Rod imenice · Noun Gender
In Serbian, every noun has a gender — masculine (muški), feminine (ženski), or neuter (srednji). This isn't just a label: gender determines how a noun changes in every case, how pronouns refer to it, and how adjectives and verbs must agree with it.
If you don't know a noun's gender, you can't correctly use it in a sentence. That's why we start here, before anything else.
Good news: A noun's ending usually tells you its gender. You'll learn the three rules and their exceptions in this lesson. Always memorize gender together with a noun's meaning.
Tri osnovna pravila
These three rules cover the vast majority of Serbian nouns. There are exceptions — you'll meet them in the next two screens.
For now, commit the pattern to memory: consonant → M · -a → Ž · -o/-e → S
Imenice koje završavaju suglasnikom
Most masculine nouns end in a consonant in their base (nominative) form. This is the largest gender group in Serbian.
Pattern to remember: Most male person names also follow this pattern: Goran, Ivan, Petar. If a noun ends in a consonant and isn't a known exception → assume masculine.
Imenice koje završavaju na -a
Most feminine nouns end in -a. This is the most reliable ending rule. Most female names also end in -a: Ana, Maja, Jelena.
Watch out: Some feminine nouns end in a consonant, not -a. These exceptions must be memorized: noć (night), stvar (thing), reč (word), ljubav (love). You'll see them in the feminine exceptions screen.
Imenice koje završavaju na -o ili -e
Neuter nouns end in -o or -e. This is the smallest gender group and the most consistent — almost no exceptions.
Quick check: Does it end in -o or -e? Almost certainly neuter. Note: dete (child) is neuter even though it refers to a person.
Kad pravilo ne važi
Most masculine nouns end in a consonant, but there are two important exception patterns: some masculine nouns end in -a, and a smaller group ends in -o. These should be learned as masculine vocabulary items.
These are usually nouns referring to male persons. Biological reference takes priority over the ending rule.
A smaller set of masculine nouns ends in -o. Learn these individually as masculine exceptions.
Kad pravilo ne važi
A group of feminine nouns ends in a consonant, not -a. Mostly abstract nouns — these must be memorized individually.
Strategija · Strategy: When you learn a new noun, always learn its gender alongside its meaning. Not just "noć = night" but "noć = night (ž)"
Koji je rod? · What is the gender?
Identify the gender of each noun using the ending rules you learned.
Izuzeci · Exceptions practice
These nouns break the usual ending rules. Use what you learned on the exceptions screens to identify their gender correctly.
Izuzeci · Exceptions practice
Finish the final exceptions to complete this lesson.