|---|---|---|
| prepisati | prepisivati | copy |
| zapisati | zapisivati | note down |
| opisati | opisivati | describe |
| potpisati | potpisivati | sign |
| propisati | propisivati | prescribe |
Aspect logic: choosing between the two forms is the verb-aspect system — practise it in the Verb Aspect quiz.
Prefixes change shape
Gluing a prefix onto a stem triggers small sound changes. You will never see the “naive” forms on the left — but knowing them explains the spelling.
| naive glue | actual verb | what happens |
|---|---|---|
| preići | preći | the j of ići drops |
| odići | otići | d → t before the stem |
| izpasti | ispasti | z drops before p |
| podpisati | potpisati | d → t before p |
| razpasti | raspasti se | z → s before p |
| obokrenuti | okrenuti | ob- shrinks to o- |
| pre dati | predati | pre- grows to pred- |
| prepostaviti | pretpostaviti | pre- grows to pret- before p |
And ići shrinks to -ći: u + ići → ući, po + ići → poći, do + ići → doći, iz + ići → izaći.
pre- under the magnifying glass
One prefix, five jobs — all growing out of the core “over, across”.
| meaning | verbs | examples |
|---|---|---|
| over, across | preći · preskočiti · prebaciti | Prešli smo most. — We crossed the bridge. Preskoči ogradu. — Jump over the fence. |
| “across” words | prevesti · prepričati · preraditi | prevesti = translate (“carry across”), prepričati = retell, preraditi = rework |
| get through | preživeti · prebroditi | Preživeli smo zemljotres. — We survived the earthquake. prebroditi krizu — to weather a crisis |
| too much | previše · prerano · prekratko | pre- even stacks onto adverbs: previše (too much), prerano (too early), prekratko (too short) |
| fixed senses | prevariti · preseliti se · prespavati | Prevario me je. — He cheated me. Preselili smo se u Novi Sad. — We moved to Novi Sad. prespavati — sleep it off |
False friend: English pre- (from Latin) means “before” — predict, preview. Serbian verb-prefix pre- means “over, across”. Yes, the standalone word pre does mean “before” (pre dva sata — two hours ago), which makes the mix-up tempting — resist it. “Prepare” is pripremiti, with a different prefix (pri-).
Watch out
Fossilsdobiti (get), izgubiti (lose), zabraniti (forbid) contain do-, iz-, za- — but nobody feels them any more. Learn these as plain words.
na- … se = to your fillnajesti se (eat your fill), napiti se (drink your fill — also: get drunk), naspavati se (finally get enough sleep), nagledati se (see plenty of).
prodati = sellliterally pro- + dati, “let go through”. Once you see the spatial logic, dozens of verbs stop being arbitrary.
Each is its own wordupisati (enroll) ≠ zapisati (note down) ≠ prepisati (copy). The prefix shifts the meaning, so always learn the whole verb, not prefix + guess.