Ways to say it
| Serbian | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| мајмун | màjmun | /mǎjmun/ | Cyrillic, masculine |
| опица | zoological | Cyrillic, feminine, regional | |
| јопац | Cyrillic, masculine, regional | ||
| majmun | /mǎjmun/ | Latin, masculine | |
| opica (zoological) | Latin, feminine, regional | ||
| jopac | Latin, masculine, regional |
The primary word for the primate is мајмун. In Serbian slang, мајмун is often used as a derogatory term for a person who is acting foolishly or behaving like a clown.
Which one should you use?
The masculine form мајмун is the standard term, while опица is a specific zoological term. The term јопац is a regional masculine variant.
Is it said differently in some regions?
The term опица is a regional feminine form, and the masculine term јопац is also regional. Both can be written in Cyrillic as опица and јопац or in Latin script as opica and jopac.
How does it change in a sentence?
The masculine noun мајмун changes to мајмуна in the genitive case, which is used for expressing possession or partitive quantities. The plural form is мајмуни.
How do you pronounce it?
The word is pronounced as màjmun.
When do people say it?
The term опица is commonly found in literature and children's books.
Did you know?
- The word мајмун actually traces its roots back to Arabic, specifically the word maymūn, which originally meant 'lucky' or 'blessed'.
- Serbian is one of the few European languages that uses a word for 'monkey' derived from an Afro-Asiatic language rather than a Latin or Germanic root.
- Serbian uses мајмун as a common metaphor for a clumsy person, similar to the English 'monkeying around', but it can be a much harsher personal insult.
Examples in context
- То је месо мајмуна.It's monkey meat.This sentence shows the genitive form мајмун used to describe meat.Tatoeba #12397339 by Lebad, translation #1117904 by Scott
- Мајмун ме је угризао.A monkey bit me.This sentence uses the masculine form мајмун as the subject.Tatoeba #12397340 by Lebad, translation #9249787 by CK
- Мајмун сиђе.The monkey came down.Tatoeba #12397335 by Lebad, translation #53937 by CM
- U zoološkom vrtu možete videti mnogo različitih vrsta majmuna.At the zoo, you can see many different species of monkeys.
- 3 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Luka and Milica are visiting the zoo.
- LukaВидиш ли тог мајмуна?Do you see that monkey?
- MilicaДа, мајмун је врло забаван.Yes, the monkey is very funny.
- LukaМајмун је управо почео да једе банану.The monkey just started eating a banana.
- MilicaМајмун изгледа веома срећно.The monkey looks very happy.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “monkey” translations and entries мајмун, majmun, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries мајмун, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
