How to write an email in Serbian: the complete guide

From greetings to sign-offs, this guide will cover how to write an email (or a letter) in Serbian.

As a native Serbian speaker, I will explain Serbian email etiquette and the differences between formal and informal correspondence in Serbian.

Plenty of example phrases will be provided - for both formal and informal - Serbian email writing.

Starting an email or letter in Serbian

The Serbian language uses a digraphic writing system. This means that it has two scripts – Cyrillic and Latin.

The Cyrillic script is used for official Serbian documents, so it can be useful to learn this script. For example, if one needs to apply for a visa or submit documents to the country’s institutions.

However, the Serbian Latin script is even more in use in business, online, and many other settings.

The Serbian language phrases appearing as examples in this article are provided in both the Latin and the Cyrillic scripts.

Serbian formal email/letter openings

After the opening line, you put a comma. The next line starts with a word written with a capital letter.

The following ways of addressing persons when you don’t know their last names are:

Male: Poštovani gospodine (Поштовани господине) – Dear Sir/Mr.
(The Serbian word “Poštovani” here corresponds to the English word “Dear”, although its literal translation is “Respected”)

Female: Poštovana gospođo (Поштована госпођо) – Dear Madam/Ms. It can also have meaning – the married woman (Mrs.) if that information is relevant in the correspondence.

The term for unmarried woman, « gospođica » (госпођица) – “Miss.” should be avoided unless the recipient explicitly expresses her wish to be addressed in that way.

If you don’t know the gender, title, or other information about the recipient(s), then you can use one of the following greetings:

• Poštovani(Поштовани),
• Poštovani/Poštovana (Поштовани/Поштована)
• Poštovani/a(Поштовани/а).

However, it is best to invest some time in finding more about the recipient, for example, their profession or last name.

When you know the profession or the last name of your recipient, these can be used in the email or letter greeting, as the following examples show:

The use of the Vocative case in Serbian email & letter greetings

In the case where you know the recipient’s name, you can use the following rules to apply the vocative case. (see also reference [1])

Male last names

Male last names ending with -ić (-ић) are in the vocative case and get the suffix –u (-у):

Other male last names that don’t end with -ić (-ић) typically stay the same just like they are in their nominative case:

Female last names

Their vocative case is like their nominative case. There is no change in endings.

Being polite with Vi (Ви) pronoun

In business correspondence, it is common to use a Vi (Ви) pronoun while addressing one person. Vi (Ви) pronoun is the 2nd person plural (You). It is written with a capital first letter in all cases. When addressing more than one person, write it with a lowercase letter.

The same example, but written in the Cyrillic script:

The translation:

Addressing a group of people

Besides the most commonly used Poštovani/a(Поштовани/а) expressions, you can use Uvaženi/a (Уважени/а) or Cenjeni/a (Цењени/а) – Reputable/Respected.

The latter can be used in circular emails or when sending formal emails to official institutions or organizations.

• Uvažene kolege (Уважене колеге) – Dear/Reputable Colleagues
• Cenjeni partneri (Цењени партнери) – Dear/Respected Partners

Formal email or letter main parts

The formal written style needs to contain precise and concise expressions and information. Instead of colloquial and conversational words and phrases, use formal and appropriate vocabulary.

Make sure that you break the formal email or letter content into a few paragraphs. In the first one, you bring out the reason for addressing the recipient and what you want. Also, here you can remind the recipient about your previous communication if you have had it with them or how you found out their contact.

The important information about the topic of your email or letter is usually in the second paragraph.

In the last paragraph, you express your expectations and thank-you phrases. You can add phrases stating your openness to further assistance, cooperation, etc.

Serbian formal email /letter endings

Here are some examples of formal email or letter endings:

• S poštovanjem (С поштовањем) – Respectfully
• Srdačan pozdrav (Срдачан поздрав) – Best/Kind Regards
• Srdačno Vas pozdravljam (Срдачно Вас поздрављам) – Best/Kind Regards
• S uvažavanjem (С уважавањем) – Respectfully
• Zahvaljujem Vam se na razumevanju (Захваљујем Вам се на разумевању) – Thank you for your understanding

After signing off your email or letter, you use a comma and write your first and last name.

Also, below your name, you can add your job title, company name, and other contact details.

Enclosures/attachments

Enclosures or attachments are below the content of your email or letter. Specify what type of document it is. Here are some examples.

• A letter with an enclosure

• An email with an attachment

If you want to highlight certain experiences or parts of your attached documents, you can do it in this way:

How to write an informal email or letter in Serbian

Serbian informal email/letter openings

When you write an email or letter to your friend, relative, or someone close to you can use informal language.

The first two salutations are also used frequently in spoken conversations.

• Zdravo (Здраво) – Hello
• Ćao (Ћао) – Hi

Rember to use the vocative grammatical case:

• Male first names, for example: Dragi Milane (Драги Милане) – Dear Milan
• Female first names, for example: Draga Ivona (Драга Ивона) – Dear Ivona

Writing to a group of people:

• Ćao (Ћао) / Zdravo (Здраво) svima (свима) – Hi/Hello everyone
• Dragi prijatelji (Драги пријатељи) – Dear friends
• Ćao društvo (Ћао друштво) – Hi guys

Serbian informal email/letter endings

Here is a list of common informal sign-off phrases, for ending an email or letter written in Serbian:

• Čujemo se (Чујемо се) – meaning: We will be in touch
• Čujemo se sutra/uskoro (Чујемо се сутра/ускоро) – Talk to you tomorrow/soon
• Sve najbolje (Све најбоље) – All the best
• Sve najbolje tebi i tvojoj porodici (Све најбоље теби и твојој породици) – All the best to you and your family
• Ljubim te (Љубим те) – I’m kissing you
• Vidimo se (Видимо се) – See you
• Vidimo se večeras (Видимо се вечерас) – See you tonight

Serbian email etiquette: to whom you are writing is important

Note that the workplace hierarchy, social distance, relationship, and age also play roles in addressing someone appropriately.

In informal writing, young people can use slang words and phrases that may be inappropriate or unknown to older people. If you are writing to people older than you, then use the 2nd person plural for showing respect to them. Here’s an example for the closing line:

Some of them may want to be addressed in a more friendly and casual way. Usually, they will tell you that it’s OK to address them with ”ti(ти)” – you-pronoun. From their emails, you can see the tone, style, and language they use and respond to them accordingly.

In Internet communication, sometimes you can notice a mixture of formal and informal styles. For example, you can have formal opening lines and informal closing lines.

The university students who write to their professor use formal opening lines such as ”Poštovana profesorice Pavić (Поштована професорице Павић)” – Dear/Respected Professor Pavic, ”Poštovana profesorice (Поштована професорице)” – Dear/Respected Professor.

Also, you can find the less formal style that denotes a certain level of closeness in а student-teacher relationship: ”Draga profesorice (Драга професорице)” – Dear Professor, etc. The professor can address their students in this way:

• ”Dragi kolega (Драги колега)” – Dear Colleague (Student)
• ”Drage kolege (Драгe колегe)” – Dear Colleagues (Students)

Specific types of Serbian letters

In the digital age, print cards are used rarely or for some special occasions such as New Year, Christmas, weddings, and so on. Here are some useful phrases that you can use in your print or e-cards:

How to write a postcard in Serbian

Most postcards include informal salutations and phrases. Here is an example of a postcard written in Serbian:

Here is the same Serbian postcard example, but written with the Cyrillic script:

Here is the Translation of the Serbian postcard example:

How to write New Year and Christmas greeting cards in Serbian

When writing New Year and Christmas greeting cards in Serbian, the following phrases can be useful:

• Srećna Nova godina! (Срећна Нова година!) – Happy New Year!
• Sve najlepše da ti se ostvari u Novoj godini! (Све најлепше да ти се оствари у Новој години!) – All the best to you in the New Year!
• For the Orthodox believers who celebrate a New Year according to the Julian calendar on the 14th of January and Christmas on the 7th of January:
  Srećna pravoslavna Nova godina! (Срећна православна Нова година) – Happy Orthodox New Year!
• Srećna srpska Nova godina! (Срећна српска Нова година!) – Happy Serbian New Year!
• Srećan Božić! (Срећан Божић!) – Merry Christmas!
• Provedi/Provedite praznike u miru, sreći i veselju. (Проведите празнике у миру, срећи и весељу.) – Spend the holidays in peace, happiness, and joy. (the verb provedi- one person; provedite – being polite to one person or addressing more than one person)

How to write a thank you card in Serbian

Thank you cards are not so common in Serbian culture. However, it shouldn’t stop you from expressing your gratitude through them or in some other manner.

Here are some Serbian phrases for writing a thank you card in Serbian:

• Hvala Vam za sve što ste uradili. (Хвала Вам за све што сте урадили.) – Thank you for all you have done.
• Mnogo hvala na posebnom poklonu. (Много хвала на посебном поклону.) – Thank you very much for the special gift.
• Hvala ti za sve. (Хвала ти за све) – Thank you for everything.

How to write a birthday card in Serbian

Here are some example phrases which are useful for writing a birthday card in Serbian:

• Srećan rođendan! (Срећан рођендан!) – Happy Birthday!
• Neka ti se sve želje ostvare. (Нека ти се све жеље остваре) – May all your wishes come true.
• Želim ti puno zdravlja, sreće i lepih trenutaka! (Желим ти пуно здравља, среће и лепих тренутака) – I wish you a lot of health, happiness, and beautiful moments!

What do you write in a Serbian wedding card?

Here are some Serbian phrases which are useful when writing a Serbian wedding card:

• Čestitamo! (Честитамо) – Congratulations!
• Tako smo oduševljeni što sa vama obeležavamo ovaj divan dan. (Тако смо одушевљени што са вама обележавамо овај диван дан.) – We are so thrilled to celebrate this wonderful day with you.
• Neka vas zauvek prate ljubav, sreća i radost. (Нека вас заувек прате љубав, срећа и радост.) – May love, happiness, and joy accompany you forever.
• Srećno vam venčanje, moji dragi mladenci! Želim vam sve najlepše od srca. (Срећно вам венчање, моји драги младенци! Желим вам све најлепше од срца.)
• – Happy wedding to you, my dear newlyweds! I wish you all the best from the bottom of my heart.

Serbian email / letter example

The following Serbian email example concerns the booking of a hotel room. The first example is written with the Serbian Latin script, the second example is written with Serbian Cyrillic script, and finally the translation is provided in English.

Serbian email example using the Latin script

Serbian email example using the Cyrillic script:

Translation of the Serbian email example:

Conclusion

By understanding your recipients and following the tips from this article, you’ll be able to write effective emails or letters.

The following question can be like a reminder for you: What do you want to create each time you send an email or letter to your recipient? One thing is for sure, writing clear, concise, and properly constructed messages can leave the desired impact on your recipients.

References:

1. [1] Recognition of Personal Names in Serbian Texts - HAL archives-ouvertes.fr