јеси ли добро?
jesi li dobro?
The Serbian phrase for "are you okay?" is јеси ли добро? (jesi li dobro?)
This phrase is used to ask if a person is feeling well or is physically and emotionally unharmed.
What does it mean word for word?
Literally, јеси ли добро? means "are you well?" where јеси is "are you", ли is a question particle and добро means "well" or "good".
Which one should you use?
While јеси ли добро? is used for a single person in an informal setting, you can use Da li ste dobro? or Jeste li dobro? for formal situations and Sve okej? as a casual alternative among friends.
How does it change in a sentence?
The form јеси ли добро? is used specifically when addressing one person in an informal or singular context.
How do you pronounce it?
jesi li dobro?
Did you know?
- The word добро is also used in English to describe a type of resonator guitar. This happened because the instrument was branded as a 'Dobro' based on the Slovak word for 'good'.
- If you say Добро! to a Serbian person, you are not just saying 'good', you might actually be giving a command to 'be good' or 'behave'.
- In casual speech, Serbians often skip the particle ли entirely and just use a rising intonation, making the phrase sound more like a quick check-in than a formal question.
Examples in context
- Јеси ли добро?Are you okay?
Example conversation
Stefan sees Jelena looking sad in the park.
- StefanЈелена, јеси ли добро?Jelena, are you okay?
- JelenaНисам баш најбоље.I'm not doing very well.
- StefanШта се десило?What happened?
- JelenaСве је у реду, хвала.Everything is fine, thanks.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries добро, ли, CC BY-SA 4.0.
