Everyday Adjectives

Level 1

These adjectives describe what a noun is like.

How It Works

  • velik / mali: big, small
  • nov / star: new, old
  • lijep / ružan: pretty, ugly
  • dobar / loš: good, bad
  • topao / hladan: warm, cold

All of these change with gender. Masculine is the base form, feminine takes -a, and neuter takes -o: velik sto, velika kuća, veliko selo.

Notice that mali ends in -i, which is why it looks different (mala kuća, malo selo). Adjectives such as topao and hladan drop a vowel in the feminine: topla, hladna.

The adjective can come before the noun (stari most) or after je (Most je star). Before the noun is the usual spot for a quick description.

Remember that lijep has an ije: it is the Bosnian spelling, and lep is not.

Examples (4)

  1. Ovo je stari most.

    This is an old bridge.

    Most is masculine.

  2. Mala džezva je na stolu.

    The small coffee pot is on the table.

    Džezva is feminine, so mala.

  3. Imamo veliko dvorište.

    We have a big yard.

    Dvorište is neuter, so veliko.

  4. Lijepo je u Mostaru.

    It is nice in Mostar.

    Lijepo can describe a whole situation.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the masculine form with a neuter noun.

    Lijep selo.
    Lijepo selo.

    Selo is neuter, so it needs -o.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Everyday AdjectivesLevel 1

Learn This First

Descriptive adjectives build on gender agreement.

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Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

velikmalennovstarlijepružandobarloštopaohladan