pitati
Latin, imperfective
To ask in Bosnian is pitati.
The verb pitati is used when you are requesting an answer or information. It should not be confused with tražiti, which is used when you are requesting an object or a favor.
Meaning: request an answer (verb)
Which one should you use?
The noun pitanje is derived from the verb pitati and means 'a question'.
How does it change in a sentence?
When using the phrase pitati nekoga nešto (to ask someone something), both the person being asked and the thing being asked are placed in the accusative case. If you need to express that someone 'asked' in the masculine singular past tense, use the form pitao.
Did you know?
- While pitati means 'to ask', it is a homonym for another verb that means 'to feed'.
- In Bosnian, the phrase pitati se transforms the meaning from asking another person to 'wondering' to oneself.
- In Bosnian culture, using pitati to inquire about a person's salary or age is often viewed as too direct and may be avoided in formal contexts.
Examples in context
- Da li smijem nešto važno upitati?May I ask something important?
- Hajde, pitaj me šta god želiš!Come on, ask me anything you want!
- Imam ti jedno pitanjce – šta misliš o tome?I have a little question for you – what do you think about it?
- Možeš li mi reći?Can you tell me?
- Moram ih pitati nešto.I have to ask them something.
- Želim te pitati jednu stvar.I want to ask you one thing.
- Možeš li me pitati sutra?Can you ask me tomorrow?
Example conversation
Selma and Adnan are talking in their living room.
- SelmaAdnane, moram te pitati nešto.Adnan, I have to ask you something.
- AdnanNaravno, šta te zanima?Of course, what are you interested in?
- SelmaMožeš li mi pomoći oko ovoga?Can you help me with this?
- AdnanNaravno, samo reci.Of course, just say it.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “ask” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
