Ways to say it
| Serbian | Note |
|---|---|
| љубав | Cyrillic, feminine |
| ljubav | Latin, feminine |
љубав is a feminine noun referring to strong affection. To express the action of loving or liking someone or something in everyday speech, the most common verb to use is волети. You may also encounter the verb љубити, which can mean to love in a poetic or archaic sense, but in modern everyday Serbian, it primarily means to kiss. Additionally, the phrase водити љубав is a euphemism used to mean having sex.
Which one should you use?
While љубав is the noun for love, the verb волети is used to express the action of loving or liking. The verb љубити is distinguished by its primary modern meaning of 'to kiss' rather than the poetic sense of 'to love'.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun љубав changes its form depending on the grammatical case. For example, љубави is the genitive singular form, which is used after certain prepositions such as без (without) or in phrases like сила љубави (the power of love).
When do people say it?
Serbian speakers use several endearing pet names to express affection, such as dušo (darling), ljubavi (love) and sunce moje (my sunshine). To convey deep affection, the phrase Ljubim te is used. Although it literally translates to 'I kiss you', it is often used interchangeably with Volim te (I love you).
Did you know?
- When saying goodbye, Serbians often say Љубим те, which literally means 'I kiss you' but functions as a warm expression of love.
- The word љубав shares an ancient root with the Proto-Slavic *ľuby, which is the ancestral source of many similar terms across Slavic languages.
- Serbian distinguishes between the emotional state of love љубав and the action of loving волети using two completely different roots.
Examples in context
- Да ли је ово љубав?Is this love?This sentence is useful for asking if a feeling is love using the form љубав.Tatoeba #8855154 by Lebad, translation #326263 by CK
- Кажу, љубав је слепа.They say love is blind.This sentence uses the form љубав to state a common proverb about love being blind.Tatoeba #1195479 by Dimitrije, translation #1578 by CK
- Ovo je ljubavna pesma.This is a love song.This sentence uses the form ljubav to describe a song about love.Tatoeba #4239821 by Lebad, translation #4239541 by Hybrid
- Gospodine Petroviću, Vaša ljubav prema umetnosti je inspirativna.Mr. Petrović, your love for art is inspiring.
- Draga, volim te najviše na svetu.Darling, I love you the most in the world.
- Dušo, sviđaš mi se više nego što rečima mogu opisati.Darling, I like you more than words can describe.
- 47 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are talking about a romantic movie.
- MilicaТај филм је прича о правој љубави.That movie is a story about true love.
- MarkoДа, то је баш лепа прича.Yes, it is a very beautiful story.
- MilicaДа ли верујеш у такву љубав?Do you believe in such love?
- MarkoНаравно, Милица.Of course, Milica.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “love” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries љубав, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
