lijevo / desno

Left and Right

Level 2

Lijevo is left and desno is right. Say Skreni lijevo or na desnoj strani.

How It Works

Two ways to give directions:

IdeaBosnian
turn leftSkreni lijevo. / Skrenite lijevo.
turn rightSkreni desno.
straight aheadIdi pravo.
on the left sidena lijevoj strani
on the right sidena desnoj strani

Use skreni with a friend and skrenite with a stranger or a group.

The words lijevo and desno can be followed by od and the genitive: Pošta je lijevo od hotela.

In na lijevoj strani, the adjective and the noun must both have the locative ending -oj and -i.

Directions usually come as a short chain: Idite pravo, pa skrenite desno. The small word pa means "and then" here.

Examples (4)

  1. Skreni lijevo kod semafora.

    Turn left at the traffic light.

    Lijevo is an adverb with skreni.

  2. Skrenite desno poslije mosta.

    Turn right after the bridge.

    Skrenite is the polite form.

  3. Banka je na desnoj strani.

    The bank is on the right side.

    Na and the locative say where.

  4. Pošta je lijevo od hotela.

    The post office is to the left of the hotel.

    Lijevo od takes the genitive.

Common Mistakes

  • Learners keep the nominative on the adjective and the noun.

    Banka je na desno strana.
    Banka je na desnoj strani.

    After na, the phrase is in the locative: desnoj strani.

How It Connects

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

lijevo / desnoLevel 2Left and Right

Learn This First

Left and right are direction words.

Words in This Pattern

lijevodesnopravoskrenuti