вака / така / онака

Like This and Like That

Level 3Sounds Like vaka; taka; onaka

вака = like this, така = like that, so, онака = that other way: Направи го вака (Do it like this), Така е (That's right).

How It Works

Вака is close to you. It often goes with showing: Се пишува вака (It is written like this). It can also introduce what you are about to explain: Работата е вака (Here is how things are).

Така is the most common of the three. It points back to what was just said or done: Така е (That's right), Не е така (That's not so), Зошто зборуваш така? (Why are you talking like that?). It is also part of fixed phrases such as исто така (also) and и така натаму (and so on).

Онака points to a way that is farther off, or to the other way of two: Не вака, туку онака (Not like this, but that way). In conversation, Онака on its own also answers a why question with no reason or just because.

The same three-way pattern runs through овој, тој and оној and тука and таму. The matching question word is како (see question words). For this kind of, the adjectives are ваков, таков, онаков, which answer каков.

With a command, short pronouns come right after the verb and before вака: Направи го вака (see short pronouns after a command).

Examples (6)

  1. Направи го вака.

    Do it like this.

    The speaker is showing how, so вака fits.

  2. Така е!

    That's right!

  3. Не е така, јас не реков тоа.

    That's not so, I didn't say that.

    Така points back to what the other person just said.

  4. Се пишува вака: Ѓорѓи.

    It's spelled like this: Ѓорѓи.

    Вака points forward to what comes next.

  5. Не вака, туку онака.

    Not this way, but that way.

  6. — Зошто прашуваш? — Онака.

    "Why do you ask?" "Just because."

    Онака on its own is a casual way to say there is no special reason.

Common Mistakes

  • Putting the short pronoun after вака in a command.

    Направи вака го.
    Направи го вака.

    In a command the short pronoun follows the verb directly, so го comes before вака.

  • Using толку instead of така to agree with someone.

    Толку е.
    Така е.

    Така е means That is right. Толку е means That is all, or That is how much it is.

How It Connects

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

вака / така / онакаLevel 3Like This and Like That

Learn This First

Like this and like that follow the demonstratives.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

вакаонака