Ways to say it
| Serbian | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Срећна Нова година | Srȅćna Nȍva gȍdina! | Bosnian, Cyrillic, Serbian | |
| Сретна Нова година | Bosnian, Croatian, Cyrillic | ||
| Srećna Nova godina | /srêt͡ɕna nôʋa ɡôdina/ | Bosnian, Latin, Serbian | |
| Sretna Nova godina | /srêtna nôʋa ɡôdina/ | Bosnian, Croatian, Latin |
In formal settings, you can also use the more elaborate expressions Želim vam srećnu Novu godinu (I wish you a happy New Year) or Neka vam Nova godina bude ispunjena srećom i uspehom (May the New Year be filled with happiness and success for you). For a more informal touch, you might say Sve najbolje u Novoj godini (All the best in the New Year).
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of the adjective срећна (happy), the adjective нова (new) and the noun година (year).
Which one should you use?
The Serbian forms provided are Срећна Нова година (Cyrillic) and Srećna Nova godina (Latin). The forms Сретна Нова година and Sretna Nova godina are used in Croatian and Bosnian.
Is it said differently in some regions?
The spelling with ћ (as in Срећна Нова година) is characteristic of Serbian, while the spelling with т (as in Сретна Нова година) is used in Croatian and Bosnian.
How do you pronounce it?
Srȅćna Nȍva gȍdina!
Did you know?
- While Срећна Нова година is used on January 1st, many Serbians also celebrate the Julian calendar New Year on January 14th, which is a significant cultural and religious event.
- The Serbian word for 'happy', срећна, is closely related to the word for 'luck' or 'fortune'. Therefore, when you say Срећна Нова година, you are quite literally wishing someone a 'Lucky New Year'.
- The word година is derived from the Proto-Slavic root god, which originally referred to a 'fitting time' or 'season' rather than just a calendar year.
Examples in context
- Срећна Нова Година!Happy New Year!This sentence is useful for practicing the phrase Срећна Нова година.Tatoeba #5778682 by dzoja, translation #361350 by blay_paul
- Срећна Нова година свима!Happy New Year to everyone!
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Milica and Nikola meet at a party on December 31st.
- MilicaНикола, Срећна Нова година!Nikola, Happy New Year!
- NikolaХвала, Милице! И теби такође.Thanks, Milica! To you as well.
- MilicaДа ли си спреман за прославу?Are you ready for the celebration?
- NikolaДа, хајде да идемо унутра.Yes, let's go inside.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “happy new year” translations and entries Срећна Нова година, Srećna Nova godina, Sretna Nova godina, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries godina, година, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
